A New Zealand court has ruled that Kim Dotcom, founder of closed-down file-sharing site Megaupload, can be extradited to the United States to face online piracy charges. After a nine-week hearing, Judge Nevin Dawson found there was “overwhelming” evidence to support extradition. The decision comes almost four years after NZ police raided Dotcom’s mansion at […]
Following the successful 2013 raid of five homes in The Netherlands cities of Apeldoorn, Enschede, Vlagtwedde and The Hague, content pirates arrested during these raids have been sentenced at the Zutphen courthouse. Two defendants received 100 hours of community service, two months of conditional imprisonment and two years’ probation. This followed an extensive collaborative effort […]
Multinational cable, fibre, telecommunications, contents and media company Altice has completed the acquisition of 70 per cent of the share capital of US cable MSO Suddenlink from existing shareholders BC Partners, CPP Investment Board and Suddenlink management. BC Partners and CPP Investment Board have retained a 30 per cent stake in Suddenlink, as planned. The […]
There has been recent speculation that Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV, is not only up for sale but that US cable giant Comcast might well be a buyer. This is not the first time that American names have been cited as potential buyers. A month or so ago it was Liberty Global (which already owns […]
Reports suggest that US comms giant Comcast’s NBCUniversal is considering an £11 billion (€15.1bn) bid for UK commercial broadcaster ITV, with talks having been held between company executives Any such bid would pitch Comcast against John Malone’s Liberty Global, which took a 6.4 per cent stake in ITV in July 2014 subsequently raising its holding […]
Ericsson and Apple have agreed on a global patent licence agreement between the two companies. The agreement includes a cross licence that covers patents relating to both companies’ standard-essential patents (including the GSM, UMTS and LTE cellular standards), and grants certain other patent rights. In addition, the agreement includes releases that resolve all pending patent-infringement […]
The continued roll-out of 4K/UHD services has received a boost following the announcement of an updated royalty rate structure by independent licensing administrator HEVC Advance, following active engagement with market participants across the industry. The updates support accelerated adoption of HEVC in the marketplace for the benefit of both industry and consumers. “After our initial […]
Echostar and Dish Network founder Charlie Ergen has “donated” nine million shares he owned in Echostar to a family trust. Each share is currently valued at some $36 so the donation is worth about $324 million today. The transfer, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing made earlier in December, is for “estate planning […]
Sky has confirmed it will now block “adult content” by default for all new broadband customers. Sky said the move would result in “much greater use of home filters”, but customers could still opt-out if they wanted to. In 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron said broadband users should face an “unavoidable decision” over whether to […]
Liberty Global has appointed Guto Harri to the newly created role of Managing Director, External Communications. Based in London, Harri will lead external communications for Liberty Global and its senior executives and will report to Manuel Kohnstamm, Liberty Global’s SVP and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. Harri joins Liberty Global from News UK, where he has […]