RTL has formed an alliance with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network as the pan-European broadcaster enters into Asia at a time when growth in its core markets is flagging. The European group, which said in March that it was looking to secure a deal with a local partner in India, said the two had agreed […]
The head of Australia’s second-largest telco says the proposed merger of pay-TV services Austar and Foxtel could raise competition concerns regarding content. According to Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) needs to look carefully at the proposed deal, announced May 26 . “Optus is a company that is frequently […]
Cukurova Holding’s owner Mehmet Emin Karamehmet has received an additional 500 million Turkish Lira tax fine for his cable and satellite TV broadcasting company DigiTurk. This latest event in a long-running saga brings his total tax obligations in Turkey to 2.2 billion liras, say local reports. The latest claim covers a period from 2005-2009 and […]
Global satellite operator SES has joined forces with Kenyan television and broadband operator Wananchi to launch a new Direct-to-Home (DTH) line-up called Zuku TV in East Africa. Zuku TV is East Africa’s newest pay TV offering, set to provide affordable TV options to the mass market in Africa. It is scheduled to launch in July […]
Teléfonos de México’s (Telmex) request for a licence to offer pay-TV service has been rejected by the Mexican government, which cited deficiencies in the quality of the company’s connections with rivals’ networks. The Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (Communications and Transportation Ministry) said that Telmex hadn’t provided required information to the government. The ministry will […]
Arqiva is to close online TV venture SeeSaw after failing to find an investment partner or buyer. The company, which is a partner in the BBC-backed YouView video-on-demand venture, will pull the plug on SeeSaw next month. The shutdown comes five months after Arqiva appointed Ingenious Media to find an investment partner or buyer for […]
Broadband technology specialist Arris Group is in discussions to buy multi-screen video provider SeaChange International, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. It is unclear what price SeaChange will fetch, or if a deal will be reached between the two companies, which have been in off-and-on talks for the past several […]
French pay TV operator Canal Plus and French telco Orange have dropped their plan to form a 50/50 joint venture between Canal Plus’s TPS Star service and Orange’s film and TV series channels, according to reports in French newspapers. A new plan to see Canal Plus buy a minority stake in Orange’s channels has been […]
Christine Ockrent has quit as the head of France 24 the government funded news channel broadcast in French, English and Arabic, amid accusations of espionage, harassment and incompetence. The network – intended to take in the BBC, CNN and al-Jazeera has struggled to make an impact and will losw about €7 million this year. Ockrent, […]
BBC’s Vision is axing about 100 jobs in the next year and scrapping the roles of multi-platform commissioners, as part of the wider BBC Online cuts. “The existing multiplatform commissioning team will be disbanded within BBC Vision, with commissioning to be run at genre/ channel level,” says BBC Online general manager Andy Conroy. “This means […]