BC Partners is set to announce the completion of its $16.5 billion purchase of Intelsat, the world's biggest satellite operator. The UK-based private equity firm has agreed to make concessions on the structure and terms of its $15 billion debt package to hold together its syndicate of main banks – Credit Suisse, Bank of America […]
Microsoft has launched a $44.6 billion takeover bid for Yahoo in an attempt to challenge Google. Microsoft’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, claimed that combining the two companies would create a stronger challenger to Google in the online advertising market. Hesaid the deal would create a “more efficient” company with total annual synergies of $1 billion, […]
France's broadcasting regulator, the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), has issued a call for bids to broadcast a High Definition pay-TV service on one of the country's digital terrestrial multiplexes. The opportunity is available to all pay-TV services currently authorised on DTT who wish to replace their current Standard Definition broadcast with HD. Bids will […]
Spanish cable operator ONO improved margins and costs in the last part of 2007, with fourth-quarter core earnings up 7.3 per cent to E162 million. Operating cash flow turned positive over the year thanks to more efficient management, ONO said, coming in at E106 million after an outflow of E32 million euros in 2006. Average […]
UK Business secretary John Hutton is expected to announce imminently whether he accepts the ruling of the Competition Commission that Rupert Murdoch’s pay-TV company must reduce its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV to below 7.5 per cent. It is anticipated it will insist on some sale. ITV’s share price has tumbled since Sky bought […]
Satellite TV contributed to video customer gains for AT&T in the fourth quarter. The telco giant’s IPTV platform also gained a significant number of new subscribers during the three-month period. On satellite TV, AT&T said it was serving 2.116 million bundled dish customers at the end of December. That’s up from the 1.986 million customers […]
Thanks largely to stronger-than-expected global PC sales, Microsoft reported $6.48 billion in profit for the holiday quarter on sales of $16.37 billion, beating analyst estimates. Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell raised the company's sales and profit targets for the next two quarters — a sign that unlike Wall Street, Microsoft expects a comfortable start to […]
From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris The French broadcasting regulator CSA received 32 candidates for the 13 mobile TV DVB-H frequencies by the closing time for applications. Many of the proposals come from existing channels broadcast on traditional platforms (DTT, cable, satellite, IPTV). In addition there were some created specifically for the mobile platform; whether mobile […]
PT Multimedia has acquired a 20 per cent stake in Potugese cable TV company TVTEL and will acquire the remaining 80 per cent from investment bank Caixa BI, subject to the approval of competition authorities.
Disney Channel UK managing director Rob Gilby has been promoted to head the broadcaster’s operations across Asia-Pacific. Gilby takes the new role of senior vice president and managing director for the region for Disney-ABC International Television as part of a restructure.