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Business

ABS loses CEO

Satellite operator ABS, which operates out of Hong Kong, says its CEO Jim Simpson, has left the company after just 7 months in the role. ABS Chairman Jim Frownfelter will take up the position again although it is not clear whether this will be permanent or temporary while Simpson’s replacement is sourced. ABS is owned […]

July 30, 2018By Chris Forrester

India’s Bharti Airtel DTH adds 479,000 subs

India’s hugely competitive DTH pay-TV market shows no sign of slowing. The latest operator to declare numbers is telco Bharti Airtel which has seen is DTH arm add a net 479,000 new subscribers during the three months to the end of June. It is significantly well ahead of the previous quarter’s 230,000 net growth. The […]

July 30, 2018By Chris Forrester

Altice sells Dominican Republic towers business

Altice Europe has announced that its subsidiary Altice Dominicana has reached an agreement with Phoenix Tower International, a portfolio company of Blackstone, for the sale of 100 per cent in the tower company Teletorres del Caribe that will comprise 1,049 sites currently operated by Altice Dominicana. The transaction values Teletorres del Caribe at an enterprise […]

July 30, 2018

Payne & McKay develop Amazon’s Lord of the Rings

After a “long process and extensive search”, Amazon Studios has chosen the duo of JD Payne and Patrick McKay to develop a live-action TV series based on The Lord of The Rings. In a statement, Payne & McKay commented: “The rich world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is filled with majesty and heart, wisdom and complexity. […]

July 30, 2018By Nik Roseveare

BT Q1: ‘A good start’

Gavin Patterson, BT Chief Executive, has described the telco’s first quarter 2018 results as “a good start to the year”, making good progress against its strategy BT reported revenue of £5.715 billion, with underlying revenue down 2 per cent as regulated price reductions in Openreach and declines in its enterprise businesses offset growth in its […]

July 27, 2018By Colin Mann

Ofcom consults on PSB prominence

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has published a report which assesses how easily today’s viewers can find public service broadcasters’ (PSB) channels, and local TV programmes. This is the watchdog’s first report which fulfils a new duty under the Digital Economy Act. Alongside the report, Ofcom is consulting on updating the rules which give appropriate prominence […]

July 27, 2018By Colin Mann

SES still under pressure; C-band a “win-win”

Half-yearly results from satellite operator SES showed video revenues – worth 67 per cent of group revenues – remain under pressure, with the company booking €650 million in H1 2018, but this was 2.3 per cent lower than H1 2017. At H1 2018, SES distributed 7,941 total TV channels globally, up 3 per cent compared […]

July 27, 2018By Chris Forrester

Mixed fortunes for Mediaset and Atresmedia

The two largest private TV groups in Spain, Atresmedia and Mediaset, achieved varying financial results in the first half of the year, mainly as a result of the fragility of TV advertising. Atresmedia saw its profits fall by 18 per cent to €69.2 million versus €84.2 million last year. Total revenues were flat with €550.6 […]

July 27, 2018From David Del Valle in Madrid

Facebook market value plummets

Nearly $120 billion (€103.1bn) has been wiped off Facebook’s market value, which includes a $17 billion hit to the fortunes of Mark Zuckerberg, head of the company. The social media giant told investors that user growth had slowed as a result of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook’s shares plunged 19 per cent on July 26th […]

July 27, 2018

WWE Network subs up 10%

WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has announced financial and performance results for its second quarter ended June 30th. The entertainment behemoth increased 31 per cent to $281.6 million driven by the increased monetisation of content and new US distribution agreements with USA Network and Fox Sports (effective October 2019). WWE Network, the company’s SVoD service, saw […]

July 27, 2018By Nik Roseveare