Following successful legal action taken by Sky, three licensees in the Republic of Ireland have been found guilty for infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky Sports programming in their premises without a commercial contract with Sky. Aaron Sharkey, licensee of The Moylurg Inn, Bridge Street in Boyle. Eamon Cliffe, licensee of The Railway Bar, Mill […]
Disney has committed itself to a series of undertakings in respect of Sky News as part of the proposed merger between 21st Century Fox and Sky. In a Statement in the UK’s House of Commons, Matt Hancock, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, noted that having considered a report from the Competition and Markets Authority, […]
Satellite operator SES and Intelsat have written to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington DC, asking for a 60-day extension to the deadline for their clients – mostly US cable and IP operators – to register their C-band headend dishes. The move is needed as the two satellite operators gear up to discuss freeing […]
Andy Quested, Lead, BBC Production Standards, has warned that any further reduction of the spectrum available for terrestrial broadcasting could seriously hinder the ability of broadcasters such as the BBC to deliver programmes in higher broadcast quality standards in the future. Speaking at the SES Ultra HD Conference in London, Quested noted that countries such […]
A year ago in August 2017 London-based satellite operator Avanti Communications filed an action with the London Court of Arbitration for $16.8 million owed to it by Indonesia’s Defense Minsitry. Earlier this month, on June 6th, Avanti won its claim, plus interest, and the Indonesians were ordered by the court to pay Avanti $20.075 million, […]
The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Sky by Comcast, concluding that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in Europe. Comcast and Sky are mainly active in different markets in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the UK and Spain. They compete with each other only to a […]
The BBC has published its new distribution policy following the conclusion of a four month consultation process on a draft policy. The BBC is required by its Royal Charter and Framework Agreement to develop a strategy and policy for distributing its output and services, and to consult the public and Ofcom on the Policy before […]
UK communications regulator Ofcom has published its first progress report on the legal separation of Openreach from its parent company BT. BT agreed in March 2017 to Ofcom’s requirements to make Openreach – which runs the UK’s main phone and broadband network – a distinct company. This means Openreach having its own staff, management and […]
Seemingly emboldened by the US Court decision that rejected the Justice Department’s objection to the AT&T/Comcast merger, Comcast has made what it says is a superior all-cash proposal to acquire 21st Century Fox after the spin-off of ‘New Fox’. In a Statement, Comcast said it had delivered a letter to the Board of Directors of […]
A US District Court judge has cleared the merger of US telco giant AT&T and entertainment conglomerate Time Warner, in a what will be deemed as a significant blow to the Trump administration which has vocally denounced any potential deal. US district judge Richard Leon said the government’s objections “rested on improper notions” and warned […]