From Branislav Pekic in Rome Sky Italia is set to turn a profit for the first time since launch in Italy in 1991 under the brand Tele+. The results of parent News Corp reveal that profits were up from E32 million in H1 2006 to E164 million in the first six months of this year. […]

The Dolan's plan to take Cablevision private is on the brink as ClearBridge Advisors, the largest institutional shareholder in declares it plans to vote against the Dolan family’s $10.6 billion (E7.4bn) bid. A defeat would end a two-year struggle by the Dolans to take private the company, which owns cable systems and the New York […]

Having apparently been outperforming many of its rivals dust during the past year and a half, the world's leading telecommunications equipment maker issued a sales and profit warning. It said its operating profit for the third quarter of 2007 was expected to be down 36 per cent compared with the same period last year. It […]

EchoStar Communications Corp shares rose 4 per cent on speculation that US telco giant AT&T could buy the satellite television provider within a year. Echostar’s television service would complement AT&T’s efforts to expand a high-speed fibre network it is building to sell TV services to better compete with cable and telecommunications rivals.

Pace Microtechnology put out a Market Update saying “Pace is continuing to perform well and the Board now expects that the outcome for the shortened 2007 year will be significantly ahead of its existing expectations. This primarily results from ongoing action to improve business efficiencies, which is delivering results ahead of our expectations across the […]

The Dolan family's effort to take Cablevision Systems private is being opposed by a large shareholder and a major proxy advisory firm. Mario Gabelli, a longtime media investor, said that the funds he controls would vote against the proposed transaction at a special shareholders' meeting scheduled for October 24th. Gabelli said he believed his clients […]

Paramount Pictures International has agreed to help fund European cinemas which are installing new generation projectors. Hollywood studios and exhibitors have tussled over who should bear the cost of the upgrade, with cinema owners arguing that studios should pay a “virtual print fee” as it will be cheaper for them to distribute their films electronically […]

Former Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston has joined a growing list of investors in Internet TV service Veoh Networks. Freston, who left Viacom a year ago, took part in the company’s Series C funding, which closed in August 2007, via his Firefly3 LLC firm. Former Paramount Pictures head Jonathan Dolgen was also amongst investors […]

Alcatel-Lucent plunges on warning Shares in Alcatel-Lucent fell by as much as 14 per cent in Paris after it shocked the market with its third proit warning this year. The group, formed last year from the E11.1 bn merger of France's Alcatel and Lucent of the US, said it was forced to slash its forecast […]

Italian broadcaster Mediaset posted first-half net profits up 2.5 per cent at E340.8m, on revenue 4.2 per cent higher at E2.08bn, citing higher revenues from its pay-per-view division and Spanish Gestevision Telecinco unit. Meanwhile Mediaset has reportedly reached an E800m content deal with Time Warner and Universal giving them rights to broadcast the studios' movies […]