US broadcast station mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volume reached $4.31 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, as tracked by Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. In the largest deal of the quarter and year, Nexstar Media Group announced on December 3rd that it would acquire all of Tribune Media’s assets for $46.50 per share. Kagan estimates […]
Spain’s fourth largest telco Másmóvil and the Basque-country based Euskaltel have joined forces to implement a 5G pilot network, open to third parties. The 5G network will be set up over the next 30 months with a total investment of €12 million. Technology company Ericsson will provide the equipment in the pilot with participation of […]
The C-Band Alliance (of Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat and Telesat) sent an email to the FCC on January 2nd which strongly rebutted allegations from US cable operators Comcast, Charter Communications and others that its plan to repurpose C-band spectrum over the US through a ‘market based approach’ was “improper and/or a departure from FCC precedent”. The […]
There is little evidence screen use for children is harmful in itself, according to guidance from leading paediatricians and published by the BBC. Parents should worry less as long as they have gone through a checklist on the effect of screen time on their child, it says. While the guidance avoids setting screen time limits, […]
Apple has revealed that App Store customers worldwide set new spending records over the holidays, wrapping up a record-breaking year. App Store spending topped $1.22 billion (€1.07bn) between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Customers also spent over $322 million on New Year’s Day 2019 alone, setting a new single-day record. “The App Store had […]
Multichannel programmer UKTV’s commissioning strategy continues to bear fruit with UKTV Originals driving younger viewers to UKTV Play and remaining the most watched programmes on the network in 2018. “Our strategy of creating distinctive, ambitious and compelling new shows is continuing to pay off,” asserted Darren Childs, UKTV CEO. “I’m incredibly proud that for the […]
It may not be quite a full roar of approval from analysts at Moffett Nathanson (MN), but an upgrade from ‘Sell’ to ‘Neutral’ on Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network is welcome news for the Denver-based DTH broadcaster. The hard facts, however, still make grim reading. Dish’s stock price has crashed 48 per cent this past year […]
In June 2018, Kerrisdale Capital was firmly backing Intelsat, and in a research note to its hedge fund clients, forecasting the massive profits that it said would follow on from the restructuring of C-band spectrum over the US. It now emerges that Kerrisdale has largely cashed in on its profits and dramatically reduced its Intelsat […]
Australia’s Minister for Regional Services Senator Bridget McKenzie has announced A$10 million in additional funding to secure the Viewer Access Satellite Television Service (VAST) for regional Australians until 2021. VAST provides commercial and national television services free-to-air to around 500,000 Australian viewers in regional Australia, including 30,000 travellers. “Many Australians living in our regions rely […]
Tata Communications, a global digital infrastructure provider, and NEP Broadcast Solutions, a division of NEP Group, are together enabling the remote production of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) for Star Sports, the number one sports broadcaster in India and subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. Now in its sixth season, this is the first time that […]