Advanced Television

Broadband

Virgin's Berkett joins GMG board

Guardian Media Group has has appointed Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett as a non-executive director. Berkett has been VMED CEO since 2008 and was appointed COO of the company's precursor NTL in 2005. GMG will hope his experience can help steer its Guardian News & Media division, which houses The Guardian and Guardian.co.uk, back towards […]

November 9, 2009

Scripps wins Travel

Scripps Networks, the owner of the Food Network and HGTV, snapped up a majority stake in the Travel Channel. Cox Communications will keep a 35% stake. The agreement between Scripps and Cox concluded a long series of bids by Scripps, the News Corporation and a number of private equity groups. "Combining the Travel Channel with […]

November 6, 2009

Majority of Netflix subs use streaming

Nearly two-thirds of Netflix subscribers have tried out the company’s 'Watch Instantly' streaming service, and more than half use it at least once a month, according to a survey released by research firm One Touch Intelligence. The survey findings suggest that usage of the streaming service has moved beyond the early adopter stage and into […]

November 6, 2009

EU 'compromise' on file-sharers

The European Parliament and Council will include in its Telecoms Reform Package an entitlement for all broadband customers in all 27 EU states to be put through a “fair and impartial procedure” before being disconnected. The outcome is a compromise agreed after intense lobbying from ISPs in one side and rights holders on the others. […]

November 5, 2009

Liberty Global Q3 losses narrow

Liberty Global's third-quarter loss – its fifth in a row – narrowed on higher sales and smaller effects of foreign-currency exchange. Chief Executive Mike Fries said the company demonstrated consistent growth in operating cash flow in the first three quarters of the year and expects to be at the high end of its forecast for […]

November 5, 2009

Australian rights case 'we have no right to disconnect'

Australian ISP IINET chief Michael Malone has told the NSW Federal Court that the ISP’s service agreements did not provide it with sufficient contractual rights to take action against customers who infringe copyright online. Malone made the comments during cross-examination by lawyers representing a loose coalition of 34 entertainment companies – represented by the Australian […]

November 5, 2009

Canvas will cost £115m, no need for owners to be PDBs

BBC executives have told the BBC Trust, which is examining the Canvas project, that its total cost over its first four years will exceed £115m (E128m) including £48m+ of marketing costs. To help attract new shareholders and spread that cost executives have proposed the stipulation that the company must be controlled by PSBs should be […]

November 5, 2009

BBC iPlayer on Freesat this month

The BBC has confirmed that it will start beta testing its popular iPlayer service on Freesat from the end of this month. BBC's iPlayer debuted on Virgin Media's cable service last year, but this will be the first subscription-free platform to get the fully-fledged version of iPlayer. ….

November 5, 2009

Comcast profit up 22%

Comcast Corp’s quarterly profit rose 22 percent, beating expectations, as it sold more phone and Internet subscriptions, helping the top U.S. cable operator fight competition from phone and satellite companies for video subscribers. It reported 361,000 new high-speed Internet customers and 375,000 new digital phone subscribers in the third quarter, offsetting the loss of 132,000 […]

November 5, 2009

Time Warner boosted by cable growth

Time Warner raised its profit outlook for 2009 boosted by better than expected results at its cable channels and films division, even as it reported a 40 per cent lower net income for the third quarter. The owner of CNN and the Warner Bros movie studio said it will take a $100 million charge for […]

November 5, 2009