The continuing costs related to the hacking of its encryption system took Premiere to its fourth consecutive quarterly loss in the third quarter. A negative EBITDA of E27.2 million in Q3 2008 compared to the positive E22m in the same quarter of last year. Increased costs on transmission, hardware and sales pushed operating costs up […]
Virgin Media has had a competition tribunal appeal rejected that, if upheld, could have resulted in rival pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB being forced to sell its entire 17.9 per cent stake in ITV. Last month Virgin Media lodged an appeal arguing that the Competition Commission failed to properly consider special rules governing the plurality of media […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid Despite the current pay-TV deadlock in the country, the latest report by PricewaterhouseCoopers forecast that the market will experience a 16.5 per cent annual growth over the next five years. Currently, there are around 4 million pay-TV subscribers in Spain, with Sogecable-owned satellite platform Digital Plus taking the lion’s […]
BskyB is facing a "perfect storm" according to a melodramatic note from broker Collin's Stewart on the day Sky shares plumbed a three-year low. The on-coming recession, threats from changing technology and tighter regulation threaten to demolish its core business model, says the broker. It warns Sky risks missing its target of 10 million pay […]
Almost a quarter of UK pay-TV customers are considering cutting back or dropping their subscription packages as the credit crunch takes hold. A report by Continental Research found 24 per cent of pay-TV customers surveyed planned to reduce the amount they spent on services such as movie and sports channels over the next year. The […]
Premiere's chief marketing officer Oliver Kaltner is leaving the pay-TV operation after just three months in post. In a statement, Premiere said the Supervisory Board had accepted his resignation with immediate effect."I decided to leave Premiere immediately. It has been a very difficult decision for me leaving the company after just three months. I wish […]
BSkyB is beset by competition enquiries and now Sky Italia is facing an investigation by the competition authority AGCOM into whether the pay-TV platform is abusing a dominant position.The probe, lead by the financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, was launched after a complaint from Conto TV, a third party channel carried on the Sky […]
From Branislav Pekic in RomeA Magistrate in Naples has ruled that DTH operator Sky Italia cannot impose on its subscribers the use of its own digital box.In its ruling, the justice condemned Sky Italia for “breach of contract and contractual and personal damage” towards one of its clients, identified as Mr. V.D.P., defended by the […]
Ofcom has said that BSkyB has "market power" over live Premier League football and Hollywood films and has launched a consultation that could force it to make the content available to all other pay TV operators at more competitive prices.Publishing the findings of its review of the UK pay-TV market, Ofcom said that BSkyB has […]
In more bad news for BSkyB, the company may have to sell even more of its stake in ITV than it was expecting after the Competition Appeal said an original antitrust ruling may not have been tough enough.With ITV's share price at record lows this would crystallize yet more losses on the deal for BSkyB. […]