The chief executive of Vivendi has dismissed renewed talk on that his group may sell pay-TV unit Canal Plus. The statement followed speculation that the French media giant might exit Canal Plus in order to buy telecom operator Neuf Cegetel and so avoid possible competition issues. Vivendi has a 56 per cent stake in mobile […]

Former Channel 4 managing director David Scott has been appointed chief executive of analogue TV switchover body Digital UK. Scott will take up the post, which puts him in overall charge of the switchover programme, when current director Ford Ennals leaves in February 2008. Scott was a member of the original management team which launched […]

Ofcom has raised possible concerns over competition within the UK pay TV sector. The concerns are raised in a consultation document investigating the pay TV market. Ofcom launched an investigation into the pay TV industry in March, following a submission from a group including Virgin Media. The submission came after Virgin lost access to some […]

More American TV households are receiving video programming via an alternate delivery system (ADS) than ever before while MSOs' penetration continued to fall, according to a TVB analysis of Nielsen Media Research data for November 2007. Fifteen DMAs (Designated Market Areas) are now majority-ADS markets, where more viewers are watching via satellite than over wired […]

It appears AT&T will utilise DISH Network as its sole satellite TV platform. AT&T confirmed it would market and sell EchoStar’s DISH Network as its exclusive satellite TV service until the deal between the companies expires in late 2008. The telco will stop selling DirecTV in the first quarter. While DISH will remain an AT&T […]

Rupert Murdoch has effectively confirmed son James Murdoch is his choice to take over News Corp. For now, James moves up at Sky to become non-exec chairman, while becoming CEO for News Corp outside the US. Meantime, Rupert Murdoch leaves the board of Sky – where News Corp owns 39 per cent – after 18 […]

BSkyB's rivals have made a joint submission to Ofcom saying it should give them “economically viable” access to its premium programming or face the separation of its channels and satellite distribution business. The submission is from BT Vision, Setanta Sports, Top Up TV and Virgin Media. BSkyB's submission to the communications regulator's investigation into the […]

From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris The AB group has concluded a range of deals ahead of its launch of the low cost satellite platform Bis Television next week. The basic Bis package costs just E4.90 a month for 25 channels, with film and adult add-on options costing an extra E4.90 a month each. AB has […]

Pay-TV broadcaster Setanta Sports has signed up its millionth subscriber a few months after it began screening live Premiership football matches. The figure, up from just 200,000 subscribers a year ago, excludes more than 2 million viewers who receive the service through their contracts with Virgin Media in the UK and ntl/Chorus in Ireland. It […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid The Sogecable-Telefonica's pay-TV offer launched this weekend following the expiry of the Government's 34 conditions on the digital DTH merger between the former Sogecable-controlled Canal Satelite and Telefonica-led Via Digital. One of the conditions adopted by the Government in 2002 to approve the digital merger prevented both companies from […]