The Spanish government is to inject new public funds into broadcaster RTVE, operator of the public channels La 1 and La 2 among other channels, by freeing it from paying VAT (value-added tax). The TV company will save €91.7 million which will mitigate its weak financial situation with a loss of €133 million in 2014. […]
Sky has invested a further $5 million in 1Mainstream, an OTT startup company that operates an automated platform for the distribution of linear and on-demand video to Internet-connected devices. The investment, which is in the form of a convertible debt security, builds on the $2 million already invested by Sky in August 2013. 1Mainstream’s platform […]
Liberty Global and Discovery Communications have signalled their growing interest in the field of premium sporting rights by becoming minority shareholders in Formula E Holdings Ltd, the company behind the organisation and promotion of the electric single-seater car race series inaugurated by motorsport’s governing body, the FIA. According to Formula E, the arrival of these […]
A cross-party gathering of UK Ministers, MPs and Peers, industry members of the Creative Industries Council (CIC) is urging political parties to continue working with industry to ensure the global success of the UK’s creative industries after the General Election. Leading figures from the creative industries are calling on politicians to make the sector, which […]
In a wide-ranging speech to staff on ‘The BBC in the Internet era’, Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, has said the Corporation will need to do even more to support creativity in the Internet age and warned against the consequences of a UK dominated by “global gatekeepers, partial news and American taste-makers”. Hall’s comments followed the […]
Internet entertainment streaming service Aereo, which late November 2015 filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 reorganisation in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, has garnered less than $2m from an auction of company’s assets, despite suggesting at the time there was “very substantial interest in the assets”. Aereo suspended […]
An influential group of UK MPs has said it sees no long-term future in the BBC licence fee and set out advantages of a broadcasting levy. It considers the BBC still a valued and important feature of national life but in need of stronger governance and more challenging, independent oversight if it is to be […]
Global rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed Sky’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured ratings at ‘BBB-‘ following the announcement of the latest English Premier League (EPL) rights auction. The Rating Outlook on the IDR is Stable. The rating affirmation takes into account the material programming cost inflation Sky faces from FY17, the […]
UK broadband cable MSO Virgin Media is embarking on ‘Project Lightning’, which it describes as the single largest investment in broadband digital infrastructure in the country for more than a decade; creating thousands of new jobs in what will be a multi-billion pound boost to the national economy. With the support of parent company Liberty […]
Satellite rocket launch company SpaceX has received a $900 million investment from Google, in order to “support continued innovation in areas of space transport, reusability and satellite manufacturing”. The amount emerged in a February 9th SEC filing in the US. SpaceX had earlier reported that it had received a $1 billion cash injection but that […]