A couple of days ago we reported that Egypt’s giant – but cash-strapped – Radio & Television Union (ERTU) was receiving about €27 million in emergency funding in order to pay salaries. Now the country’s government is working on a scheme to dramatically increase its TV licence fees. Today’s charge for watching TV is collected […]
Egypt’s giant public broadcaster, for some time suffering near-bankruptcy, has been rescued with a Egy£200 million cash injection (€27.14m). Egypt’s Radio and Television Union ERTU) has struggled for years with massive over-manning, and more than a few cases of senior level corruption, and while the Arab Spring revolution brought with it some potential benefits for […]
India’s cable DEN Networks has a new shareholder in the shape of US investment fund Teachers Insurance Annuity/College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA/CREF), which has bought 1.3 million shares (about 1 per cent) of DEN paying Rs 145 million ($2.6m), and taking TIAA/CREFR’s total holding to 5.93 per cent. The stake makes the Teachers/College fund the […]
Media and entertainment technologist Technicolor is to start selling as much as €191 million worth of new shares to equity fund Vector Capital Group on July 16th to raise cash to reduce its debt. The capital increase, in which Vector will receive 18 per cent to 29.94 per cent of Technicolor’s equity, was approved in […]
A note to clients from investment bank Morgan Stanley suggests that pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB is to extend its share-buyback/cash return policy. The bank says that BSkyB has already spent about £550 million (€679m) of the £750 million it earmarked for buying back its own stock from investors. It bought back another 23,000 shares early on […]
Following a General Shareholders’ Meeting, media and entertainment technologist Technicolor has confirmed that the shareholders approved by a large majority the resolutions relating to the transaction proposed by Vector Capital Corporation (Vector) in its offer dated May 25 and amended on June 13. Vector will become Technicolor’s main shareholder, despite the board’s recommendation to vote […]
Ooyala has announced it has raised $35 million in new capital to aggressively standardise digital video experiences provided by multi-service operators (MSOs) and TV programmers worldwide on the Ooyala video streaming, monetisation and discovery platform. Telstra Applications and Ventures Group, a subsidiary of Australia’s largest telecommunications and information services company Telstra, led the Series E […]
Following confirmation May 30th that its Board of Directors had unanimously resolved to recommend to the Company’s shareholders that they vote in favour of a funding package proposed by JP Morgan, the media and entertainment technology specialist has clarified its position, following discussions with the France’s financial regulator, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). In accordance […]
Spanish households will have to pay the bill for the second digital migration to be started this autumn and completed before January 2014 , one year earlier than expected, within the so-called digital dividend allocation plan. Contrary to initial expectations, there will be hardly any public funds to finance the migration as the Administration will […]
The Board of Directors of Technicolor, the troubled French cinema production services provider and manufacturer of television set-top boxes, meeting May 29 in Paris, unanimously resolved to recommend to the Company’s shareholders that they vote in favour of the resolutions relating to the implementation of the transaction agreed between Jesper Cooperatief U.A., an entity controlled […]