Advanced Television

M&A

BSkyB: “Fair price is £9.50”

Fidelity Investments, one of the smaller investors in BSkyB, says a fair price for its holdings would be 950p (€1.1) a share, and letting it be known that News Corp should dig deeper into its pockets and pay a big premium over the offer price of 700p already on the table. BSkyB’s share price was […]

March 7, 2011By Chris Forrester

CBS buys Clicker, gains digital exec

CBS has acquired Clicker Media, a service that creates a guide for TV shows broadcast over the Web, and named the its top executive as the new head of CBS Interactive. Jim Lanzone will succeed Neil Ashe in running CBS Interactive, the digital division that includes CNET.com, TV.com, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSNews.com and Gamespot.com. CBS did […]

March 7, 2011

Sony acquires Hawk-Eye

Sony has confirmed the acquisition of Hawk-Eye, a UK based company that specialises in providing tracking technology to sports events and broadcasters. Hawk-Eye’s capabilities, based on vision processing and triangulation, coupled with Sony’s AV production and B2B solutions will enable the delivery of managed services and innovative solutions for Sports Stadia and Broadcasters.

March 7, 2011

Providence sells half KDG stake

Providence Equity Partners has sold half its stake in Kabel Deutschland (KDG) on the market. The investor reduced its stake from 43.7 per cent to 22 per cent realising about €760 million for its shares. The sale is six months after the IPO when Providence sold 17 per cent of its then controlling stake. KDG, […]

March 4, 2011

Canal Plus breaks TPS pledges

Vivendi’s Canal Plus unit didn’t abide by commitments made to France’s antitrust regulator when it bought a rival in 2006, French newspaper La Tribune has reported, saying it has seen a preliminary report by the regulator. The authority is probing Canal Plus’s practices following the purchase of competitor TPS, and is expected to publish the […]

March 4, 2011

Romania DTH consolidation

Boom TV, a struggling DTH operator in Romania owned by Israel’s DTH Television Grp, is being bought out of liquidation by Romtelecom. Boom was a late-starter in the over-crowded Romanian television market and has always struggled to make headway. Its signals are carried on the Amos satellites, owned and operated by Spacecom. Romtelecom is paying […]

March 3, 2011By Chris Forrester

News Corp: Sky takeover cleared

As expected, Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary, has cleared the News Corp takeover of the 61 per cent of Sky it doesn’t already own. In a compromise to avert concerns on plurality in the UK news market, Sky News will be spun off as a separate UK PLC with shares distributed to BSkyB stockholders on their […]

March 3, 2011

Reaction to Sky News spin-off deal

Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary, who approved the deal says:  “Informed by advice from the regulators, I believe that these will address concerns about media plurality should the proposed News Corporation/BSkyB merger go ahead. The undertakings offered would ensure that shareholdings in Sky News would remain unchanged, and indeed offer it more independence from News Corporation […]

March 3, 2011

Read the Ofcom advice

Ofcom has published its advice to Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary, that finally recommended accepting the Undertakings in Lieu (UILs) offered by News Corp as a condition of approval of its takeover of Sky. Hunt has given approval and nominated a further period of public consultation on his decision through to March 21st. The letters show […]

March 3, 2011

Austar reveals Foxtel takeover talks

Satellite television services provider Austar has acknowledged speculation that its larger rival, Foxtel, is mulling a takeover. In a market announcement, Austar said it had understood that there had been verbal discussions between Foxtel and controlling Austar shareholder Liberty Media in relation to a possible acquisition. But it added that it had not received a […]

March 2, 2011