Advanced Television

M&A

BSkyB considers Arabic news service

BSkyB is in talks to broadcast a 24-hour rolling news service in Arabic, based in Abu Dhabi, as part of a joint venture with a local private investor, according to reports. Entering a highly competitive market, the satellite channel would launch under the Sky News name and be the UK broadcaster’s first venture into a […]

July 14, 2010

News Corp buys Skiff

News Corp has made its latest move in digital content exploitation by acquiring e-reader platform Skiff and investing in a company that develops paid content models for publishers. News Corporation, which is close to charging customers for access to the Times and Sunday Times online, said that the two deals represented “key building blocks” in […]

June 16, 2010

StarHub offers mobile TV with SeaChange

Singapore's fully-integrated info-communications provider StarHub has deployed SeaChange International's Intelligent Video Platform in support of its mobile TV service. Providing a unified and open back office software solution for high-quality streaming over StarHub's mobile network to any mobile device, the Intelligent Video Platform was implemented on the “StarHub TV on Mobile” service this month. StarHub […]

June 16, 2010

Cablevision acquires Bresnan Communications

Cablevision Systems has bought Bresnan Communications, which is majority owned by Providence Equity Partners, for $1.365 billion. Bresnan is the thirteenth largest MSO in the US with cable operating systems in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah that pass more than 630,000 homes and serve more than 300,000 basic subscribers.

June 15, 2010

Prisa to take over US channel V-me Media

From David Del Valle in Madrid The Spanish media group that controls Digital Plus and Cuatro TV is investing E31.5 million to acquire a 51 per cent of the US Spanish-speaking US TV channel V-me Media. Initially, Prisa will invest E3.3 million to control a 23 per cent stake; another investment of E8.2 will be […]

June 15, 2010

Motorola eyes more TV acquisitions

Motorola may well target more acquisitions in the broadcast technology sector. The company's Motorola Home division –due to be split from the mobile business later this year – has already purchased a digital rights management developer and a content management systems firm. BitBand was bought in November 2009 with DRM specialist SecureMedia following soon after […]

June 14, 2010

Sonic, DivX to create digital video delivery powerhouse

Premium video content technology and services provider Sonic Solutions and digital media company DivX have jointly announced a definitive agreement that will see Sonic Solutions acquire DivX. Under the terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Sonic would acquire all the outstanding shares of DivX and merge DivX operations […]

June 3, 2010

Seachange profits surge

SeaChange International has reported its fiscal first-quarter profit surged on higher sales of software for video-on-demand television services. SeaChange also forecast second-quarter profit and revenue in line with Wall Street expectations. The company reported net income of $24.6 million for the three months ended April 30th, compared with a profit of only $1 million in […]

May 31, 2010

Hulu may be price of Comcast / NBCU merger

The US Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, is trying to impose strong conditions on the Comcast/NBCU deal, including that it divest its stake in online video site Hulu within a year. The committee has written to the FCC saying the proposed joint venture “has the potential for serious anticompetitive and anti-consumer effects in at least three […]

May 28, 2010

NeuLion agrees to acquire TransVideo

NeuLion, an end-to-end IPTV service provider, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the operating interests of TransVideo, a manufacturer of set top boxes utilised by the company, in exchange for 22,000,802 Company common shares. TransVideo shareholders will own approximately 15 per cent of the company, on a fully diluted basis, upon the consummation […]

May 21, 2010