The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of the German cable network operator Unitymedia by Liberty Global. The Commission concluded that the concentration would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

BSkyB has been ordered to reduce its stake in commercial broadcasting rival ITV by the UK Court of Appeal. In the fourth ruling since BSkyB acquired the shareholding in November 2006, the UK courts decreed that Sky must sell the stake down to less than 7.5 per cent, in line with the Competition Commission ruling. […]

News Corp is to increase its stake in German pay-TV provider Sky Deutschland from 39.96 per cent to 45.42 per cent via a Sky Deutschland share issue. News Corp will invest E110m aimed at its marketing and sales activities, including direct marketing to subscribers, and to expand its HD offer. The pay-TV provider plans to […]

The French DTT distributor TV Numeric is to acquire one of its top competitors – TNtop TV, the French subsidiary of the UK's Top Up TV. TV Numeric says it intends to harness the acquisition to launch push-VOD systems on DTT. The company is currently preparing its first push-VOD technical tests in areas of Normandy.

In 2009 UK media deals hit their lowest levels since the dot com crash as deal volume fell 36 per cent on the previous year, PricewaterhouseCoopers has reported. But the transformation of traditional media companies, continued reduction of debt levels, and a steadily strengthening economy all signpost a rise in M&A activity in 2010. Just […]

Time Warner is near to gaining the regulatory approvals needed to to complete its $160 million purchase Disney and Sony's combined one-third stake in HBO Central Europe, which operates seven channels. The deal will complete its consolidation of ownership of all HBO international operations.

Liberty Global's John Malone has denied reports in Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the company will make further cable acquisitions in Germany. The newspaper, quoting company sources, said Malone was looking at Kabel Baden-Wuerttemberg and ultimately the goal is to have a countrywide cable offering. The owners of both Kabel Baden- Wuerttemberg and Kabel Deutschland are […]

Motorola is to acquire the assets of SecureM and its wholly owned subsidiaries, together operating as SecureMedia, a developer of software-based digital rights management (DRM) and security systems for IP video distribution and management. SecureMedia will now become part of Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business. SecureMedia develops and markets software systems for securing the […]

SeaChange International is to acquire all of VividLogic, a privately-owned California-based company that provides software and services to cable television service providers, set-top box manufacturers and consumer electronics (CE) suppliers. Its software products include tru2way, Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) and Globally Executable MHP (GEM)-based IPTV operability for set-top box and CE manufacturers, and in-home content […]

The US Department of Justice will join the Federal Communications Commission in reviewing Comcast’s $30 billion deal to take control of General Electric’s NBC Universal. Comcast’s proposed deal with General Electric for NBC Universal would hand the country’s number 1 cable operator control of a major broadcast network, 26 TV stations, several cable channels and […]