Sky has reportedly tabled a £160m (E183m) bid to buy Virgin Media’s seven digital TV channels – this is said to be 60% more than any offer made by rival bidders including Channel 4, RTL, Time Warner and NBC Universal. The seven channels are Living, Living Two, Bravo, Bravo Two, Challenge, Challenge Jackpot and Virgin1. […]

Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has posted its fiscal results for the year ended 31 March 2009, recording a 14.5 per cent rise in revenue to E1.37 billion. The German cable operator announced a record increase in EBITDA to E570.7 million, up 24.7 per cent compared with the 2007/08, exceeding the guidance of E565 million. At March […]

Joanna Shields is leaving her post as head of people networks at AOL 14 months after the group paid – in its own words – 'a generouos' $850m for Bebo, where she was CEO. AOL said Shields will stay on as an advisor to AOL on its acquisitions and new ventures. …

Time Warner is close to spinning off all of its AOL Internet business, according to several reports. Although a decision has not been finalised, executives prefer spinning off the whole division rather than a part. Since Microsoft launched a bid to take over Yahoo last year, Time Warner has attempted to find potential combinations of […]

TiVo posted its second straight quarterly loss on Wednesday, but it was smaller than expected as the company reined in costs to offset sliding revenue and slowing user growth. The company said it swung to a net loss of $4.1 million from a profit of $3.6 million a year earlier. Revenue in the period, which […]

In a bizarre juxtaposition of brand names, Virgin Media's Richard Branson is said to be mulling a bid for Private Media, owner of the Playboy brand. A number of PE firms have reportedly balked at Playboy Enterprises' $300 million asking price, but Richard Branson's name has been increasingly mentioned as a prospective buyer. The company […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid Approval last week of new legislation that allows TV cross-ownership has paved the way for a planned merger between the Spanish commercial channels Sogecable-controlled Cuatro and La Sexta. Both companies have been negotiating over the last weeks to set up a holding group that would encompass the two channels […]

From Colin Mann in Cologne ActiveVideo Networks has revealed that is to acquire interactive TV platforms and tools specialist Avinity Systems BV, bringing together two leading providers of cloud-based interactive TV platforms and applications, and expanding the reach and availability of the Web-based user experiences that are redefining interactive television (iTV 2.0). The transaction will […]

Orange has confirmed it has dropped out of talks to purchase the technology for Project Kangaroo, the failed VOD joint venture from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. France Telecom, Orange parent company, had been in discussions to acquire the technology since the UK’s Competition Commission banned the project earlier this year. However, France Telecom […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid The largest Spanish cable operator, ONO, ended the first quarter with a net profit of E12.06 million, 61.4 per cent up than the same period the previous year, in spite of the fact that its revenues fell by 3.2 per cent to E338 million and its subs dropped by […]