A large percentage of the BBC’s £130 million-a-year (E141m) digital switchover surplus licence fee money is expected to be taken by comms minister Lord Carter to help achieve his goal of getting broadband in every UK home by 2012. It has been reported that the outline of a deal has been reached, although the full […]

Thomson group has warned it is likely to breach certain debt covenants and needed to bolster its balance sheet, notably by selling more non-core activities. The loss-making company said it would sell businesses which contributed around E1 billion to 2008 sales, including Grass Valley and PRN, for which it has already received expressions of interest, […]

The UK’s Intellectual Property minister David Lammy has said the government will not force Internet service providers to pursue file sharers. This despite signals from government they would force ISPs to clamp down Lammy said legislation would be too complex: “We can’t have a system where we’re talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms,” he […]

The theory that home-entertainment wins out in a recession is proved again with the latest results from BSkyB. Europe's biggest pay-TV operation announced net customer growth of 171,000 for the second quarter (to December 31, 2008), up from 167,000 for the like period a year earlier. Total base is now 9.24m. Like for like operating […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid Spain’s Telecommunications Market Commission (CMT) has freed Telefonica from the obligation of sharing its network with other operators for speeds over 30Mbps. Below that speed, the company will have to offer rivals a wholesale service, whether offered via the copper wire network or its new fibre optic network. It […]

Verizon, the US' second largest telco, said its earnings increased 15 percent in the fourth quarter, as the shrinking economy did little to dampen appetites for wireless, Internet and TV service. The company said it earned $1.24 billion, up from $1.07 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.4 percent to $24.6 billion from a year […]

The Private Media Group has completed the acquisition of GameLink, a leading US adult internet VOD and eCommerce company, in exchange for common stock of Private. "The acquisition will enhance Private's strategic digital media focus as a dominant and uniquely positioned global content production, distribution and development company in both the adult and mainstream entertainment […]

Sony has said it expects to post a record annual operating loss of nearly $3 billion because of the rapid deterioration of the global economy. It also announced a major overhaul that would include layoffs and factory closings. "The massive economic upheaval being experienced across the world is sparing no one in the consumer electronics […]

Sirius XM Radio Inc plans to increase prices for subscribers with multiple accounts and begin to charge for its online music feed. While it is keeping its core rates unchanged — a condition to which Sirius and XM Satellite Radio agreed last year in order to close their merger — the move could anger subscribers […]

Virgin Media is considering whether to delist on New York's Nasdaq – a legacy of its ntl past – in favour of listing back at home in the UK, as part of a review of company finances. "Our new CFO is looking at our capital structure, including how we are listed and what our dividend […]