Virgin Media TV is to close its teenage pay-TV channel Trouble within months as Virgin gets ready to off-load its content business. Reports say it plans to close Trouble and launch a new version of its popular Living channel in its place. Virgin Media has appointed UBS to sell its content division for sale and […]

Gerhard Zeiler CEO of RTL Group said it would allow the government to retain a majority stake in any merger with Channel 4, as he wrote down the value of the UK channel by E337m slashing its value by half. Zeiler stressed he is committed to the UK and said a merger between Five and […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid Spain’s largest cable company ONO has reduced by 87 per cent its losses in 2008 to E26 million and now hopes to end the current year breaking even. ONO’s EBITDA was E703 million, up 10.6 per cent. Total revenues were 0.8 per cent down to E1.603 billion, with residential […]

France’s culture minister has defended a new bill clamping down on Internet piracy that is backed by music artists but opposed by consumer groups. The proposed “creation and Internet law” has stirred controversy over a provision allowing a state agency to cut off Internet access for up to a year to those caught illegally downloading […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid Spain’s broadcasting agency Abertis Telecom, shareholder in satellites Hispasat and Eutelsat, has rejected SES Astra’s charges of favouritism in the Spanish DTT market before the European Union. In a letter to the European Competition and to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, the company has defended the Spain’s DTT model […]

SeaChange International, provider of software and hardware services that support video-on-demand television, reported that fourth-quarter revenues rose 13 per cent to $54 million. Fourth-quarter net income was $4.8 million, down from $12 million in the comparable quarter a year ago; the year-ago quarter included a one-time $10 million gain, the company said. "Despite the challenging […]

Harmonic has completed the acquisition of Scopus Video Networks for approximately $50 million, net of Scopus’ cash and short-term investments. The acquisition strengthens Harmonic’s technology and market leadership, particularly in the broadcast contribution and distribution markets, in addition to increasing the global customer base. Scopus’ customers will be supported by the expanded regional Harmonic sales […]

In its second management upheaval in two years, Time Warner has lured Tim Armstrong, the president of Google's North American sales team, to be chief executive of AOL.

ITN has appointed John Hardie, a senior executive at Disney and former ITV commercial director, as its chief executive. Hardie, who succeeds Mark Wood who left ITN in February after six years, takes up the role in June. Hardie, 47, executive vice-president and managing director of Walt Disney Television across Europe, Middle East and Africa, […]

Oxford Economics institute in UK says online piracy cost the industry £235 million (E253m) in 2008 – that's nearly half of the £531 million the group says was lost to piracy of all kinds. But the annual online loss could be reduced to £83.2 million if downloaders received an ISP warning and if detection technologies […]