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Profit falls, sales rise at News Corp

News Corp first-quarter profit fell 13 per cent from a year earlier, when the sale of investments boosted results by $428 million (E291m). Income dropped to $732 million from $843 million a year earlier. Sales rose 19 per cent to $7.07 billion. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch highlighted the results at Fox Interactive Media, that […]

November 9, 2007

ITV wants Sky out

ITV has told the UK Competition Commission it wants Sky off its share register. The broadcaster said Sky’s ability to influence ITV’s decisions on planned investments would lead to a "substantial loosening" of competition, which required a "comprehensive and effective" remedy. In its submission to the Commission, which is currently investigating Sky’s stake, ITV said […]

November 8, 2007

Virgin hails Q3 upturn

Virgin Media added 13,000 new customers in the third quarter of the year, hailing a “significant turnaround” in its business. At the end of September it had an “on-net” customer base (the total number of subscribers to at least one of its cable services) of 4.8 million. Acting chief executive, Neil Berkett, said customer growth, […]

November 8, 2007

France considers digital dividend

French telecommunications regulator ARCEP has published a summary of its public consultation- launched July 2007 – aimed at enlightening public authorities in their work on the digital dividend conducted under the aegis of the Comité Stratégique pour le Numérique. Several players, especially from the telecommunications sector, but also a very small number of contributors from […]

November 8, 2007

New Time Warner CEO

Dick Parsons is to step down as chief executive of media giant Time Warner. Parsons will be replaced by Jeff Bewkes, the company’s president and chief operating officer, on January 1st next year. Bewkes had been chief executive at HBO where he was credited with building it into a profit driver for the company with […]

November 7, 2007

57% of DTR owners regularly time-shift their viewing

Top Up TV has revealed the results of a customer survey that revealed 57 per cent of its customers regularly use their Digital Television Recorder (DTR) to time-shift more than 50 per cent of the programmes they watch. “Our customers are time-shifting more than ever before… People want their TV viewing to fit in with […]

November 7, 2007

US TV writers strike over web revenue

Film and TV writers are to stage their first strike for two decades, after last-minute talks failed. The WGA wants writers to receive a slice of the additional advertising revenue that studios make when TV shows are streamed over the Internet. It also wants an additional reward for creating bespoke digital content for the Internet […]

November 6, 2007

Murdoch junior: Sky+ exceptional

Satellite giant BSkyB won more new customers than anticipated in its first quarter but saw pre-tax profits fall to £121 million (E174m) in the three months to 30 September compared with £166 million last year. Revenue went up by 11 per cent on the comparable period to £1,185 million. The company said it had 939,000 […]

November 6, 2007

Tele 5 performs well; Antena 3 TV, so-so

From David Del Valle in Madrid Third quarter results for Tele 5 has reaffirmed the Mediaset-controlled channel as the most profitable in Spain, both in audience ratings and in profits. The company made a net profit of E262.8 million until September, 14.6 per cent more than the same period last year. Total revenues rose 10.0 […]

November 6, 2007

Napster posts losses

Music download service Napster has reported a narrower quarterly loss as revenue increased from new mobile phone-based and existing personal computer-based services. The digital company said its fiscal second-quarter net loss was $5.1 million, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $9 million. Revenue grew 24 per cent to $31.6 million from $25.5 million a […]

November 6, 2007