Advanced Television

Business

Pluthero control at C&W

John Pluthero will assume management control of both the international and the Europe, Asia and US divisions of Cable & Wireless following the departure of Harris Jones, the international chief executive, this week. Richard Lapthone, group chairman, said Pluthero was the ideal choice to oversee the division now that the recovery phase in the Europe, […]

November 14, 2007

FCC new rules for 'saturated' cable market?

A report by the Federal Communications Commission is claimed to show that cable TV companies have reached a subscriber saturation point that may lead to the agency exerting greater regulatory authority over the industry. The finding is in an annual report that assesses competition in the pay-television market. The report will conclude that the agency […]

November 13, 2007

Regulator against Sogecable-Telefonica

From David Del Valle in Madrid The Spanish Competition authorities has started legal proceedings against the recent alliance between the Spain’s largest pay-TV group Sogecable and Telefónica to launch a joint triple play offer and joinly negotiate with TV content providers. The National Council of Competition (CNC) argues that there is evidence of an abuse […]

November 13, 2007

Four in for Numericable

Four buyout firms have been shortlisted in the race to buy British private equity firm Cinven’s 35 percent stake in French cable operator Numericable. The firms selected – PAI Partners, TPG Capital, Carlyle and Providence – must now submit a firm offer within a month, a fifth firm could still be added to the shortlist. […]

November 13, 2007

Echostar results

EchoStar Communications Corporation reported total revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter ended September 30, a 12.9 percent increase compared with $2.48 billion for the corresponding period in 2006. Net income totaled $200 million for the quarter compared with $140 million in 2006. DISH Network added approximately 110,000 net new subscribers during the third quarter […]

November 13, 2007

Cablevision loss widens

US operator Cablevision reported a wider net loss for the third quarter, but operating income rose 59 per cent as more cable TV customers signed up for high-speed Internet and digital phone services. Cablevision also trimmed its forecast for full-year growth in cash flow, from 10 per cent to 9 per cent, and said it […]

November 12, 2007

Liberty Global Q3

International cable group Liberty Global third-quarter profit fell from last year, when it recorded a gain on the sale of assets in France, Norway and Sweden. Liberty said it expects the fourth quarter to be the biggest quarter of the year in terms of subscriber growth, and that it expects to grow operating cash flow […]

November 12, 2007

Télédiffusion acquires Media&Broadcast from Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom has concluded an agreement with the French TDF group on the sale of T-Systems Media&Broadcast. The transaction has an enterprise value of E0.85 billion. The sale of Media&Broadcast is part of the 'Focus, fix and grow' strategy presented to the public by the Deutsche Telekom in March.

November 9, 2007

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

DirecTV dips on Q3

DirecTV’s third-quarter net income dropped 14 per cent as the company spent more to provide customers with high-definition channels and digital video recorders. The US's largest satellite-TV operator reported net income of $319 million (E217m), compared with $370.2 million a year earlier. Results in the year-ago quarter included a pretax gain of $61 million related […]

November 9, 2007