Oracle has joined the race to acquire the US operations of Chinese-owned social media app TikTok. Microsoft had been the clear favourite to purchase the operations – valued in excess of $20 billion – whilst Twitter has also been touted as a potential buyer. But now Oracle, the software multinational, has emerged as a serious […]

HBO Europe has appointed Christian Wikander as Commissioning Editor and VP Original Programming at the company’s Scandinavian arm, HBO Nordic. Wikander will assume the role in September and will be responsible for all Nordic development and production for HBO Europe. Based in Stockholm, he will report to Antony Root, EVP Original Programming and Production. Wikander […]

Thomas Rabe, CEO/chairman of Bertelsmann, has shared his view that there’s a strong case and a need for consolidation amongst streaming platforms. His comments prompted a note to clients from a couple of investment banks. Exane/BNPP asked: “Does this give RTL the impetus to be the European broadcasting champion?” The bank adds: “As a reminder, […]

Plantronics (Poly), a global communications company that powers human connection and collaboration, has announced the appointment of Dave Shull as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors effective September 8th. Shull succeeds Robert Hagerty, who has served as Interim Chief Executive Officer since February 2020. Hagerty will continue in […]

Teleste, the Finnish broadband technology provider, saw sales fall significantly in Q2 as network upgrades were halted due to Covid-19 restrictions. Group net sales fell 20.7 per cent to €33.5 million for the quarter, and the company posted a loss of €2 million compared with a profit for €1.4 million for the prior year period. […]

Thomas Rabe, chief executive and chairman of Bertelsmann says regulators should allow European media companies to scout mergers and partnerships to enable them to compete with US streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney+. Rabe told the FT that the economic impact of coronavirus on the industry had strengthened his view that it will be […]

DirecTV’s Venezuela unit is being bought by a Chilean-based venture capital business. The new owner, Scale Capital, says it will provide a free service to existing subscribers to compensate for recent outages, according to Bloomberg. The former boss of the unit, Alexander Elorragia, will be a director of the new business. DirecTV has been stuck […]

DoubleVerify (DV), a software platform for digital media measurement, data and analytics, has announced the appointment of Jack Smith as Chief Product Officer, Demand Solutions. In this newly created role, Smith will be responsible for advancing DV’s agency and brand advertiser solutions portfolio, with a focus on high-growth emerging channels, such as CTV. Smith will […]

Virgin Media abruptly halted eir Sport’s broadcast of its Champions quarter-final between Atletico Madrid vs RB Leipzig on August 13th. Virgin Media, which owns the rights to show Champions League games on Irish television, tweeted: “We have suspended our supply of Virgin Media Sport and Virgin Media Sport Extra to eir Sport because eir has […]