Balderton Capital, the UK venture capital group that backed the Betfair gambling website and Setanta, the pay-TV broadcaster, has defied the gloom in financial markets saying it has raised £282m (E358m) for technology and media investments. Founded in 2000 as the London-based arm of Benchmark Capital, the Silicon Valley venture capital group, Balderton has become […]
Time Warner announced it will record some $25 billion in write-downs for the fourth quarter, with nearly $15 billion of it coming from Time Warner Cable. Time Warner, which owns 85% of the cable company but has been planning to spin off the stake to shareholders, said beyond the cable business, the write-downs will involve […]
Set-top box maker Pace said it was confident in meeting City expectations for 2009, thanks to ongoing strong demand. The company, which confirmed it expected to meet 2008 forecasts, said it was continuing to take a prudent view of the market given the global economic downturn. Pace had previously said that the strong dollar would […]
The UK government is considering four options to solve Channel 4’s funding crisis, including privatisation and a potential tie-up with BBC Worldwide. Lord Carter, minister for communications, technology and broadcasting, is likely to outline his proposals when the interim report of his Digital Britain panel is published at the end of January. Ofcom is scheduled […]
Viacom has announced a major restructuring across its entire global business, which including MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures. It will cut jobs in all divisions of the company, which will result in the reduction of its workforce by approximately 850 posts or 7% of the staff. The company is also suspending senior level management salary […]
Time Warner Cable will likely sell fewer than expected video, Internet and phone subscriptions this year, and expects a further decline next year due to the worsening U.S. economy, Chief Financial Officer Rob Marcus said. “In 2008, we’re on track to deliver less than 2.5 million additional revenue-generating units,” Marcus told the Reuters Media Summit […]
Russian telco Comstar has reported a 22 per cent year-on-year increase in third-quarter core earnings, but has said it would cut capital expenditure due to the financial crisis. Comstar said its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortisation reached $184.8 million, higher than the average forecast of $163.6 million. Its OIBDA margin increased to 43.8 […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid Spain’s largest cable operator ONO lost 19,000 subs in the third quarter which the company blamed on the deteriorating economic environment and a lack of commercial activity during summer time. ONO ended the third quarter with 1,935,636 total subs, with telephony experiencing the sharpest decline losing more than 7,000 […]
TiVo reported a record profit for the third quarter ended October 31, of $100.6 million, but that was based mainly on the $105 million in damages the company received from satellite operator Dish Network and its set-top supplier EchoStar Corp. relating to patent litigation. Without the Dish/EchoStar damages award, the company would have posted a […]
BskyB is to raise $600m in a bond issue to institutional investors to provide funding for activities including possible acquisitions and the refinancing of debt. It launched a private placement late yesterday of 10-year bond notes at 9.5% interest. “It is expected that the net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate […]