Advanced Television

Results

Virgin TV customer record

Virgin Media added 61,100 new cable TV customers in the final quarter claiming its best growth for seven years. It added a net figure of 24,400 new customers during the period. This was up from 13,000 in the previous quarter. The churn fell by 0.3 per cent to 1.4 per cent. It also added 106,200 […]

February 29, 2008

BBC to plug C4 funding gap?

Channel 4 could be given a stake in the BBC’s commercial arm and launch a series of joint ventures with public bodies under radical plans being considered to plug a £100 million (E139m) funding gap. The Guardian reported that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is examining a proposal for Channel 4 and […]

February 29, 2008

DISH slow Q4

DISH Network said it added about 85,000 net new subscribers in the quarter, giving the company about 13.78 million subscribers at the close of December. In fourth quarter 2006, the company reported about 350,000 net new subscribers. CEO Charlie Ergen called fourth quarter results for the DBS service “disappointing,” blaming sluggish economic conditions and intense […]

February 28, 2008

Sirius narrows loss

Sirius Satellite Radio says a surge in subs helped it narrow losses in Q4 to $166m down from $245m a year ago. It ended the quarter with 8.3m subs, up 2.3m on a year ago. This pushed revenue higher to $249.8m. The company is still waiting for a regulatory ruling on its bid to buy […]

February 27, 2008

SES falls

SES Global reported profit and turnover down but declared it was still in the market for small add on acquisitions despite its failed offer for Spacecom of Israel. Net profit fell by 7 per cent to E404 million from the previous year's E435.8 million, mainly on interest charges related to the debt incurred in the […]

February 19, 2008

Q4 in Latin America for DirecTV

DirecTV Latin America achieved net subscriber additions of 199,000 in the quarter, a jump the company attributed to strong customer growth in Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina. The total number of DirecTV subscribers in Latin America as of December 31 increased 21 percent to 3.28 million, compared to 2.71 million as of December 2006. Revenues for […]

February 19, 2008

Eutelsat profits up

Eutelsat Communications said first half net profit was E94.7 million, up from E79.9 million a year earlier, driven by strong business growth from two key sectors using satellite communications, digital TV and high-speed internet. EBITDA was E349.2 million, up from E329.6 million. Sales were E429.4 million, up from E415.3 million.

February 15, 2008

MTG Q4

Modern Times Group posted a 40 per cent increase in fourth quarter pre-tax profit to a better-than-expected SEK607 million, helped by organic sales growth, acquisitions, and sharply increased margins at its free-to-air Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe divisions. For the full year group sales were up 12 per cent year on year to SEK […]

February 15, 2008

DirecTV up on quarter

DirecTV reported that fourth quarter 2007 revenues increased 17 per cent to $4.88 billion, and operating profit increased 4 per cent to $617 million compared to last year’s fourth quarter. “DirecTV’s content and service leadership continue to drive superior results in a tougher marketplace that reflects increasing competition and a slowing economy. Advanced services–including the […]

February 14, 2008

BBC in private equity talks

BBC World, the commercial arm of the BBC, has confirmed it is in talks with private equity groups to raise funds for possible acquisitions. The Times suggested it wanted to raise up to £1 billion (E1.38bn). The BBC has a £350 million commercial borrowing limit set by government. In recent years it has borrowed some […]

February 8, 2008