CMA aims for decision on £55bn Microsoft-Activision deal by 29 August July 31, 2023 The UK’s competition watchdog has opened up its inquiry into Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal for comments, as it aims for a final decision by Aug. 29 on a £55bn takeover it had previously blocked in April. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also on Monday published Microsoft’s arguments explaining why the deal should be re-evaluated, as the [...]
Telegraph and Spectator appoint Goldman Sachs to run sale July 28, 2023 The boards of the Telegraph and The Spectator have appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs and law firm Linklaters to advise on their sale, they said in a statement on Friday. Lender Lloyds Banking Group seized control of the centre-right Daily and Sunday Telegraph and the politics-led Spectator last month after their ultimate owners, the Barclay family, failed to [...]
ITV earnings plunge over 50 per cent amid ‘challenging’ ad market July 27, 2023 British broadcaster ITV reported a steep drop earnings today as it grapples with the downturn in the advertising market. The streaming giant said their group adjusted EBITA plummeted to 52 per cent to £152m in the six months ending June 30, down from £318m in the first half of 2022. ITV said this reflected “the challenging advertising [...]
BT: Departing Jansen’s investment in fibre and Openreach pays off with revenue jump July 27, 2023 Telecoms giant BT has today reported a notch up in revenue after continued successful roll out of their Openreach full fibre broadband. The British mobile network operator’s revenue grew to nearly £5.2m in the first quarter this year, up four per cent from the same period in 2022. This was mainly driven by revenue from [...]
Spotify subscribers hit a high as it hikes rate prices July 25, 2023 More Spotify listeners are tuning in to the app’s services than ever as the Swedish streamer cranks up its premium prices looking to bolster profits. Subscribers to the streamer’s premium ad-free service have leaped by 10m since the previous quarter, up to 220m, Spotify reported today in their second quarter earnings. Monthly active users also [...]
Virgin Media O2 to slash 2,000 jobs as it tries to rid itself of billions in debt July 25, 2023 Virgin Media O2 has revealed plans to slash 2,000 jobs by the end of the year. The telecoms giant issued redundancy notices yesterday evening as part of their effort to streamline operations. The cuts, which include around 800 previously reported job reductions, will affect over 12 per cent of the company’s current workforce. Virgin Media [...]
Telegraph owner ‘confident’ of reaching 1m subscribers this year as bidders circle in ongoing sale July 25, 2023 The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) said it is on track to reach 1m subscribers this year as bidders circle to buy the newspaper owner. The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph publisher reported strong subscription figures this morning, up two per cent to 734,000. TMG said it was “confidently” on target to hit 1m by the [...]
Reach: Mirror and Express publisher’s digital revenue hit by Facebook changes – but print shows promise July 25, 2023 Reach, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Express newspapers, revealed a decline in digital but print has shown promising signs, as circulation revenue grows and print costs fall. The company reported digital revenues are down over 16 per cent from the same period last year to £217m, as page views tumble and lower referral [...]
Barbenheimer lights up cinemas but strikes cast shadow on industry’s future July 24, 2023 Barbie and Oppenheimer, the pop culture power movie duo nicknamed Barbenheimer, had a triumphant opening weekend, reviving cinemas to their pre-pandemic glory – if only for a fleeting weekend. Vue cinemas witnessed their biggest weekend since 2019, raking in nearly £30m at the UK box office according to the UK Cinema Association, as over 500,000 [...]
Vodafone slows decline in Europe as new CFO inherits all-too-red balance sheet July 24, 2023 Vodafone has managed to slow revenue declines in vital European markets as CEO Margherita Della Valle looks to turn around the ailing telecoms giant. In what it described as a “better” first quarterly earnings report than what was forecast, Vodafone told markets it had seen a near-6 per cent year on year revenue uplift in [...]