BT’s pension deficit hits £7bn while profits rise from TV, broadband and sport customers January 30, 2015 The figures In its third quarter results, BT revealed revenue slipped two per cent to £13.2bn in the nine months to 31 December, while adjusted pre-tax profit leaped 11 per cent to £2.1bn. BT's consumer division, including TV, broadband and those all-important BT Sport customers, increased pre-tax profit by 43 per cent to £251m. Its business division also grew [...]
11 of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies are in the UK: Marks & Spencer, BT, and the London Stock Exchange January 22, 2015 The UK is home to 11 of the world's 100 most sustainable companies with Marks & Spencer, BT, and the London Stock Exchange all making it into the prestigious ranking. The other UK-based companies listed were Reckitt Benckiser, Centrica, Unilever, British Land, Sky, Pearson, BG Group and Electrocomponents. Each year media company Corporate Knights produces the ranking which measures companies' sustainability in terms [...]
BT Sport to treat US sports fans to 5,000 hours of ESPN content January 22, 2015 Team spirit is alive at BT Sport and ESPN. The two sport TV channels have signed a new seven-year agreement which will deepen their existing relationship. US based ESPN will provide BT Sport with up to 5,000 hours of programming per year for UK fans of global sports to enjoy, including coverage of the [...]
Ofcom puts BT under pressure to cut broadband cost to rivals January 15, 2015 Ofcom yesterday warned BT that it might be forced to raise broadband prices for customers or slash what it charges rivals to use its network, under tough new tests. The proposal is designed to ensure that BT cannot price rivals such as Sky and TalkTalk out of the market. Under current rules, BT allows rivals to [...]
BT to buy EE in £12.5bn deal December 15, 2014 BT is set to buy mobile phone group EE for £12.5bn, last night announcing it is in exclusive talks with the UK’s biggest mobile phone network. The deal shocked investors, who mostly expected it to choose the cheaper O2 network, which would cost it roughly £10bn and bring almost as many customers. O2 is [...]
O2 or EE? BT to announce preferred mobile operator in £10bn takeover “early next week” December 15, 2014 Mobile operators EE and O2 will this week learn whether they have won the billions of British Telecom (BT) in a takeover deal. Update: BT has confirmed it has entered into exclusive talks with EE According to a report in The Sunday Times, BT has this weekend been finalising a deal one of [...]
BT opts for EE over O2 as it enters exclusive talks over takeover worth £12.5bn December 15, 2014 BT has confirmed that it has entered into exclusive talks with mobile operator EE, which has seemingly beaten its rival O2 to the £12.5bn takeover deal. The telecoms giant said that the period of exclusivity "will last several weeks" to allow the necessary negotiations to be completed. The deal would be paid through a combination [...]
Exclusive: TalkTalk chief Dido Harding says watchdog must consider BT and Openreach split December 2, 2014 TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding has called on Ofcom to consider the separation of BT and its infrastructure arm Openreach, a move she said could create a new FTSE 100 business better incentivised for consumers. Her call comes as BT is believed to be considering asking the regulator for permission to fold its wholesale arm [...]
Sky faces its big match in fight with BT for Premier League TV football December 2, 2014 Sometime early next year – and no one knows precisely when such is the secrecy surrounding the process – the Premier League will launch an auction to decide who will broadcast live matches for three seasons from 2016-17. And analysts are divided over whether Sky, which has held most of the broadcast rights since the [...]
Sky recruits Lazard bank advisers to explore mobile push as BT confirms takeover talks with O2 and EE December 1, 2014 Sky has appointed advisers, including investment bank Lazard, to examine its UK mobile options, City A.M. understands. The move, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as the telecoms sector has lit up with deal talk over the past week since BT confirmed its takeover talks with O2 and EE to enter the mobile [...]