Sports law in 2021: Data disputes, the evolution of esports, all eyes on Premier League TV rights, and rules tighten for clubs and agents December 31, 2020 While there may not have been as much action on the pitch in 2020, this year has been an eventful one for sports lawyers off the pitch to say the least. Coronavirus has acted as a magnifying glass, intensifying the financial and legal pressures that those in the sports ecosystem face. But how is 2021 [...]
Talktalk to go private after £1.1bn Toscafund deal December 17, 2020 Talktalk has this morning announced that it will be taken private in a £1.1bn deal with shareholder Toscafund and private equity firm Penta. Under the offer, shareholders of the broadband supplier will receive 97p per share, a 16 per cent premium on shares as of 7 October, when the offer was first made. The deal [...]
Amazon to launch Prime Video on Sky ‘in time for Christmas’ December 14, 2020 The Amazon Prime Video app will launch on Sky Q, Sky Ticket and NOW TV devices from 14 December – just in time for Christmas. The news follows a new multi-year partnership agreement between the two companies, which brings Sky services to Amazon devices and vice versa. The move is the latest example of aggregation from [...]
Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev: How pay-per-view numbers tell the story of British boxer’s success December 11, 2020 British boxer Anthony Joshua defends his world titles against Bulgarian challenger Kubrat Pulev this weekend in a contest most will watch on pay-per-view television. A maximum 1,000 fans will be allowed to attend the SSE Arena in London on Saturday, but the rest must fork out £24.95 to watch on Sky Sports Box Office. All [...]
Ofcom fines BT £6.3m for breaking rules in public sector contract December 11, 2020 The UK’s telecoms regulator has fined BT £6.3m for breaking rules in a Northern Ireland public sector contract between 2017 and 2018. Between April 2017 and March 2018, BT and Eir both bid for a public sector contract in Northern Ireland to provide shared data transfer services. Ofcom has today concluded that BT’s network arm [...]
Sky Sports attracts record viewing figures for second time in two months December 8, 2020 Sky Sports has thrived during the second national lockdown, breaking its audience records for the second time in two months. Sunday 29 November saw an average of 1.17m viewers and a peak of 4m tune in to the Sky Sports portfolio of channels. Drawing the record audience were a triple header of live football that [...]
Cisco snaps up London firm IMI Mobile in $730m deal December 7, 2020 US tech giant Cisco has agreed to buy London-based software company IMI Mobile in a $730m deal. IMI Mobile provides software and services for enterprise and its customers include BT, Hermes and O2. The tech firm will pay 595 pence per share in exchange for each IMI Mobile share, assuming fully diluted shares, net of [...]
Government backtracks on full-fibre broadband rollout pledge November 25, 2020 The government has backtracked on its pledge to bring full-fibre broadband to the whole of the UK by 2025. The promise to reach all premises across the country with gigabit-capable speeds was a key part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s manifesto at the last election. But in its national infrastructure strategy published today, the government [...]
Telecoms providers must beef up their cybersecurity for the 5G age November 24, 2020 As this 5G digital revolution gathers pace we must prepare the communications networks on which this technology depends so they are secure and resilient
Telecoms firms to face hefty fines under new Huawei laws November 24, 2020 UK telecoms companies will face hefty fines if they fail to comply with the ban on Huawei under a new law submitted in parliament today. In July the government announced a total ban on Huawei, ordering network providers to remove all equipment made by the controversial Chinese tech giant by 2027. Under the new legislation [...]