Watchdog finds excess Sky profit February 7, 2011 BRITISH Sky Broadcasting has made “excess profits” on its Sky Movies service, according to the Competition Commission. The company, which is the subject of a takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has an exclusive deal with the six big Hollywood studios and may now be forced to lower its wholesale price to other broadcasters [...]
To the ends of the earth February 6, 2011 CHILE is a land of contrasts – and not least for the euphoria of the miners’ rescue last year, preceded by the coastal earthquake. But it is this land – volcanic and alive, and rich in minerals – that entices me to travel half way around the world to explore its natural wonders, the northern [...]
EasyJet passenger numbers up in January February 4, 2011 EasyJet passenger numbers rose 19.1 per cent in January compared with the same month last year. More than 3.74m people took to the skies with the carrier last month, up from 3.14m in January 2010. But the load factor, which measures how well planes are filled on average, dropped from 79.3 per cent to 78.9 [...]
RULE BRITANNIA… with more than a little help from the Swiss February 3, 2011 ONE of the most striking timepieces produced by a watch company in the past year hasn’t been a watch at all, but a mechanical ship’s clock. Nor was it just the advanced technology behind the clock or the £40,000 price-tag that grabbed the attention. It was the fact that every inch of it, down to [...]
Resurgent Chelsea to notch another big win February 3, 2011 CHELSEA vs LIVERPOOL SUNDAY – 4.00PM SKY SPORTS 1 THE sale of Fernando Torres has added some spice to Sunday’s fixture between Chelsea and Liverpool and it will be interesting to see if he gets a place in the starting line-up. The champions looked like their old selves in the 4-2 win against Sunderland on [...]
HMV investor mulls break-up February 3, 2011 A major investor in struggling retailer HMV Group has hired Credit Suisse to advise on the options for the firm, which could include a break-up of its HMV and Waterstone’s brands, according to Sky News. Alexander Mamut, a Russian billionaire with a 6.1 per cent stake in HMV, is in the first stages of assessing [...]
Sky may lose out in Pub TV football case February 3, 2011 THE Premier League’s battle with a Portsmouth-based publican suffered a major setback yesterday. A senior advocate from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) threw her weight behind landlady Karen Murphy in a landmark case, paving the way for a decision that could change the landscape of sports distribution rights in Europe and cost Sky £70m [...]
Pace in talks to launch digital service in India February 3, 2011 UK set-top box maker Pace is in talks with a satellite provider to launch a new digital service in India. The discussions are believed to be with pay-TV operator Tata Sky, a joint venture between Indian conglomerate Tata and News International-owned Star TV. Analysts say the deal will not lead to a rush of sales [...]
Moulton’s Better Capital buys parts of Connaught February 1, 2011 VENTURE capitalist Jon Moulton has bought parts of collapsed housing repair group Connaught, as administrator KPMG nears the end of dismantling the firm. Moulton’s private equity group Better Capital said yesterday is will pay £15m to buy and restructure Connaught’s risk management subsidiary, which did not collapse but was held by KPMG as one of [...]
How the sexism row hurt Sky’s brand February 1, 2011 FOLLOWING last week’s sexism scandal that saw Andy Gray and Richard Keys leave Sky Sports we’ve taken a look at how the controversy has impacted on perceptions of their former employer’s brand. On the Friday before the Wolves versus Liverpool match Sky Sports had a buzz score of -3.2. The initial story barely impacted on [...]