Pesky regulators dash hope of top line growth May 10, 2012 IT SHOULD come as no surprise that BT chief Ian Livingston, a well-respected former bean counter, can cut costs. Operating costs fell by six per cent last year, enabling the group to grow earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by three per cent to £6.1bn. That means the company has met its £6bn [...]
Kelvin takes on Murdoch’s Sky sport channels May 7, 2012 KELVIN MacKenzie, the ex-editor of The Sun, will today march into battle against BSkyB, potentially going head to head with its majority owner and his former employer Rupert Murdoch. Sports Tonight, the TV channel founded by MacKenzie, will today challenge the exclusive broadcast agreement between BSkyB and the Football League by lodging a complaint with [...]
BSkyB says it is still fit to broadcast May 2, 2012 BSKYB yesterday defended itself against mounting political pressure over its biggest shareholder News Corp, insisting that it remains a “fit and proper” British broadcaster. News Corp also leapt into defence mode yesterday following a bruising parliamentary report on phone hacking at its subsidiaries. Its directors stated their “full confidence in Rupert Murdoch’s fitness and support [...]
BSkyB beats forecasts with record profits May 2, 2012 BSKYB yesterday shrugged off the furore surrounding its parent firm News Corp to post a record profit for the nine months to March. As rumours swirled about the firm’s future following a parliamentary report criticising News Corp and owner Rupert Murdoch, BSkyB delivered operating profit of £908m. Pre-tax profit rose 27.5 per cent to £899m. [...]
Oodles of cash: no wonder Murdoch wanted to buy May 2, 2012 SO that’s what all the fuss was about. Anyone wondering why Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy BSkyB outright, and why he will not sell down his 39 per cent stake without a fight, need only look at the satellite broadcaster’s third quarter results. Although the 15,000 new TV subscribers added in the quarter is nothing [...]
Everything Everywhere grows as users turn to smartphones May 2, 2012 EVERYTHING Everywhere, the UK’s largest mobile network provider, yesterday reported a strong uptake of smartphones in its first quarter, boosting core growth. Underlying service revenues, excluding the impact of regulatory cuts, grew by 2.9 per cent in the first quarter to £1.5bn. But enforced cuts to mobile termination rates – the amount telecoms companies charge [...]
After accusations he is unfit to run BSkyB, should Rupert Murdoch be forced to sell? May 2, 2012 YES Joe Cox Whether or not Rupert Murdoch is forced to relinquish his dominance over the British media landscape should be more than about whether he is a “fit and proper” person. The important question is whether it is in the public interest for someone to be so dominant in the media market and, by [...]
Media giant under siege as MPs strike May 1, 2012 RUPERT Murdoch was yesterday lambasted by a powerful group of MPs for turning a blind eye to instances of wrongdoing at News International. The House of Commons’ culture, media and sport committee found after its five-year investigation concluded yesterday that “the whole affair demonstrates huge failings of corporate governance at [News International] and its parent [...]
Shares in News Corp rise while Murdoch slated May 1, 2012 AS MPs in London produced the most damning report so far of Rupert Murdoch’s stewardship of his UK newspapers, shares of his global media group somewhat perversely rose. The Commons culture, media and sports committee yesterday concluded that Rupert Murdoch and his son James exhibited a “wilful” blindness towards phone-hacking at the News of the [...]
4G set to boost economy and UK investments April 30, 2012 THE ROLLOUT of superfast mobile broadband will boost the UK’s economy and stimulate a chain of investment, according to Capital Economics. Research commissioned by telecoms giant Everything Everywhere, the UK hybrid of Orange and T-Mobile, suggests that the latest generation of mobile network – called 4G – will necessitate a £5.5bn direct private sector investment in the UK [...]