BSkyB to launch an Arabic news station November 29, 2010 SATELLITE broadcaster BSkyB has teamed up with the owner of Manchester City football club to set up an Arabic news channel based in Abu Dhabi. The channel will be Sky’s first foreign-language news venture, putting it in direct competition in the Middle East with BBC Arabic, Al-Arabiya and state-funded Al-Jazeera. Man City owner Sheik Mansour [...]
Church opposes Sky sale November 22, 2010 THE Church of England became embroiled in the row over News Corporation’s bid to take full control of BSkyB yesterday. The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester and former member of the House of Lords Select Committee on communications, said if the bid were successful News Corp would “dominate both the television and newspaper [...]
Talk Talk faces Ofcom probe over sales practices November 22, 2010 OFCOM said yesterday it was investigating whether fixed telephone line and internet services provider TalkTalk Telecom mis-sold services to customers. The communications regulator said it had received over 1,000 complaints relating to TalkTalk’s selling practices, the most common of which appeared to have been that customers were either mis-sold the fixed line telephone service or [...]
Bid ban may hit Sky News November 22, 2010 SKY News could suffer if the takeover of its owner BSkyB by News Corp is blocked, according to independent directors at the broadcaster. In a submission to media watchdog Ofcom, directors at Sky warned future investment in the news channel could be jeopardised if the takeover is vetoed. They argue that blocking the £7.8bn bid [...]
News Corp warns Cable over Sky deal November 17, 2010 NEWS Corp’s European boss James Murdoch has called on regulators to back his firm’s £7.8bn bid for BSkyB or risk losing its investment in the “world leader” digital TV operation. Business secretary Vince Cable has asked media regulator Ofcom to investigate whether the takeover would harm “media plurality”. The European Union could also launch a [...]
BT warns Ofcom of legal challenge ahead of ruling November 16, 2010 TELECOMS giant BT has warned it could sue regulator Ofcom, after it refused to allow a rise in wholesale fees to rivals to help repair BT’s onerous pension deficit. An interim ruling in July by the regulator denied BT the opportunity to raise charges on its Openreach business, the subsidiary used by rivals to access [...]
YouView presses ahead with plans for 2011 launch November 10, 2010 BBC-backed online TV service YouView stepped up preparations for its launch next year by officially approaching content providers who want to join the venture. YouView, which will support video and audio streaming as well as web-based apps, is discussing the technical implications of uploading content from disparate providers to a single platform. Richard Halton, chief [...]
Murdoch’s Sky bill soars November 7, 2010 NEWS Corp may have to pay up to 870p a share to regain control of BSkyB, with industry sources claiming resolve at board level has toughened over the last week. This would value Sky at a staggering £15.2bn – a full £3bn above the price News Corp bid in June. Shares in Sky jumped more [...]
News Corp is facing long Sky bid delay November 5, 2010 RUPERT Murdoch was yesterday assessing how much damage a probe into his proposed bid to bring BSkyB back under the News Corp umbrella could cause. Business secretary Vince Cable stepped in to order a preliminary investigation into the bid by media watchdog Ofcom, with a full EU probe also on the cards. At the very [...]
HOW BIG IS RUPERT’S HEADACHE? November 5, 2010 Q.SO WHO IS INVESTIGATING THE NEWS CORP BID? A.Business secretary Vince Cable has asked communications watchdog Ofcom to prepare a report for him. Cable will then decide whether an investigation by the Competition Commission should be launched. The European Competition Commission will also decide whether it will launch a separate investigation after being notified of [...]