KKR acquires majority stake in broadband provider Hyperoptic in £500m deal October 14, 2019 Global investment firm KKR has acquired a majority stake in the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider. KKR bought the stake from funds managed by investment firm Newlight Partners and Mubadala, the UAE sovereign wealth fund. The companies have not announced the details of the deal, but it is understood to be worth £500m. Read [...]
Government must reach funding deal with BBC over free TV licences, say MPs October 11, 2019 MPs have urged the government and the BBC to reach a funding arrangement to restore free TV licences for people aged over 75. In a damning report the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee slammed the government of 2015 for trying to “bounce” the BBC into accepting measures that left it liable to [...]
Dialling down: A quarter of mobile phone users make fewer than five calls a month October 10, 2019 A quarter of mobile phone users in the UK make fewer than five calls per month, while six per cent made no calls at all, new figures have revealed. Moreover, around 60 per cent of those people who did pick up the phone ended the call in under 90 seconds. Read more: Mobile shopping platform [...]
BBC tried to block Ofcom probe into Naga Munchetty impartiality row October 7, 2019 Ofcom has slammed the BBC’s “lack of transparency” after the broadcaster attempted to block the regulator’s investigation into an impartiality row. BBC director general Tony Hall last week reversed the corporation’s decision to partially uphold a complaint into Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty over her comments about US President Donald Trump. Read more: BBC plots iPlayer [...]
How BBC plans to overhaul iPlayer for the Netflix age October 7, 2019 The BBC is gearing up to overhaul its on-demand iPlayer service as it braces for an onset of newcomers in the crowded streaming market. The corporation is planning to reposition the iPlayer as the main access point for its services amid a decline in traditional TV viewing among younger audiences. Read more: Ofcom gives green [...]
Openreach shelves board overhaul amid concerns over BT links October 6, 2019 Openreach is said to have shelved plans to overhaul its board amid concerns the move would erode its independence from BT. Read more: Ofcom gets the green light for new Openreach broadband regulation The telecoms network business, which was spun off from BT last year, has been looking to appoint BT’s strategy chief Michael Sherman [...]
John Lewis to axe a third of senior managers to save £100m October 1, 2019 The John Lewis Partnership is slashing its senior management layer by one third in a shock £100m bid to cut costs at the struggling retailer. Around 75 senior managers will get the axe from the current total of 225 in head office, John Lewis said. As part of the shake-up, the embattled chain also revealed [...]
Ranked: The best and worst London boroughs for broadband October 1, 2019 Broadband speeds in the City are the lowest of any London borough, according to new data on internet speeds across the capital. The data, compiled by Broadband Choices, shows massive disparities in average download speeds, with the fastest borough clocking up an average speed over three times quicker than the slowest. Read more: Boris Johnson [...]
Boris Johnson set to unveil £5bn full-fibre broadband boost September 29, 2019 Boris Johnson is said to be preparing a subsidy of up to £5bn in a much-needed boost for his plans to roll out full-fibre broadband across the UK by 2025. The Prime Minister could unveil the fresh funding at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this week, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing industry and Westminster [...]
Boost for broadcasters as young viewers flock to live shows September 26, 2019 Live events are still the most watched TV programmes among young audiences, new data has revealed, marking a much-needed boost for traditional broadcasters. Live TV favourites such as reality shows, talent shows and sports fixtures made up more than half of the top 30 most-watched programmes among 18 to 24-year-olds, according to figures from the [...]