O2 and Virgin Media confirm merger to create £31bn telecoms player May 7, 2020 O2 and Virgin Media have confirmed a merger to form a multi-play broadband giant that would be valued at a combined total of £31.4bn. The pair pledged to invest £10bn into the UK over the next five years while saving £6.2bn through combined synergies, or £540m a year five years after the merger completes. But [...]
BT scraps dividend as Covid-19 and full-fibre rollout hit profit May 7, 2020 BT today scrapped its dividend as the coronavirus crisis and full-fibre broadband costs weighed on profit. The telecoms giant said it had taken the “exceptionally difficult” decision to suspend the payout until 2022, when it will be reduced 50 per cent to 7.7p per share. It came as BT posted a two per cent dip [...]
New York Times hits 6m subscribers but warns of advertising slump May 6, 2020 The New York Times has posted a record rise in new subscribers for the first quarter but warned of a slump in advertising revenue caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The newspaper added 587,000 new digital subscriptions in the first three months of the year, taking its total to more than 6m across digital and print. [...]
Analysis: Can Disney Plus rescue the House of Mouse? May 6, 2020 Disney last night laid bare the extent of the damage from the coronavirus crisis, which has sent shockwaves through all parts of the entertainment giant’s business. Chairman Bob Iger warned of “unprecedented challenges” as the company reported a $1.4bn (£1.3bn) hit to first-quarter operating income. With lockdown shutting down its theme parks, cruises and its [...]
ITV advertising revenue collapses in April amid Covid-19 crisis May 6, 2020 ITV has warned of a slump in advertising revenue for April as the coronavirus crisis ravages the broadcaster’s business model. ITV’s total revenue fell seven per cent in the first quarter to £694m as the pandemic began to take its toll. Revenue from ITV Studios dropped 11 per cent as the company was forced to [...]
How have sustainable companies performed during the Covid-19 crisis? May 5, 2020 Rather than being a luxury or an optional extra, our analysis shows that a focus on sustainability would have helped relative performance during the recent market turbulence. Here at Schroders, our view of sustainable investing is that companies who treat their stakeholders fairly will see better share price performance than those who do not. There [...]
Marketing: What’s your Covid-19 story? May 5, 2020 COVID-19 is having a profound impact on all aspects of the UK economy. It is also changing the rules of corporate communications. The focus for most listed companies right now is getting their house in order with equity raises, dividend suspensions and executive pay cuts. However, attention will quickly turn to adjusting to the new [...]
O2-Virgin Media merger: The deal makes sense, but could rival bids crash the party? May 4, 2020 It’s a busy time for the telecoms industry, which has been forced into overdrive as millions of people turn to mobile and broadband services during the coronavirus lockdown. So it may seem like an unlikely time to embark on a mega-merger, but this is exactly what O2 and Virgin Media are looking to do. Parent [...]
Environmental protestors target HS2 London sites May 4, 2020 Environmental protestors have this morning targeted HS2 sites across London, including at Euston station, saying that money from the project should be funnelled to the NHS instead. As part of a day-long action against the controversial rail project, protestors are blockading sites across London, including at Colne Valley, a natural park in west London. At [...]
Virgin Media and O2 owners in talks over tie-up May 3, 2020 Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica is in talks with Liberty Global about a merger of its mobile business O2 with Liberty’s Virgin Media cable company. A combination of O2 and Virgin Media would reshape the UK’s telecoms industry, leaving Three and Vodafone stranded without their own fixed-line consumer networks. Telefonica has been examining options for the [...]