Liberty Global increases stake in ITV to 9.9 per cent July 31, 2015 ITV's largest shareholder, Liberty Global, has increased its stake in the broadcaster, citing the opportunity of "attractive growth potential". Read more: ITV share price skyrockets as Liberty Global pays £481m for stake In a statement this morning Liberty Global, the world's largest international cable company, said it had bought 138.7m shares in ITV, taking its total [...]
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May to make Top Gear-style show for Amazon July 30, 2015 Former Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have found a new home at Amazon, after being ditched by the BBC earlier this year. Read more: Chris Evans picked to replace Jeremy Clarkson as Top Gear presenter The trio will create a Top Gear-style motoring show for Amazon's Prime Video service, with long-time [...]
ITV audience numbers fall to lowest in 15 years while profits climb July 28, 2015 ITV audience numbers may have fallen to lowest in 15 years, but the broadcaster is continuing to grow revenues from advertising as well as its production arm ITV Studios. The broadcasters share price was trading 2.6 per cent up in mid morning trading after the announcement. The figures The broadcaster posted a pre-tax profit of [...]
ITV and BBC to share Six Nations coverage in £300m deal July 9, 2015 The BBC will share Six Nations coverage with ITV from 2016, keeping the European rugby tournament on free-to-air television until 2021. Read more: BBC loses Olympic broadcast rights as Eurosport signs £922m deal The deal, thought to be worth around £50m a year, will mean England's home matches are broadcast on ITV and their away fixtures [...]
ViralNova bought by ITV-backed Zealot Networks in $100m deal July 9, 2015 ViralNova, a website which publishes shareable content with titles such as "You probably didn't know that raccoons getting baths would be this cute", has been bought up by the US publishing startup which picked up $5m (£3.2m) backing from ITV last year. Zealot Networks has bought the website in a deal understood to be worth around [...]
ITV continues buying spree with £55m acquisition of Educating Yorkshire producer Twofour June 24, 2015 ITV has bought Boom Supervisory Limited, the holding group of production company Twofour for £55m, as part of its ongoing strategy to build its original content business. Read more: ITV buys Poldark producer Mammoth Screen to bolster original drama assets Plymouth-based Twofour has produced a number of hit shows for Channel 4 including Educating Yorkshire, The Jump [...]
Top Gear: BBC offers James May and Richard Hammond £1m to stay June 4, 2015 The BBC is understood to have offered former Top Gear co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond a multi-million pound deal to stay on the show. Read more: BBC loses 5m viewers from Top Gear cancellation The pair have both been offered deals in the region of £1m a year according to The Times, contracts that would make [...]
ITV buys Poldark producer Mammoth Screen to bolster original drama assets June 1, 2015 ITV has acquired Mammoth Screen, the independent production company behind highly rated shows such as Poldark and Parade's End. Read more: ITV eyes new $950m deal with television arm of The Weinstein Company By tripling the 25 per cent in the stake it bought for £1m in 2008, ITV has acquired the full business which is [...]
ITV a takeover target after Adam Crozier oversees dramatic turnaround May 14, 2015 Charlotte Henry watches a positive programme at ITV, unlike a few years ago. No wonder that takeover talk persists. In a conference centre in Westminster, some of ITV’s shareholders have assembled for the company’s annual general meeting (AGM). They broadly welcomed the progress of the share price, their positivity no doubt boosted by a [...]
ITV eyes new $950m deal with television arm of The Weinstein Company April 7, 2015 After buying Talpa in March, ITV is looking to the US again to expand its content creation arm. It has been less than a month since ITV’s acquisition of Talpa Media, the production company of BBC1’s The Voice. But already the broadcaster is back in the limelight – this time over talks to buy the [...]