Reports this morning suggest an imminent consolidation of the UK’s cable TV industry, with operators Telewest Global and ntl believed to be preparing a £5.5 billion merger.
The move would create a more unified rival to BSkyB’s dominant digital satellite service, with ntl employing Goldman Sachs to advise on the planned merger, according to today’s
Times newspaper.
Meanwhile, Telewest executives are understood to be meeting with investment banks in New York this week to choose an adviser.
The Times’ report, although lacking named sources, claims that Cob Stenham, chairman of Telewest, hopes to see the merger with ntl progress quickly. The newspaper states that formal talks are likely to begin next month. Neither Telewest or ntl were available for comment on the report.
According to the latest figures from media regulator, Ofcom, Sky commands a 30.8% share of all digital households in Britain, compared with 18.5% for Freeview and 10.1%. However, many believe that the capacity and nature of cable networks will enable them to offer more advanced services than Sky in the future, thus making them a safer bet for the long-term.
Speaking at the recent MediaTel INSIGHT Digital TV Seminar, media commentator and journalist, Ray Snoddy, said: “Cable around Europe is starting to take off again, most of the cable companies have sorted their finances and believe that triple play, the ability to offer television, telephone and broadband, has finally arrived. They believe that they have the ability to offer it better than anyone else (see UK Cable Revival Predicted As Europe Sees Growth).”
He continued: “A recent cable industry in Europe has found that they were thinking of offering maybe a 100 megabit service, which would make the current one or two very paltry indeed, and using that capacity to offer high definition television.”
The MediaTel INSIGHT Digital TV Report, shows an increase in global cable subscription and predicts that it will hold an estimated 21% share of the market by 2010 (see Global Digital TV To Reach 144 Million Homes By End Of 2005).
The latest research from broadband analysis company, Point Topic, reveals cable modems to have grown slightly faster than digital subscriber lines (DSL) in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole during 2004 (see Global Broadband Penetration Exceeds 2004 Forecasts).
Canada was revealed as one of the few places outside the Asia-Pacific region where cable modems showed a higher growth rate than DSL during 2004, with a rise of 9.5% against 8.5%.
Related Links
