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BSkyB has sold its 9.9% stake in Manchester United for around £62 million, as it continues to cut back its investment in individual football clubs. The satellite broadcaster confirmed today that it had sold its entire stake of 26 million shares in the Premiership champions at £2.39 each. The buyer has been revealed as The… Continue reading BSkyB Offloads Man United Stake

Carlton and Granada saw stocks rise today as the city welcomed news that the ITV partners could go ahead with their planned £4 billion merger without divesting their sales houses. Lorna Tilbian, analyst at Numis Securities, said: “The merger is the best possible outcome and allows ITV to better compete with a strong BBC and… Continue reading Carlton And Granada See Shares Rise As City Backs Merger

The Government has finally cleared the way for the £4 billion merger of Carlton and Granada, in a move that will see the creation of a unified ITV capable of competing more effectively with the BBC and BSkyB. Trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, has decided not to force the ITV partners to sell off… Continue reading ITV Cleared To Merge With Sales Houses Intact

BSkyB has boosted its football portfolio by acquiring the right to broadcast, tape-delayed, all the Premiership games not included in its live packages for three years from the 2004/5 season. The satellite TV company is thought to have paid £60-£70 million for the privilege to show ‘near-live’ games on TV and clips of all top… Continue reading Sky Wins ‘Near-Live’ Premiership Rights

On the whole the advertising market is heading in the right direction, with confidence and trading figures a little better now than they were six months ago. This is evidenced by comments from WPP‘s Sir Martin Sorrell, one of the industry’s most venerable and (generally) cautious market callers. Sorrell recently told a media conference that… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – September 2003

The forced divestment of Carlton & Granada’s sales houses would render the ITV merger ineffective, according to analysis by Lehman Brothers. Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt is due to announce her decision on the merger this week (see Carlton & Granada Await Merger Decision). This follows an exhaustive Competition Commission investigation into the likely… Continue reading Sales House Issue Is Key To Success Of ITV Merger

The Government is this week expected to green-light the £4 billion merger of Carlton and Granada with a series of conditions designed to alleviate concerns over the power wielded by a single ITV in the television advertising market. Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, will announce her decision in the next few days following the… Continue reading ITV Merger Set For Approval This Week

ITV giants Carlton and Granada are bracing themselves for the long awaited verdict of Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on their proposed merger. The two companies announced their intention to join forces last autumn (see Carlton And Granada Enter Advanced Merger Talks) and believe that the move will enable them to… Continue reading Carlton & Granada Await Merger Decision

The list of bidders for Trinity Mirror’s Irish newspapers has been reduced to four, with Independent News & Media sidelined, according to press reports today. Last month, IN&M made an offer for eight of the titles, which were put up for sale in July (see Trinity Mirror Review Sheds NI Titles, Retains Nationals). The publishing… Continue reading Suitors Line Up For Trinity’s Irish Titles

BSkyB’s new deal with the Premier League could be in jeopardy after the European Commission said that it had serious reservations about the way that the football rights had been distributed. In August, the broadcaster agreed to pay £1.024 billion for all four packages of live Premiership rights available for three seasons from 2004-05 onwards… Continue reading EU Decries Sky’s Football ‘Monopoly’