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Shares in ITV have dropped 5% after BSkyB acquired a 17.9% stake in the broadcaster for £940 million. The move by Sky now makes a possible takeover by NTL of ITV (see NTL Telewest Could Merge With ITV) unlikely. The BBC quotes Sir Richard Branson, NTL’s biggest shareholder, as saying of the Sky deal: “BSkyB’s… Continue reading ITV Share Price Falls After BSkyB Acquires Stake

Sir Richard Branson, NTL’s biggest shareholder, is set to challenge BSkyB after the satellite giant bought an almost 18% stake of ITV late on Friday, in a deal worth close to £1 billion.NTL has said that it will complain to the competition authorities, including the OFT, the European Commission and Ofcom, about Sky’s £940 million… Continue reading Branson Bites Back At Sky’s Swoop On ITV

RTL Group, which is rumoured to be interested in acquiring ITV, has announced that it has sold its remaining 25% shareholding in Sportfive, the European sports rights marketing firm, to Lagardère SCA. Last week it was reported that RTL, Europe’s largest broadcaster, was in talks with private equity backers on a possible £5 billion bid… Continue reading RTL Sells Sportfive Stake To Lagardère

Ofcom executives are said to be discussing BSkyB’s shock acquisition of an almost 18% stake in the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster, ITV.Following the acquisition of the stake, Ofcom will have to decide whether the move constitutes a “change of control” at ITV and whether it would compromise the commercial broadcaster’s obligations as a public service… Continue reading Ofcom To Discuss BSkyB’s ITV Acquisition

More people in the US will watch more TV and video content in the future, not less, according to a new report from eMarketer. The US DVD and VOD Usage report explores the ways viewers watch television and states that viewers will consume content in a variety of different ways in the future, for example… Continue reading US Viewers Will Watch More TV And Video Content

The percentage of households with HDTV equipment had increased from 2% in February to 6% in July, an installed base of just over 1 million, according to a new report from Continental Research. Continental Research’s Autumn 2006 Digital TV Report says that over 1 million people already have HDTV-enabled TV sets, with another 3.5 million… Continue reading HDTV Households Increase To Over 1 Million

Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, has named Michael Jackson, former head of Channel 4, as his preferred candidate for the chief executive role at ITV. According to reports in the trade press, Jackson, at the moment president of programming at InterActiveCorp, is being lined up to become chief executive if the NTL/ITV merger… Continue reading Sorrell Gives Jackson Backing For ITV Top Job.

Ofcom today announced a total ban on advertisements for food and drink products which are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) in all children’s programming, broadcast at any time of day or night, which hold particular appeal for children up to 16. Ofcom has estimated that the impact on total broadcast revenues could be… Continue reading TV Junk Food Ban Could See Channel’s Lose £39 Million Per Year

Arqiva has announced the signing of a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with BT to acquire the full-time service components of BT’s satellite broadcast services business for £25 million in cash. The deal will include long-term customer contracts, operations and personnel located in the USA, France, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as the UK.… Continue reading Arqiva To Acquire BT’s Satellite Broadcast Business

Ofcom has defended today’s announcement that the communications regulator would introduce new wide-ranging restrictions on junk food advertising aimed at children, after being attacked by various broadcasters and health bodies.Ofcom’s chief executive, Ed Richards, has said that the new restrictions will cost the industry £210 million less than a total ban. After this morning’s announcement,… Continue reading Ofcom Bites Back As Industry In A Spin Over Junk Ad Proposals