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Sky NZ plunges on Premier League rights loss

Agence France-PresseJune 19, 2013 03:04
Shares in New Zealand's Sky Network Television slumped up to 8.3 percent Wednesday after the country's largest pay-TV operator announced it had lost the rights to broadcast English Premier League (EPL) football. Sky was outbid by online rival Coliseum Sports Media, despite submitting its highest-ever offer for the EPL broadcast rights. "We are extremely disappointed to have missed out and seek to assure our football-loving subscribers that this does not signal a change in our wishes to secure the best football matches that we can for you," it said in a statement.

News Corp 3rd-quarter profit, revenue beat analysts' forecasts, helped by pay TV, 'Life of Pi'

The Canadian PressMay 10, 2013 06:15
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - News Corp. beat Wall Street's forecast for the January-March quarter, helped by growing revenue from pay TV networks including Fox News Channel and FX, and the hit 20th Century Fox movie "Life of Pi." The New York-based company controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch also said Wednesday that it benefited from raising its stake in satellite TV company Sky Deutschland. It now holds a majority stake. News Corp.'s net income jumped to $2.85 billion, or $1.22 per share, from $937 million, or 38 cents per share, a year ago.

News Corp results beat estimates, spin-off on track

May 9, 2013 20:45
By Lisa Richwine (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, aided by growth at its cable networks, and said it is on track to split off its slow-growing publishing business by the end of June. Its revenue rose 14 percent from a year earlier to $9.5 billion in the quarter, ended March 31, News Corp said on Wednesday. The company posted adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, just beating the 35 cents expected on average by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

UK BSkyB executive and daughter killed in speedboat accident

May 7, 2013 11:35
LONDON (Reuters) - An executive at Britain's pay-TV group BSkyB and his eight-year-old daughter were killed in a speedboat accident while on holiday in southwest England, and his wife and three other children were also airlifted to hospital, Sky said on Monday. Nicholas Milligan, 51, who was managing director of Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of BSkyB which is 39-percent-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, died after he and five family members were thrown into the water in an estuary off the popular resort of Padstow on Sunday afternoon.

Britain proposes airwaves shake-up to meet broadband demand

April 23, 2013 13:30
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's telecoms regulator is proposing to change the way it will allocate the next batch of airwaves to be made available to mobile operators facing burgeoning demand for mobile data. Telecoms operators have previously paid billions of pounds to secure long leases on the best chunks of airwaves, known as the real estate of the mobile industry, most recently in the 4G auction.

British comedian Dawn French marries for a second time

April 22, 2013 11:00
LONDON (Reuters) - British comedian Dawn French, who plays "The Vicar of Dibley" in the award-winning television comedy, has married for the second time, her publicist said on Monday. French, 55, married charity worker Mark Bignell at the Scarlett Hotel near Newquay in Cornwall, south west England, on Saturday. The hotel describes itself as a luxury, eco venue overlooking the ocean. Her first marriage, to comedian Lenny Henry, ended in 2010 after 25 years. The pair have an adopted daughter, Billie.

Next Chairman Barton front runner to chair easyJet - report

April 15, 2013 19:45
(Reuters) - John Barton, the chairman of No. 2 British clothing retailer Next Plc, is poised as the front runner to chair low-cost airline easyJet Plc, Sky News reported on Monday, citing a source. Sky News said Barton, 68, was on a shortlist of contenders vying to replace Sir Mike Rake, who will step down this summer and become the president of business lobby group Confederation of British Industry. EasyJet Deputy Chairman Charles Gurassa was also one of the contenders to replace Sir Mike, Sky News reported.

BBC criticised over "reckless" secret filming in North Korea

April 15, 2013 13:01
By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - The new head of Britain's BBC stumbled into a new threat to its journalistic reputation on Monday after its decision to use university students as a cover to film secretly in North Korea was branded "reckless and irresponsible". Less than two weeks after taking up his post at an institution in turmoil after a sexual abuse scandal, BBC Director General Tony Hall faced accusations that his flagship news programme had used British students as "human shields".

EU clears Liberty Global acquisition of Britain's Virgin Media

April 15, 2013 06:45
The European Commission on Monday cleared US-based cable operator Liberty Global to acquire Britain's Virgin Media in a deal worth 17.2 billion euros. The Commission said the tie up between Liberty Global, the largest cable operator in Europe, and the second largest pay TV firm in Britain "would not raise competition concerns" because of the nature of the business and the continued competition the new entity would face.

British university attacks BBC over covert North Korea trip

April 14, 2013 10:30
By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - A leading British university criticised the BBC on Sunday for arranging an academic trip to North Korea to make an undercover documentary, saying it had put students who were unaware of the plans in danger. The London School of Economics (LSE) said three BBC journalists - including the respected reporter John Sweeney - joined a student society trip at the end of March, posing as tourists to make a film about the secretive state.
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