Sky News has announced plans to launch an Arabic language news channel. The news broadcaster is in discussions with a private investor to run a joint venture based in Abu Dhabi, and airing across the Middle East and North Africa region. If all goes to plan, the launch will happen within the next two years.
The BSkyB board has rebuffed an offer by Rupert Murdoch to take full control of the BSkyB business.
The Vietnam pay-TV market is being held back by signal piracy, warned CASBAA at its Vietnam pay-TV industry seminar in Hanoi last week. According to CASBAA, the cost of pay-TV piracy in Vietnam in 2009 was $15m, up by 17%. That figure is expected to substantially increase in 2010.
The CASBAA has added four corporate members to its ranks.
Hong Kong based Asia Media Solutions and APT Group have joined, as have Vietnamese content distributor Q.net and UK channel operator Travel Channel International. It marks the second time this year that the organisation has added four members.
Virgin Media reported first-quarter revenue up 2.9% to £963.2m, although pre-tax losses widened to £162.3m. Encouragingly, the company added a net total of 38,300 new cable subscribers during the quarter; chief exec Neil Berkett identified HDTV as particularly advantageous in attracting more subs.
The Indian entertainment channel, Colors, is set to launch in the UK on the Sky digital platform.
Virgin Media is understood to be in final-stage talks to sell its wholly-owned TV channels - including Virgin 1, Bravo, Challenge, and Living - to BSkyB.
America's biggest cable company, Comcast, struck a deal yesterday to take a 51% stake in media empire NBC Universal, creating a new entertainment powerhouse. But it is expected that the tie-up will be subject to tough scrutiny by competition authorities.
Comcast delivers television, internet and phone services to nearly 24 million cable customers, while assets within NBC universal include the NBC television network, the Hollywood studio Universal Pictures, and cable channels, such as CNBC, Bravo and Style.
Commenting on the deal, Comcast's chairman, Brian Roberts, said it was a "perfect fit" that would allow his company to "become a leader in the development and distribution of multi-platform 'anytime, anywhere' media that American consumers are demanding".
Italian broadcaster Mediaset was told by a court yesterday that it could not simply refuse to take advertising from rival Sky Italia, which is owned by News Corp. It said Mediaset's actions were anti-competitive and favoured Premium, its own pay-TV service.
Mediaset, which is controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has been trying to break down Sky Italia's dominance of the pay-TV market in Italy, and competition between the two broadcasters has intensified in recent months.
Impressive quarterly results from BSkyB, whose net profit leapt by 75% year-on-year to £128m for the three months to the end of September on revenue up 10% at £1.38bn. Operating profit before exceptionals was up 8.8%.
Subscriber numbers rose by 94,000 during the quarter, taking the total to 9.5 million.
