Canal+, the pay-TV business owned by French media group Vivendi, has raised its stake in Viaplay to 29.33 per cent as part of a recapitalization plan, confirming its position as the largest shareholder in the Nordic streaming platform. Canal+;s previous stake in Viaplay was 12 per cent. Viaplay separately said it completed a recapitalisation that…

Lionsgate has reported Q3 (quarter ended December 31st 2023) revenue of $975.1 million (€905m), down 2.5 per cent on the same period last year – largely attributed to the Hollywood strikes – and an operating loss of $43.5 million. “We’re pleased to report another strong financial quarter in which the performance of our diversified businesses…

Taylor Swift has caused a 203 per cent surge in the Super Bowl’s addressable audience in the UK. The data, from advertising technology firm Quantcast, shows the focus on Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, has clearly shaped the addressable audience. In the first week of February 2023, just 4.2 per…

BT Group, Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, have successfully demonstrated end-to-end consumer and enterprise 5G differentiated connectivity enabled by network slicing on Ericsson’s 5G Core and Radio Access Network technology in the UK with devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Mobile Platform. The trial, which took place at Adastral Park, BT Group’s…

South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC, is taking the country’s transmission operator Sentech to the Competition Tribunal, alleging excessive pricing and anti-competitive actions. Doris Tshepe, head of the country’s Competition Commission, told MPs that a commission-led effort to mediate between the parties had failed. The MPs on the country’s Committee on Communications & Digital Technologies heard…

BBC Children’s and Education has announced a collaboration with Alphablocks and Blue Zoo Animation Studio creating a new range of educational entertainment for CBeebies viewers. The agreement will deliver new episodes of flagship Blocks brand programming over a five-year period, extending the presence of Alphablocks, Numberblocks and bringing a brand new Blocks series to market…

Lynk Global and special purchase acquisition company Slam Corp are to merge. The pair announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement under which Slam will combine with Lynk. Upon completion, the combined company will operate as Lynk Global Holdings, and its shares expected to be publicly listed on Nasdaq under the…

hiSky, which provides advanced satellite communication solutions, has signed an investment and strategic collaboration agreement with Intelsat. The investment marks a transformative development in the delivery of reliable, high-throughput satellite connectivity. Intelsat’s investment in hiSky underscores hiSky’s technological prowess and market potential and places Intelsat as shareholders in the Israel-based company, joining Singapore-based ST Engineering’s…

A VIP group visited Thales Alenia Space’s satellite manufacturing facility near Cannes, in the south of France, to view SES Astra 1P, its latest satellite and which will be placed at the operator’s prime TV neighbourhood at 19.2 degrees East. The satellite will continue existing transmissions over Europe as well as key markets Germany, France…

UKTV’s comedy channel Gold has announced that it will celebrate Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall’s much-loved sitcom Bottom with a new retrospective, Bottom: Exposed (1×120’), airing later this year. In Bottom: Exposed, Gold delves deep into the story behind the acclaimed sitcom, which spanned eighteen episodes across three seasons from 1991 to 1995, as well as…