AS MEDIA OWNERSHIP

MediaGuardian.co.uk | City | NTL and Telewest put on subscriber weight

2006-03-01T08:33:00.000+01:00

MediaGuardian.co.uk | City | NTL and Telewest put on subscriber weight: "NTL and Telewest put on subscriber weight

Chris Tryhorn, City correspondent
Tuesday February 28, 2006

Cable operators NTL and Telewest added more than 40,000 subscribers between them in the last three months of 2005, the companies said today.

But while Telewest's revenues rose nearly 30% in the period and its losses narrowed, NTL saw revenues fall and losses increase.

NTL and Telewest are preparing to merge later this year and, on Thursday, shareholders will vote on the deal which would create a media powerhouse with more than 5 million residential customers.

The merged company would have 2.8 million broadband subscribers, 3.3 million pay-TV customers and 4.3 million subscribers to its fixed-line telephony business.

The NTL chairman, Jim Mooney, indicated that the merged group would be keen to hang on to its content business - the Telewest subsidiary, Flextech - though not necessarily keeping hold of all of it."

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Cable bid to bowl out Sky

2006-02-21T19:21:00.000+01:00

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Cable bid to bowl out Sky: "Cable bid to bowl out Sky

Dominic Timms
Tuesday February 21, 2006

Sony Entertainment Television confirmed today it was in the race to grab live rights to England's cricket tour of India in a deal that could end Sky's near 15-year monopoly on showing the team's overseas games.

The cable channel said it had made a bid to cover the current England tour, which kicks off officially on March 1, but declined to comment on reports that it had offered up to $9m (£5m), more than twice what Sky is understood to have bid.

Nimbus Communications, the conglomerate that owns the rights to Indian cricket, rejected Sky's initial bid at the weekend, leaving the ground open for rival offers.

Nimbus itself only secured the rights last Friday with a colossal commitment of $612m (£351m) to show Indian cricket over the next four years.

An SET spokesman said it was 'possible' the company could land the rights and that it expected to get a detailed response to Nimbus by as early as this week."

BBC NEWS | Business | Virgin 'plans �4.5bn NTL merger'

2005-12-04T20:30:00.000+01:00

Virgin to merge with NTLA merger of Virgin and NTL would create the UK's first 'quadruple play' media company, bringing together TV, internet broadband, mobile phone and fixed-line phone services.