Latest in BSkyB

Britain's media regulator Ofcom has formally submitted the findings of its review of 21st Century Fox's proposed £11.7B (($14.7B) takeover of pay-TV giant Sky as planned. The report, which was conducted to assess issues of media plurality, was received by UK Culture Secretary Karen Bradley on Tuesday and, as expected…

Fast-growing online video site Whistle Sports has lined up a big new teammate, announcing a $7 million investment from European satellite-TV powerhouse BSkyB this morning in London, part of a larger Series B round of fundraising for the sports-oriented site, which already counts among its early investors such star…

Last year, the U.S. broadcast networks collected over $3 billion in retransmission fees from cable providers. Their UK counterparts are taking notice. In recent weeks, the chief executives of Britain’s top commercial broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4, called publicly for cable and satellite operators to start paying for…

Rupert Murdoch is a step closer to consolidating his European satellite properties, creating the continent’s largest pay TV company. The European Commission said today it will not raise antitrust objections to the $9B effort by BSkyB, the UK satellite company that’s 39% controlled by Fox, to buy Murdoch-owned…

In its second recent deal for a stake in an indie producer, Sky has made an undisclosed equity investment in Znak&Jones Productions. The group has also entered into a distribution partnership with the new shingle that was founded by veteran producers Natalka Znak and Simon Jones. With offices in Los Angeles, London…

The UK TV and film industries are on a big diversity push this year with pay-TV giant Sky the latest to join the fray. The 21st Century Fox-controlled group said today that it is “stretching new targets to improve the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic people across its entertainment channels.” This…

As expected, BSkyB said this morning that it will create “a world-class multinational pay TV business” with the acquisition of 100% of Sky Italia and 57.4% of Sky Deutschland. The UK’s leading pay-TV player has acquired the stakes from Rupert Murdoch‘s 21st Century Fox in a deal worth about £4.9B ($8.3B) in cash, plus…

When BSkyB reports its full-year results tomorrow, it is expected to announce a deal to acquire 57% of Sky Deutschland and 100% of Sky Italia from 21st Century Fox. Speculation has swirled that this deal is near since it emerged that Rupert Murdoch's behemoth had bid $80B bid for Time Warner. In May, UK pay-TV giant BS…

Ramping up its strategy to build a broad international content business, Britain’s Sky has acquired a 70% stake in Love Productions. The UK-based maker of Great British Bake Off was founded in 2004 by Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie. Love has production bases in London, Bristol, NY and LA. Its other credits include G…

Longtime Sky executive Sophie Turner Laing is stepping down from her position as Managing Director of Content later this year, the 21st Century Fox-controlled company said today. Turner Laing has been with Sky for 11 years and has led the expansion of its portfolio of entertainment channels, with the launch of Sky Atla…

BSkyB Confirms Its Interest In Sky Deutschland & Sky Italia Stakes Britain's BSkyB on Monday acknowledged speculation over its potential acquisition of 21st Century Fox's interests in European pay-TV groups Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. Reports of talks had emerged over the weekend, and BSkyB today confirmed it had…

BSkyB added 74,000 new TV customers in the quarter ended March 31. That was double the growth of last year’s Q3 and defied the increased compeition in the UK market. Shares in the pay-TV giant, which is 39% owned by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, were up about 3.9% in morning UK trading. Also fueling the positive…