Tech giants to testify before US Congress over Russian interference September 2, 2018 Top bosses from Twitter and Facebook are set to testify before US lawmakers on Wednesday, as part of a probe into how Silicon Valley polices online content. Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey will attend a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on 5 September to give evidence in a hearing on social [...]
Sky eyes Israel and Europe as it expands startup footprint September 2, 2018 Broadcaster Sky has announced plans to ramp up its startup investment and commercial partnership activity through a series of investments. The company will open a new office in Berlin to focus on companies in Germany and Scandinavia, and invest $4m (£3.1m) into Remagine Ventures, an Israeli venture capital fund based in Tel Aviv. Sky’s group [...]
Legal costs squeeze profits at Independent News and Media August 31, 2018 Shares in newspaper company Independent News and Media fell by three per cent this morning as the publisher blamed losses on costs related to an investigation by Ireland's corporate watchdog into an alleged data breach. Read more: Corbyn’s plan for the BBC would harm the press he wants to protect The figures Total revenue was down [...]
Watch out, Google: Facebook rolls out its Youtube rival in the UK August 29, 2018 Facebook's answer to Youtube is going live in the UK, after a successful year in the US broadcasting original content, entertainment and sports shows. From today, users around the world can watch videos via Facebook's Watch feature. Additionally, eligible creators in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand will join the US in making money [...]
ITV is right to launch a new streaming service, but it needs to make good content as well August 29, 2018 ITV’s plans to join forces with its fellow public service broadcasters BBC and Channel 4 to combat the growing threat from Netflix, Amazon, and other US streaming service giants may have seemed like too little too late. However, given the success of ITV’s current video offering – the ITV Hub – which has had a bumper [...]
Online revenues dive as Johnston Press falls victim to Google and Facebook changes August 29, 2018 The share price in major UK newspaper group Johnston Press plummeted as much as 21 per cent today as the firm reported a fall in half-year revenue amid privacy changes to social media giants such as Google and Facebook. Total revenues dropped to £93m in the first six months of 2018, falling 10 per cent compared [...]
Trump takes aim at Google for biased ‘leftwing media’ search results August 28, 2018 US President Donald Trump has lashed out at search giant Google in a series of tweets, accusing the site of “rigging” a feed of biased, negative news articles when searching the phrase “Trump news”. The president said most of the stories that appear when searching the site are “bad” news articles, written by the “National Left-Wing Media”. He [...]
Corbyn plots to establish publicly owned rival to Facebook August 23, 2018 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has outlined plans to build a publicly owned social media platform to rival the likes of Facebook. In a speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Corbyn set out his idea to create the British Digital Corporation (BDC), a publicly owned entity that would also create entertainment content to rival streaming giants Netflix [...]
Comcast extends deadline for Sky shareholders to accept £26bn offer August 23, 2018 Comcast has extended the deadline for Sky investors to accept its £26bn offer to buyout the company, a statement revealed last night. Shareholders now have until 12 September to green light the US media company's 14.75 per share offer. It follows 0.2 per cent of Sky investors giving their consent by the previous deadline yesterday. Most [...]
Culture secretary Jeremy Wright outlines plans to safeguard UK broadcasting post-Brexit August 22, 2018 Culture secretary Jeremy Wright will today address fears Brexit could hit the TV broadcasting industry's workforce by outlining the government's ambitions to ensure talent are granted mobility between Europe and the UK. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival today, Wright will hail the strength of the UK's public service broadcasting sector, while assuring industry figures the government [...]
