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Articles about BSkyB

Satellite TV Stage Two ups the risk stakes

Published 24 August 2020

BSB launches this Sunday… let battle commence

Welcome to Sky

Published 11 August 2014

How Sky welcomed new analogue viewers in 1996

Formula won

Published 29 July 2011

Aside from those wanting Rupert Murdoch’s influence to be curtailed, the News Corporation phone hacking saga so far hasn’t been bad news for BSkyB either, despite the fact that it’s…

The naked truth

Published 13 July 2011

If you wanted excitement, intrigue and unpredictability in the world of media news then this past week simply had the lot, starting off with what seemed like a minor escalation…

The improbable coming true

Published 11 July 2011

Never has a week seemed like such a long time in news. Go back a month and if anyone had said that the News of the World would soon be no more and that News International would be fighting for its reputation and survival, you’d think they were mad and would be preparing to get the doctors with the straight jackets.

Buying time

Published 6 July 2011

Can News Corporation still achieve its dream of taking over BSkyB despite what now appears to be difficult if not insurmountable obstacles that have been placed in its path? Up…

Sold for Sky

Published 3 March 2011

Admit it to yourself, this isn’t a surprise even if you initially thought it was. It seemed obvious that Sky News was going to be the sacrificial lamb in a…

A pragmatic stance?

Published 25 January 2011

There will no doubt be a lot of people looking at Jeremy Hunt today and drawing a lot of negative conclusions.

Sky low

Published 25 January 2011

I’m no particular fan of this present government. I’m hardly unique in this, but I’m still finding it hard to accept that we appear to have got both the furthest-to-the-right…

Devil in disguise

Published 22 December 2010

Judging by the reaction from some media commentators, the removal of Vince Cable from making the decision as to whether or not News Corp can take over BSkyB (it’s bound…

Biased opinion

Published 18 December 2010

Major news provision costs money. Of all people, Mark Thompson ought to know a thing or two when it comes to such matters, as well as the roles and responsibilities…

Sky writing

Published 22 November 2010

Want something to read that’s simultaneously both amusing and sinister at the same time? Then head over to the Sky website and download the PDF of BSkyB’s submission to Ofcom…

Catch-up work

Published 1 November 2010

Nearly everyone seems to agree that some form of video-on-demand represents the future of television, so naturally there’s a race on between established UK providers (BSkyB, Virgin Media) and broadcasters/producers…

Political persuasion

Published 13 October 2010

Whilst the media world awaits Vince Cable’s crucial decision on whether News Corp. should be permitted to further extend its influence with a full takeover of BSkyB, there’s a political…

No longer a Channel One – it’s all nothing from now on

Published 15 September 2010

Well here’s something we didn’t expect to be saying. Just over a month after it was announced that Virgin One would becoming Channel One after Sky bought it and other channels from Virgin Media, and just a few weeks after the station rebrand went ahead and… err… well… Sky decide to close it down completely…

Thompson’s revenge

Published 28 August 2010

It has taken a year after the infamous (and highly predictable, especially in retrospect) James Murdoch speech at the Edinburgh International Television Festival for the official “right to reply” from…

No longer a Virgin – it’s Channel One from now on…

Published 5 August 2010

The question of what Virgin One was going to be rebranded as after BSkyB bought Virgin Media’s TV stations is one which I’m sure has barely been off the lips of the average Transdiffusion reader, just as it has been for many sat around pub tables, pints in hand, fists waving whilst the landlord tries to keep control of the situation…

Spurned advances

Published 3 August 2010

If you were wondering what Virgin Media’s stance on Project Canvas development was going to be, then wonder no more, but Virgin Media’s objections are in the final analysis both…

Not-so-Freeview

Published 18 June 2010

The announcement that BSkyB is withdrawing its Sky Sports News channel from Freeview may not be that unexpected but it does raise some interesting unanswered questions in relation to Sky’s…

Virgin’s territory

Published 4 June 2010

Virgin Media has finally completed a long-expected deal to sell its TV channels (Bravo, Bravo 2, Challenge, Challenge Jackpot, Living, Livingit, Virgin 1) to BSkyB for £160m, and in exchange…

Canvas clearance

Published 19 May 2010

Yes it’s true: Project Canvas has just been given the go-ahead by the Office of Fair Trading, so in theory this long-awaited means of providing a quick and convenient means…

Sticky wicket

Published 31 March 2010

Ofcom: Delivering consumer benefits in Pay TV Ofcom orders Sky Sports price cut Football, cricket and rugby fans make up the core of BSkyB’s pay-TV business, and their willingness to…

Not a time for favours

Published 8 February 2010

BSkyB agrees to cut ITV stake In recent weeks it has been obvious that the “love affair” between politicians and BSkyB – at least in public – has started to…

Not the only game in town

Published 18 January 2010

Cost of TV sport to tumble as Ofcom turns screw on Sky Some people appear to be rather puzzled as to why the Conservatives in particular seem ambivalent towards Ofcom’s…

A whole new ballgame

Published 12 October 2009

Digital Spy: Online England game attracts 500,000 Last Saturday, something truly momentous happened in the world of television that was arguably on a par with the launch of Sky Digital,…

Risky business

Published 28 September 2009

ITV uncertainty could open doors to takeover bid, says analyst If you now have a distinct feeling along the lines that “We’ve been here before”, then you are almost certainly…

The wrong impression

Published 5 September 2009

Public rejects Murdoch view of BBC, says ICM poll It’s now a week since James Murdoch made his predictably controversial MacTaggart speech that was conceived from the outset to make…

Safe in their hands?

Published 29 August 2009

David Elstein: Murdoch “riled” by Ofcom According to David Elstein, formerly of, inter alia, the BBC, Thames and Channel 5, Ofcom’s “devastating” and “unanswerable” report of a couple of months…

Murdoch claims independent journalism threatened by “dominant” BBC.

Published 28 August 2009

BBC News: Murdoch attack on ‘dominant’ BBC So James Murduch, the head of NewsCorp in Europe, says a dominant BBC damages independent journalism in the UK. The hypocrisy of that…

Family values

Published 28 August 2009

James Murdoch hits out at BBC and regulators at Edinburgh TV festival James Murdoch attacks BBC and regulators in annual MacTaggart lecture speech shocker – who would have thought otherwise?…

ITV no longer free?

Published 6 August 2009

Broadcast Now: ITV digital channels may leave Freeview If such a thing had happened merely two years ago it would have been a bigger deal than it is today. That’s…

Casting suspicion

Published 30 June 2009

BSkyB’s Mike Darcey attacks ‘culture of dependency’ in UK television Up to now, BSkyB has enjoyed a near-privileged position as the UK’s dominant pay-TV operator, and this has been tolerated…

The final whistle

Published 23 June 2009

Setanta goes into administration with loss of 200 jobs After numerous ups and downs that somewhat mirrored the trials and tribulations of football itself, the Setanta saga finally draws to…

It’s now or never

Published 3 June 2009

Viewpoint: Canvas will explode UK TV, but BBC must stand back Google creeps into the living room with YouTube XL With today’s announcement of YouTube XL clearly stating Google’s ambitions…

The end of free ITV?

Published 2 June 2009

Ah, do you remember the days? Everyone was rushing off pay TV, determined to embrace the world of free to air television. It would be great! Advertising would pay for…

Take the money and run

Published 29 May 2009

BSkyB tables £160m bid for Virgin Media channels, reports say Whilst many broadcasters are still bitterly complaining about an advertising downturn (ITV’s short term Britain’s Got Talent/football windfall notwithstanding), BSkyB…

Hitting a raw nerve

Published 12 May 2009

BSkyB cries foul over BBC Trust’s Project Canvas consultation When BSkyB gets publicly upset over something it’s usually because there’s a potential risk of its market dominance being curtailed in…

Sky suggest Channel 4 should re-enter Pay TV market – SHOCK!

Published 9 March 2009

Most solutions to Channel 4’s problems envision a continuation of free to air television. Funnily enough Sky don’t. Who would have thought it?

Will anyone save Channel 4?

Published 25 February 2009

MPs’ report expected to question BBC and Channel 4 linkup Over recent months, around 90% of the media-related ministerial report ‘leaks’ have been ‘surprisingly’ accurate, so we can assume that…

The Woes of Setanta – part 45,921

Published 13 February 2009

The distribution of Premier League football rights is a seemingly never ending occurrence, however the latest round now has the potential to have some serious consequences.

One-sided game

Published 6 February 2009

BSkyB wins Premier League TV rights package back from Setanta All things considered, this makes a total mockery of the recent Competition Commission decision to disallow Project Kangaroo on the…

Inflexible

Published 27 January 2009

How the call for aid to Gaza left the BBC in the thick of battle As the controversy surrounding the BBC’s stubborn refusal to air the DEC Gaza appeal rumbles…

Marsupial mishap

Published 3 December 2008

Project Kangaroo punctured by Competition Commission Competition Commission statement (PDF file) Project Kangaroo is (or perhaps was, given the stance that now seems to be all too clear) an attempt…

Up for grabs?

Published 29 September 2008

BSkyB ordered to cut ITV stake Although a decision has now been made in relation to BSkyB and its ITV stake, namely that BSkyB has to sell at least some…

Pack away the hamper – the Picnic isn’t happening

Published 12 September 2008

It’s been hanging around for goodness knows how long, but finally BSkyB have done the inevitable, and axed its pay TV proposals for DTT.

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