Sky, Virgin Media strike TV Everywhere deal

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is planning to merge his pay TV companies in Europe Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland with BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting group) in a deal worth $13.76 billion (10 billion euros).

Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland are part of Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, the company which houses entertainment business following separation from News Corp last year. 

While 21st Century Fox has 39 per cent stake in BSkyB, it owns 55 per cent in Sky Deutschland and 100 per cent in Sky Italia. 

According to media reports, the deal, if successful, will result in making BSkyB, the UK’s largest pay TV provider, into a pay TV giant in Europe with direct control reaching to over 8.5 million homes in Germany and Italy. 

This is not the first time that Murdoch has tried to take full control of BSkyB. Earlier in 2010, 21st Century Fox had made a similar move. However, Murdoch was forced to back off after the phone tapping scandal came into light, and he faced political opposition in the country. 

As per Bloomberg, BSkyB has 15 million subscribers as of March 2014, while Sky Deutschland had 3.73 million and Sky Italia had 4.75 million.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/international-news/item/4820-sky,-virgin-media-strike-tv-everywhere-deal.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/international-news/item/4820-sky,-virgin-media-strike-tv-everywhere-deal.html