96-514: Sky Studios is a production company founded by Sky in June 2019 with assets from the now defunct Sky Vision . It develops, produces and funds original drama, comedy and documentary, and has investments in a number of production businesses in the UK and US: Love Productions (wholly owned), Blast Films!, Sugar Films, True North Productions , Chrysalis Vision, True to Nature, Longboat Pictures and The Lighthouse in
192-520: A squeeze-out procedure to obtain the remaining shares and delist Sky Deutschland on 15 September 2015. On 9 December 2016, 21st Century Fox announced that it had made an offer to acquire the remainder of Sky plc for £11.7 billion at a value of £10.75 per-share. It marked Fox's second attempt to take over Sky, as its previous attempt under News Corporation was affected by the News International scandal . The two companies reached an agreement on
288-528: A 10-year commitment to the operations and funding of Sky News similar to that of Disney's offer. On 19 June 2018, Disney formally agreed to acquire Sky News as part of Fox's proposed bid, with a 15-year commitment to increase its annual funding from £90 million to £100 million. On 11 July 2018, Fox increased its bid for Sky to £14.00 per share, valuing it at £24.5 billion. Comcast subsequently counterbid just hours later with an offer at £14.75 per-share, valued at £26 billion. On 19 July 2018, after Fox agreed to
384-515: A 17.9% stake in ITV plc for £940 million, a move that attracted anger from NTL shareholder Richard Branson and an investigation from media and telecoms regulator Ofcom . On 6 December 2006, NTL announced that it had complained to the Office of Fair Trading about BSkyB's move. NTL stated that it had withdrawn its attempt to buy ITV plc, citing that it did not believe that there was any possibility to make
480-542: A 39.14% controlling stake in the company; on 9 December 2016, following a previous attempt under News Corporation that was affected by the News International phone hacking scandal , 21st Century Fox announced that it had agreed to buy the remainder of Sky, pending government approval. However, after a bidding war that included the Walt Disney Company (which was, in turn, acquiring most of 21st Century Fox's assets ), US media and telecoms conglomerate Comcast acquired
576-493: A Disney counter-offer, it was reported that Comcast had abandoned its bid for 21st Century Fox to focus solely on Sky. On 20 September 2018, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers ordered that a blind auction be held "in order to provide an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation". In this process, Fox, followed by Comcast, made new cash-only bids for Sky. After these first two rounds of bidding, there would be
672-461: A bid. Comcast won the auction with a bid of £17.28 per-share, beating Fox's bid of £15.67. Sky plc had until October 11, 2018, to formally accept this offer. Following its auction victory, Comcast began to acquire Sky shares from the open market. On September 26, 2018, Fox subsequently announced its intent to sell all of its shares in Sky plc to Comcast for £12 billion. On October 4, 2018, Fox completed
768-522: A deal on favourable terms. On 17 July 2014, BSkyB's 6.4% stake in ITV was sold to Liberty Global , valued at £481 million. Galaxy ▼ Sky One The Movie Channel ▼ Retained Now ▼ Sky News & Sky Arts The Power Station ▼ Sky Movies The Sports Channel ▼ Sky Sports The Computer Channel ▼ Extinct NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as simply NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013)
864-519: A definitive offer." On December 14, 2017, Disney officially confirmed its acquisition of the most 21st Century Fox assets , which was granted approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division on June 27, 2018, and approved by stockholders from both companies one month later. On April 25, 2018, Comcast launched its takeover offer for Sky plc at £12.50 per-share, or approximately £22.1 billion. 21st Century Fox owned
960-481: A financial news service that delivered live video to personal computers. The following year, NBC announced an agreement with Microsoft to create an all-news cable television channel, MSNBC (using its subscriber base from America's Talking network). A separate joint venture with Microsoft included establishing a news website, MSNBC.com (now NBCNews.com ). In 1998, NBC partnered with Dow Jones & Co. The two companies combined their financial news channels outside
1056-517: A major rebranding campaign incorporating a new logo and on-air look that launched on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand." On December 3, 2009, after months of rumors, a deal was formally announced in which Comcast would buy a stake in NBC Universal from GE for $ 6.5 billion after the spin-off of certain businesses, pending regulatory approval. Under
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#17328524111941152-474: A month later since many of the represented views were more concerned about contractual arrangements which had nothing to do with competition. The Independent Broadcasting Authority was not consulted about the deal; after approval, the IBA demanded precise details about the merger, stated they were considering the repercussions of the deal to ultimately determine whether BSB contracts were null and void. On 17 November,
1248-655: A new company, Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan. On March 16, 2009, NBC Universal-owned cable channel Sci Fi announced that it would be changing its name to Syfy , replacing a generic term with a proprietary brand name that was able to be trademarked. The re-branding and name change took place on July 7, 2009. On August 27, 2009, A&E Television Networks (A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime), giving NBC Universal an equal share of both Lifetime and A&E with The Walt Disney Company and Hearst . On October 20, 2010, NBC Universal-owned horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller announced
1344-535: A new division, NBCUniversal Hispanic Enterprises and Content. The move also created the corporate-level position of executive vice president in charge of digital ventures. In July, the company placed NBC TV Stations and Telemundo 's O&Os stations into a new division, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, with New England Cable News being transferred into NBC TV Stations. On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $ 3.8 billion. Universal Pictures took over
1440-640: A number of shows for NBC, although Revue would have hits on other networks as well. This partnership continued throughout a number of name changes and changes of ownership. NBC Universal Television has its modern roots in a series of expansions undertaken by NBC. In the late 1980s, NBC began pursuing a strategy of diversification, including the formation of two NBC-owned cable-television networks: CNBC and America's Talking . NBC also had partial ownership of several regional sports channels and other cable channels such as American Movie Classics and Court TV (until 2007). In 1995, NBC began operating NBC Desktop Video,
1536-666: A required takeover offer to Sky Deutschland's minority shareholders, resulting in BSkyB acquiring 89.71% of Sky Deutschland's share capital. The acquisitions were completed on 13 November. British Sky Broadcasting Group plc changed its name to Sky plc to reflect the European acquisitions, and the United Kingdom operations were renamed Sky UK Limited . Sky plc bought out the remaining minority shareholders in Sky Deutschland during 2015, using
1632-553: A significant stake in Sky and was trying to take full control of it itself, ahead of its own acquisition by The Walt Disney Company. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke stated that purchasing Sky would roughly double its presence in English-speaking markets, and allow for synergies between the respective networks and studios of NBCUniversal and Sky. On June 5, 2018, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock cleared both 21st Century Fox and Comcast's respective offers to acquire Sky plc. Fox's offer
1728-475: A third round where both companies could make new offers. However, the third round of bidding would only be binding if both companies make a bid. The results were to be revealed on 22 September, and be confirmed by the start of trading on 24 September. Comcast won the auction with a bid of £17.28 per-share, beating Fox's bid of £15.67. Sky plc had until 11 October to formally accept this offer. Following its auction victory, Comcast began to acquire Sky shares from
1824-506: A viable multi-platform competitor to other major children's networks (such as Nickelodeon , Cartoon Network , and Disney Channel ). On May 10, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it had acquired Denver-based online platform Craftsy for its Cable Entertainment Group division. On November 16, 2017, NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast made a bid to acquire 21st Century Fox 's filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and international assets, ten days after The Walt Disney Company (at
1920-531: Is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a subsidiary of the American conglomerate Comcast , and headquartered in London , England. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's largest media company and pay-TV broadcaster by revenue (as of 2018 ), with 23 million subscribers and more than 31,000 employees as of 2019. The company
2016-522: Is also expected to house post-production facilities and an on-site screening cinema. Sky Studios has creative partnerships in place with a range of production companies including Merman TV (founded by Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford), Rangabee (founded by Romesh Ranganathan and Benjamin Green), The Apartment (part of Fremantle and led by Lorenzo Mieli ) and an overall deal with German filmmaker Philipp Leinemann. Sky Group Sky Group Limited
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#17328524111942112-412: Is also the third-largest operator of amusement parks in the world. Since 2018, its sister company under Comcast's control, Sky Group Limited , holds its media and telecommunication assets. NBCUniversal was formed on May 11, 2004, beginning on November 8, 2004 as NBC Universal, Inc. , with the merger of General Electric (GE)'s NBC with Vivendi Universal Entertainment , after GE had acquired 80% of
2208-688: Is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. NBCUniversal is primarily involved in the media and entertainment industry. The company is named for its two most significant divisions, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) – one of the United States' Big Three television networks – and
2304-569: Is available to competing cable operators. The company unveiled a new logo designed by Wolff Olins , which replaced a logo featuring the NBC peacock and an invocation of the Universal Pictures globe, with a wordmark . The company also began to stylize its name in CamelCase as "NBCUniversal" rather than "NBC Universal", to reflect the unity of its two main divisions. On January 26, 2011, Vivendi sold
2400-449: Is being built at Rowley Lane, Borehamwood , located close to the existing Elstree Studios . The new studios are expected to open in 2022, and will provide production space for Sky's original content as well as film and TV productions from NBCUniversal , which is owned by Sky's parent company Comcast . It is expected that the facility will have 14 stages, with the smallest being approximately 1,800 m (19,000 sq ft). The site
2496-484: Is primarily involved in satellite television , producing and broadcasting. The current CEO is Dana Strong . Initially formed in 1990 by the equal merger of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting , BSkyB became the UK's largest digital pay television company. In 2014, after completing the acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland , the merged company changed its name to Sky plc . Prior to November 2018, Rupert Murdoch 's 21st Century Fox owned
2592-530: The Law & Order franchise and The District —in fact, Universal Network Television had co-produced American Dreams with NBC before the merger. Universal Television Distribution shows also brought into company include Jerry Springer and Maury . Entertainment shows produced by the new group include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , Last Call with Carson Daly , and Saturday Night Live . The formation of NBC Universal saw
2688-581: The Chart Show Channels company. Shortly afterwards it acquired Artsworld , giving a majority of subscribers full access to the channel. The buyout was part of James Murdoch's strategy to improve the perceptions BSkyB which could lead to potential new subscribers. John Cassy, the channel manager of Artsworld, said: "It is great news for the arts that a dedicated cultural channel will be available to millions of households." In early 2007 Freeview overtook Sky Digital with nearly 200,000 more subscribers at
2784-720: The Fox Broadcasting Company , the Fox News Channel , Fox Television Stations , Fox Business Network , Fox Sports 1 and 2 , Fox Deportes , and the Big Ten Network , all of which were spun off into the "New Fox" company (later known as the Fox Corporation ) run by the Murdoch family . However, on December 11, 2017, Comcast officially dropped the bid, saying that "We never got the level of engagement needed to make
2880-472: The IBA decided to terminate BSB's contract, but not immediately, as it was deemed unfair to 120,000 viewers who had bought BSB devices. Sam Chisholm was appointed CEO in a bid to reorganise the new company, which, continued to make losses of £10 million per week. The defunct BSB's HQ, Marco Polo House were sold, 39% of the new company's employees were made redundant to leave just under 1000 employees, many of
2976-437: The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers ordered that a blind auction be held "in order to provide an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation". In this process, Fox, followed by Comcast, made new cash-only bids for Sky. After these first two rounds of bidding, there would be a third round where both companies could make new offers. However, the third round of bidding would only be binding if both companies make
Sky Studios - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-519: The bilingual Mun2 Television for $ 1.98 billion. That same year NBC acquired the cable channel Bravo . In 2004, amid a major financial crisis caused by over-expansion, Universal Studios' parent company, Vivendi Universal Entertainment (a division of the French company Vivendi Universal, now Vivendi ), decided to sell an 80% stake of itself to NBC 's parent company, General Electric (GE). The sale and resulting merger formed NBC Universal. The new company
3168-448: The major Hollywood film studio Universal Studios . It also has a significant presence in broadcasting through a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including USA , Syfy , Bravo , E! , Telemundo (Spanish), Universal Kids , the streaming service Peacock and ownership stakes in Snap and Vox Media . Via its Universal Destinations & Experiences division, NBCUniversal
3264-538: The 13th: The Series , War of the Worlds and Tales from the Crypt . NBC Universal also stated that, aside from the content in their own vaults, Chiller will feature content from other studios as well. In 2009, Chiller unveiled a new slogan, "scary good". This replaced the channel's previous slogan "Dare To Watch". On June 14, 2007, NBC Universal Television Studio was renamed Universal Media Studios . The company explained that
3360-469: The 1997–2001 deal, but was challenged by On Digital for the rights from 2001 to 2004, thus it was forced to pay £1.1 billion which gave it 66 live games a year. Following a lengthy legal battle with the European Commission, which deemed the exclusivity of the rights to be against the interests of competition and the consumer, BSkyB's monopoly came to an end from the 2007–08 season . In May 2006,
3456-483: The FTSE 100 index, operation profits increased to £155M a year, and Pearson sold off its 17.5% stake in the company. Sam Chisholm resigned from BSkyB due to a rift with Rupert Murdoch in June 1997. A week later, Murdoch was quoted as saying "I cannot understand the fuss; BSkyB was grossly overpriced", which caused further rifts with the new management. In 1997, BSkyB formed a partnership with Carlton and Granada to bid for
3552-505: The Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports was awarded two of the six Premiership packages that the English FA offered to broadcasters. Sky picked up the remaining four for £1.3bn. In October 1994, BSkyB announced its plans to float the company on the UK and US stock exchanges, selling off 20% of the company. The stock flotation reduced Murdoch's holding to 40 per cent and raised £900m, which allowed
3648-472: The NBC Universal TV networks on Apple's iTunes Store . In January 2006, NBC Universal launched a new cable channel, Sleuth . The channel's programming dedicated to mystery/crime genre. Sleuth Network's initial slogan was "Mystery. Crime. All The Time." In early 2008, the channel unveiled a new slogan, "Get Clued In." On August 15, 2011, Sleuth rebranded as Cloo , in order to be able to trademark and own
3744-703: The NBCUniversal programming library and the company's various television networks as well as use it to upsell its free/subscription hybrid service Peacock , akin to ViacomCBS 's utilization of Pluto TV to offer content from its cable networks following the former Viacom 's purchase of the rival streamer in the Spring of 2019. In February 2020, it was reported that Comcast (via NBCUniversal) had entered talks into acquiring Vudu from Walmart . On April 20, 2020, Fandango (owned by NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia ) announced that they would be acquiring Vudu. The acquisition
3840-633: The Panasonic/Viant joint venture for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of the service—which will continue to operate as an independent business, albeit within Comcast's cable television division—stems mainly from Xumo's partnerships with smart TV manufacturers (including LG, Panasonic, and Vizio ), which would allow Comcast to use Xumo's placement to market or showcase Xfinity and other Comcast services as well as use its technology to develop additional streaming platforms. The company plans to add content from
3936-553: The Sky takeover Comcast has begun the process of integrating some of NBCUniversal's international operations with parts of Sky. Among other moves, NBCUniversal's pay television channels in the United Kingdom will be folded with Sky's, and Sky Deutschland will become the parent company of NBCU's German networks. On January 14, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it will launch an over-the-top streaming service to compete with Netflix , CBS All Access , Amazon Prime Video , Hulu , Apple TV+ , HBO Max , and Disney+ . A reorganization of
Sky Studios - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-529: The UK, but criticised James Murdoch's handling of the scandal. On 28 June 2013, News Corporation was split into two publicly-traded companies; the company's publishing operations (including News International, renamed News UK ) and broadcasting operations in Australia were spun into a new company known as News Corp , while the company's broadcast media assets, including its 39.14% stake in Sky, were renamed 21st Century Fox . On 12 May 2014, BSkyB confirmed that it
4128-538: The United Kingdom. The first CEO of BSkyB was Sam Chisholm , who was CEO of Sky TV before the merger. Chisholm served in this position until 1997. He was followed by Mark Booth who was credited with leading the company through the introduction of Sky. Tony Ball was appointed in 1999 and completed the company's analogue to digital conversion. He is also credited with returning the company to profit and bringing subscriber numbers to new heights. In 2003, Ball announced his resignation and James Murdoch , son of Rupert Murdoch
4224-753: The United Kingdom; Jupiter Entertainment , Talos Films, Znak & Co. and Catalina Content in the United States. As part of the launch of Sky Studios, the broadcaster also announced that they would double their spend on original productions to over $ 1.3 billion over the next five years. In September 2019, Sky Studios announced they were launching a US-arm called The Hive , based in New York and Tennessee, utilising expertise from Jupiter Entertainment . In December 2021, Sky Studios sold their minority stake in Bad Wolf to Sony Pictures Television . In December 2019, Sky announced plans to develop Sky Studios Elstree. The facility
4320-608: The United States, plus the English channels Diva TV , Movies 24 , Hallmark Channel and KidsCo . Later that fall, the company also acquired the Oxygen network in a separate $ 925 million deal. The sale was completed one month later. In the summer of 2008, NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital announced their intentions to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications . The deal closed on September 12, 2008. Shortly after
4416-577: The United States. The new networks included NBC Europe , CNBC Europe , NBC Asia, CNBC Asia , NBC Africa, and CNBC Africa . In 1999, NBC took a 32% stake in the Paxson group, operator of PAX TV . Five years later, NBC decided to sell its interest in PAX TV and end its relationship with PAX owner, Paxson Communications . In 2001, NBC acquired the US Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo , that includes
4512-570: The Virgin name was not licensed to Sky. The new carriage deals are understood to be for up to nine years. The deal was completed in July 2010 and Virgin Media Television was renamed Living TV Group . In June 2010, News Corporation made a bid for complete ownership of BSkyB . However, following the News International phone hacking scandal , critics and politicians began to question the appropriateness of
4608-668: The acquisition completed, NBC announced that their existing TV weather network, NBC Weather Plus, would be shut down by December 31, 2008. In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions split off from Universal Media Studios and moved into NBCUniversal's NBCU Cable Entertainment division. The summer of 2008 marked NBC Universal's first venture into the United Kingdom by acquiring English television production company Carnival Films . On November 12, 2008, NBC Universal acquired 80.1% of Geneon Entertainment from Dentsu in Japan, merging it with Universal Pictures International Entertainment to form
4704-456: The agreement, NBC Universal would be controlled with a 51% stake by Comcast and GE would retain the remaining 49%. The deal includes a provision under which Comcast must contribute $ 7.5 billion in programming including regional sports networks and cable channels such as Golf Channel , Versus , PBS Kids Sprout and E! Entertainment Television . GE used some of the funds, $ 5.8 billion, to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal. Under
4800-512: The autumn of 1991, talks were held for the broadcast rights for Premier League for a five-year period, from the 1992 season. British television network ITV were the current rights holders for the Football League , and fought hard to gain the new rights. ITV had increased its offer from £18m to £34m per year to obtain the new rights. BSkyB joined forces with the BBC to make a counter bid. The BBC
4896-449: The company being delisted by early 2019. Sky was delisted on 7 November 2018 after Comcast acquired all remaining shares. In August 2021, Sky Group signed a deal with ViacomCBS to launch Paramount+ in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria by 2022. On 3 May 2022, it was announced that Paramount+ will launch on 22 June 2022 for Sky customers in Ireland and
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#17328524111944992-410: The company to cut its debt in half. Sam Chisholm said "By any standards this is an excellent result, in every area of the company has performed strongly". Chisholm became one of the world's most highly paid television executives. In 1995, BSkyB opened its second customer management centre at Dunfermline , Scotland, in addition to its original centre at Livingston which opened in 1989. BSkyB entered
5088-563: The company will eventually lose its ties to the Murdoch family. Disney has a narrower scope of media ownership in the country than the Murdoch family. Sky already has a relationship with Disney for its Sky Cinema service, holding pay television rights to its films in the United Kingdom and operating a dedicated Sky Cinema channel devoted to Disney content. A preliminary report by the Competition and Markets Authority issued January 2018 called for
5184-585: The company's investments in The Weather Channel and TiVo . The cable division also used to operate NBC Weather Plus until 2008. It also owned a 50% stake in Canal+ and also owned a 15% stake in A+E Networks until 2012. In the early 1990s, NBC began its expansion throughout Europe by creating CNBC Europe and its long-time successful NBC Europe Superstation by broadcasting NBC Giga throughout Germany and
5280-538: The competing US media and telecoms conglomerate Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal ), announced a counter-offer for Sky at £12.50 per-share, or approximately £22.1 billion. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke stated that purchasing Sky would roughly double its presence in English-speaking markets, and allow for synergies between the respective networks and studios of NBCUniversal and Sky. On 5 June 2018, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock cleared both 21st Century Fox and Comcast's respective offers to acquire Sky plc. Fox's offer
5376-421: The deal on 15 December, subject to regulatory approval. Ofcom expressed concern that this purchase would give the Murdoch family "material influence over news providers with a significant presence across all key platforms" and "increased influence over the UK news agenda and the political process". However, the regulator did deem that a Fox-owned Sky would be "fit and proper" to hold broadcast licences, despite
5472-505: The decision was taken. ITV also asked the Office of Fair Trading to also investigate since it believed Rupert Murdoch's media empire via the newspapers had influenced the deal. A few days later neither action took effect, ITV believed BSkyB was telephoned and informed of its £262m bid, and the Premier League advised BSkyB to increase its counter bid. BSkyB retained the rights paying £670m for
5568-556: The defunct Trio , Cloo (formerly Sleuth) as well as 50% stakes in Canal+ and StudioCanal . Universal Music Group was not included in the deal and is not part of NBC Universal. On August 2, 2004, the television divisions of NBC and Universal Television were combined to form NBC Universal Television . NBC Studios series brought into the company include the NBC dramas Las Vegas (with DreamWorks Television ), Crossing Jordan , and American Dreams . Universal Network Television brought
5664-623: The distribution for DreamWorks Animation films after their deal with 20th Century Fox expired. The sale was approved by board members, but was subject to regulatory approval. On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the United States Department of Justice . On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed, and DreamWorks Animation is now a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal and was integrated into Universal Pictures . This gave Universal Pictures distribution to both DreamWorks Animation and Illumination films beginning in 2019. On February 28, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it would acquire
5760-466: The end of 2006, while cable broadcaster Virgin Media had three million customers. In July 2007, BSkyB announced the takeover of Amstrad for £125m, a 23.7% premium on its market capitalisation. BSkyB and Virgin Media announced that they had reached agreement for the acquisition by BSkyB of Virgin Media Television. Virgin1 was also a part of the deal and was rebranded as Channel One on 3 September 2010, as
5856-546: The entirety of Sky in 2018 for £17.28 per share. NBCUniversal , which is Sky Group's sister company, has also been a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast since 2013 . Before the acquisition by Comcast, Sky was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and had a market capitalisation of approximately £18.75 billion (€26.76 billion) as of 2018. British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)
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#17328524111945952-485: The establishment of NBC Universal Cable , which oversees the distribution, marketing, and advertisement sales for thirteen channels (Bravo, Bravo HD+ (eventually renamed Universal HD ), Chiller , CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, NBC Universo, Syfy , ShopNBC (which became ShopHQ after NBCUniversal sold its stake in the network), Telemundo, Cloo , USA Network , and the Olympic Games on cable). NBC Universal Cable also manages
6048-427: The establishment of an independent editorial board, and committing to fund the network for at least 10 years. This commitment would be inherited by Disney after the completion of its purchase of 21st Century Fox. On 3 April 2018, Fox stated that Disney had "expressed an interest in acquiring Sky News", which would not be conditional on its proposal to acquire 21st Century Fox. A bidding war began 25 April 2018, when
6144-803: The following seven years, but ownership of NBCUniversal remained split at 51–49% for two years, until the February 12, 2013 announcement that Comcast intended to complete the $ 16.7 billion purchase early, all at once. The sale was completed on March 19, 2013. The corporation on July 19, 2012, formed the NBCUniversal News Group with the NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC divisions. In February 2013, NBCUniversal merged its two cable divisions, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment & Cable Studios and NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, into one unit while moving out Telemundo and Mun2 to
6240-406: The growth of Sky but the opportunity for savings is now there and Sky will be taking it," he added. "MTV has done extremely well out of that original deal." On 17 April 2003 BSkyB launched its own range of music channels Scuzz , Flaunt and The Amp , as part of its plan to create its own original channels for the platform. Within 18 months the channels failed to make impact, and were outsourced to
6336-435: The insulation or outright divestment of Sky News as a condition of the purchase, so that it is editorially independent from the Murdoch family. Sky had threatened to reevaluate the channel's continued operations if they "unduly impeded merger and/or other corporate opportunities available in relation to Sky's broader business". The channel has operated on a loss of at least £40 million per-year. In February 2018, Fox proposed
6432-630: The major direct reporting division was made. Bonnie Hammer was appointed chairman of NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises via the streaming services and the Digital Enterprises unit. Her former unit, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group, was given to Mark Lazarus as chairman, NBCUniversal Broadcast, Cable, Sports and News . Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Jeff Shell added NBC Entertainment, Telemundo and international channels as chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment. On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced
6528-737: The name, as NBCUniversal cannot so with the name Clue (as Hasbro owns the rights to it with their board game Clue ). NBCUniversal also explained that another reason for the name change was the word "Sleuth" is too common for search engines (a Google search brings up over 9,530,000 results). One year later after Sleuth's debut, NBC Universal announced that the company would launch a horror-themed cable channel, Chiller , on March 1, 2007. At launch Chiller would be available exclusively on DirecTV . The network would feature films like Psycho and The Shining and TV series that include Twin Peaks , Alfred Hitchcock Presents , Freddy's Nightmares , Friday
6624-402: The network is a major provider of content to Peacock. The new company will be held by Comcast shareholders and have the same share structure (with Brian L. Roberts and his family holding a 33% voting share, as with Comcast). Questions have been raised over how the spin-off will impact the synergies between the networks and legacy divisions being retained by NBCUniversal (including in particular,
6720-507: The new senior BSkyB executive roles were given to Sky personnel with many BSB leaving the company. In April the nine Sky/BSB channels had been condensed into five, with EuroSport being dropped soon after the Sky Sports launch. Chisholm also renegotiated the merged company's expensive deals with the Hollywood studios, slashing the minimum guaranteed payments. The defunct Marcopolo I satellite
6816-426: The open market. On 26 September 2018, Fox subsequently announced its intent to sell all of its shares in Sky plc to Comcast for £12 billion. On 4 October 2018, Fox completed the sale of their shares, giving Comcast a 76.8% controlling stake at the time. On 12 October 2018, Comcast announced it would compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptances from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with
6912-415: The proposed takeover. The resulting reaction forced News Corp. to withdraw its bid for the company in July 2011. The scandal forced the resignation of James Murdoch , who was the chairman of both BSkyB and News International, from his executive positions in the UK, with Nicholas Ferguson taking over as Chairman of BSkyB. In September 2012, Ofcom ruled that BSkyB was still fit to hold broadcast licenses in
7008-404: The reason for the name change was because "the new name fully describes the company's mission to be the premier content provider for television and digital platforms, spanning all television dayparts and creative genres." In August 2007, NBC Universal purchased Sparrowhawk Media Group and renamed it NBC Universal Global Networks. This acquisition gave NBC Universal all Hallmark channels outside
7104-827: The recent sexual harassment controversies that had emerged at the US Fox News Channel , as there was no evidence to the contrary. Avaaz opposed Ofcom's opinion, stating that the regulator "made mistake after mistake in deciding to give the Murdochs a clean bill of health to take over more of our media". The Walt Disney Company announced on 14 December 2017 that it would acquire 21st Century Fox , including its stake in Sky plc but barring specific US assets. Fox stated that this purchase would "not alter [its] full commitment and obligation to conclude our proposed transaction". Analysts suggested that Disney's proposed transaction could ease regulatory concerns over Fox's purchase of Sky, as
7200-449: The remaining 20% of NBC Universal to GE, giving GE complete control of the company ahead of the completion of the sale of 51% of the company to Comcast on January 28, 2011. Comcast and GE formed the joint venture holding company NBCUniversal, LLC. NBC Universal, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company and adopted the name, NBCUniversal Media, LLC , on January 29, 2011. Comcast had planned to buy out GE's 49% stake over
7296-521: The remaining 49% stake in the Universal Studios Japan theme park that it did not own. On May 1, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that Sprout would be relaunched as Universal Kids on September 9, 2017. Universal Pictures' acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 would also be leveraged by Universal Kids to bolster its programming. Industry observers felt that the integration of DreamWorks IP with Universal Kids would help NBCUniversal establish
7392-638: The rest of the European Union. NBC Europe helped to develop the Leipzig -based Games Convention , the largest European video game exposition with more than 100,000 visitors each year. In 2005, NBC Universal joined HANA, the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance to help establish standards in consumer electronics interoperability. Later that year, NBC Universal announced a partnership with Apple Computer to offer shows from all
7488-443: The right for the new digital terrestrial network. In June, it was awarded the right to start the service, ONdigital , under the condition BSkyB withdrew from the group's bid. In February 2003 BSkyB wished to renegotiate its deal with MTV to reduce its payment from £20m. Chief executive Tony Ball said "We're definitely prepared to stare them down if we can't get a sensible deal. MTV, and other channels, have done particularly well out of
7584-471: The sale of their shares, giving Comcast a 76.8% controlling stake at the time. On October 12, 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptances from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with the company being delisted by early 2019. Sky was delisted on November 7, 2018, after Comcast acquired all remaining shares. While NBCUniversal and Sky still operate mainly as separate entities within Comcast, following
7680-726: The service would be called Peacock and is expected to launch in July 2020. NBCUniversal Content Studios was formed in October 2019 with Hammer as chairman and George Cheeks as vice chairman, who was co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. This new unit consists of Universal Television and Universal Content Productions. Hammer was replaced as chairman of the Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises unit by Comcast executive Matt Strauss, while Paul Telegdy would become sole chairman of NBC Entertainment and continue reporting to Shell. On February 25, 2020, Comcast announced it would purchase Xumo from
7776-610: The spin-off seeks to separate the networks from businesses such as the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and its divisions, Peacock, Universal Filmed Entertainment, Universal Studios Group and Universal Destinations & Experiences , while providing them with the ability to make their own further investments and acquisitions. "SpinCo" will include networks such as USA Network , CNBC , E! , Golf Channel , MSNBC , Oxygen , and Syfy , as well as digital properties such as Fandango Media and SportsEngine. NBCUniversal will retain Bravo , as
7872-487: The subsidiary, giving Vivendi a 20% share of the new company. In 2011, Comcast attained 51% and thereby the control of the newly reformed NBCUniversal, by purchasing shares from GE , while GE bought out Vivendi . Since 2013, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast, which bought the remainder of the company from GE. NBC and Universal Television had a partnership dating back to 1950, when Universal Television's earliest ancestor, Revue Studios , produced
7968-409: The table. In February 2019, The Economist magazine claimed that Sky enjoys gross margins of 50%. ITV plc has been the subject of a flurry of rumoured take-over and merger bids since it was formed. For example, on 9 November 2006, NTL announced that it had approached ITV plc about a proposed merger. The merger was effectively blocked by BSkyB on 17 November 2006 when it controversially bought
8064-494: The terms of the deal, Comcast reserves the right to buy out GE's share at certain times, and GE reserves the right to force the sale of their stake within the first seven years. Vivendi completed the initial transaction on September 27, 2010, selling a $ 2 billion stake to GE (approximately 7.66%). U.S. regulators approved the proposed sale on January 18, 2011, with conditions. Comcast would have to give up NBC control over online video site Hulu and ensure NBC Universal programming
8160-482: The time, owners of rival network ABC , cable sports channel ESPN and theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World ) was reported to be negotiating with Fox for the same assets. The deal contained key assets such as the 20th Century Fox film and television studios , 30% stake in Hulu , television assets FX Networks , National Geographic Channel , and international television operations such as Star India , while excluding
8256-716: The weekly losses had been reduced to £1.5M a week, Rupert Murdoch said "there were strong financial marketing and political reason[s] for making the compromise merger instead of letting BSB die. Many of the lessons had been learnt with more than half the running cost of the combined company". Further cuts in losses were a direct result of 313,000 new customers joining during the first half of 1991. By March 1992, BSkyB posted its first operating profits, of £100,000 per week, with £3.8 million weekly from subscriptions and £1 million from advertising, but continued to be burdened with £1.28 billion of debt. Stockbroker firm James Capel forecast BSkyB would still be indebted in 2000. In
8352-462: Was 80% owned by GE, and 20% owned by Vivendi. The joint venture encompassed Vivendi's US film interests (such as Universal Pictures ), NBC Universal Television Studio , NBC Universal Television Distribution , production and distribution units, Universal Studios Home Video , Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, Back Lot Music (formerly NBC Records), as well as five theme parks, cable television channels including USA Network , Sci-Fi Channel ,
8448-566: Was announced as his successor. This appointment caused allegations of nepotism from shareholders. On 7 December 2007, it was announced that Rupert Murdoch would be stepping down as BSkyB's non-executive chairman and would be replaced by his son, James . In turn, James stepped down as CEO of BSkyB, to be replaced by Jeremy Darroch . It was estimated that Darroch would earn around £38.2 million from selling Sky to Comcast. He sold his 775,772 shares in Sky worth £13.4 million and would cash in on previously awarded bonus shares. In January 2021, it
8544-440: Was announced that Darroch would be standing down as CEO, and will become executive chairman of Sky for the remainder of 2021, and will then be an advisor to the company. He will be succeeded as CEO by Dana Strong . The current company directors are Comcast personnel: Michael J Cavanagh (Comcast senior VP & CFO), Arthur R Block (legal counsel) and David L Cohen (senior VP & CDO). Financial results have been as shown in
8640-450: Was completed on July 6, 2020. Following Jeff Shell's exit in 2023, NBCUniversal announced that corporate management will be led by a leadership team while Michael J. Cavanagh continues to oversee Comcast as a whole. On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it will spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly-traded company ("SpinCo") with NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus as CEO;
8736-554: Was contingent on the divestiture of Sky News. On 12 June 2018, Comcast announced a US$ 65 billion counter-offer to acquire the 21st Century Fox assets that Disney had offered to purchase. However, Fox subsequently agreed to an increased, US$ 71.3 billion offer from Disney instead. On 15 June 2018, the European Commission gave antitrust clearance to Comcast's offer to purchase Sky, citing that in terms of their current assets in Europe, there would be limited impact on competition. Comcast included
8832-569: Was contingent on the divestiture of Sky News. On June 15, 2018, the European Commission gave antitrust clearance to Comcast's offer to purchase Sky, citing that in terms of their current assets in Europe, there would be limited impact on competition. Comcast included a 10-year commitment to the operations and funding of Sky News. On July 11, 2018, Fox increased its bid for Sky to £14.00 per-share, valuing it at £24.5 billion. Comcast subsequently counterbid just hours later with an offer at £14.75 per-share, valued at £26 billion. On September 20, 2018,
8928-409: Was formed by the merger of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting on 2 November 1990. Both companies had begun to struggle financially and were suffering financial losses as they competed against each other for viewers. The Guardian later characterised the merger as "effectively a takeover by News Corporation". The merger was investigated by the Office of Fair Trading and was cleared
9024-467: Was given the highlights of most of the matches, while BSkyB paid £304m for the Premier League rights, giving them a monopoly of all live matches, up to 60 per year from the 1992–93 season. Murdoch has described sport as a "battering ram" for pay-television, providing a strong customer base. A few weeks after the deal, ITV went to the High court to get an injunction as it believed their details were leaked before
9120-590: Was in talks with its largest shareholder, 21st Century Fox , about acquiring 21st Century Fox's 57.4% stake in Sky Deutschland and its 100% stake in Sky Italia . The enlarged company (dubbed "Sky Europe" in the media) would consolidate 21st Century Fox's European digital TV assets into one company. The £4.9 billion takeover deal was formally announced on 25 July, where BSkyB would acquire 21st Century Fox's stakes in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. BSkyB also made
9216-584: Was sold in December 1993 to Sweden's NSAB , and Marcopolo II went to Norway's Telenor in July 1992 after the Independent Television Commission (ITC) was unable to find new companies to take over the BSB licences and compete with BSkyB. News International received 50%, Pearson PLC 17.5%, Chargeurs 17.5%, Granada 12%, Reed International 2% of the new shares in the company. By September 1991,
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