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Old 05-03-2009, 22:44   #23
Horizon
Media Watcher
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Essex
Services: Sky, Cable & Freeview
Posts: 2,410
Horizon has reached the bronze age
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Re: Virgin media are selling tv channels

Quote:
Originally Posted by Broadbandings View Post
Or maybe as he heard his division may well be being sold he wanted to move on.
Indeed. Whoever buys VMtv will want their own people in charge.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY View Post
There may be implications for the company when they sell their channels, however. They will get in the order of £500m for that sale, and the question is, how will they use that money? They could use it to bring down their debt, to improve services to VM customers, to invest in HD or IPTV, or perhaps to buy ITV shares.
In light of Malcolm Wall leaving VM's tv division today, I go with the last option on that. But before then, Sky have got to fail in their appeal in having to forcibly sell off their stake in ITV.

As you say, ITV's shares are dead cheap, so if Sky does depart it would be a good opportunity for VM, but they're not the only ones who may make a move. RTL being the most obvious one, but also other media/telecoms companies like BT may try to buy ITV too.

Whether this would ultimately improve ITV's fortunes, who can tell. At least they would have their own guaranteed distribution platform, if VM did buy them. But making better programmes would help ITV too.
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