Britain’s competition regulator plans to make Big Tech companies give their rivals greater access to data and limit them from promoting their own products under new powers it is due to receive from the government, it said on Thursday.
Channel 4 is drawing up plans to cut potentially as many as 200 jobs in its biggest round of layoffs in more than 15 years, as it seeks to make savings to weather the worst TV advertising downturn since 2008. The broadcaster, which has undergone a rapid expansion in recent years with staff numbers swelling to a record level of more than 1,200, aims to dramatically reduce a wage bill that now stands at more than £108 million a year.
Microsoft completed its purchase of video game-maker Activision Blizzard for $69 billion on Friday, closing one of the most expensive tech acquisitions in history that could have repercussions across the video game industry. The notice that the deal has gone through came seven hours after Microsoft got final approval from Britain’s competition watchdog, which reversed its earlier decision to block the merger, removing the last obstacle for the transaction.
The British broadcasters are collaborating on a landmark free TV service that will deliver live television over broadband. Freely is being organized by Everyone TV, the organization that runs Freeview in the U.K. and is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
The Academy Awards has a brand new home in the U.K. With pay TV giant Sky having given up its rights following a 20-year partnership, terrestrial broadcaster ITV has now stepped in and will be exclusive local home for the 2024 Oscars following a deal with Disney.
The streamers’ U.K. revenues increased by more than 20% last year despite subscriber numbers remaining at a virtual standstill, according to Ofcom’s latest Media Nations report. The combined turnover of the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ hit nearly £3.3 billion ($4.2 billion) in the nation, rising by 21.5% on the prior year and having now doubled over the past three years.
Netflix has threatened to preemptively remove films and TV shows from its U.K. library to avoid falling foul of new streamer regulations being introduced by the British government. Ministers in the U.K. want media regulator Ofcom to police streaming giants in a similar way to traditional broadcasters, meaning the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video could be fined up to £250,000 ($310,000) for carrying harmful content. Pictured: Queen Cleopatra is a Netflix documentary that has attracted criticism.