Premier League plots launch of Netflix-style streaming service February 9, 2020 The Premier League is plotting the launch of a Netflix-style streaming platform in a bid to boost revenue from TV rights in overseas markets. Richard Masters, the Premier League’s new chief executive, has confirmed that plans to set up a direct to consumer offering are already underway. The service, which would allow viewers in some [...]
Xbox Series X: A powerhouse machine with bags of potential December 18, 2020 There was a time when the launch of a new games console represented a gigantic leap forward – when gamers could expect to see and play titles in ways they hadn’t even conceived. The jump from Nintendo’s SNES to the N64, for instance, ushered in the era of 3D gaming, changing the course of the [...]
Bloomsbury to offer delivery services to independent bookshops April 8, 2020 Bloomsbury today unveiled plans to support independent bookshops that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. Indie booksellers across the country have been forced to overhaul their business models as they struggle to meet surging demand sparked by social distancing measures. Bloomsbury will offer its ecommerce platform and delivery services to bookshops whose normal [...]
Can Tokenisation Save the Rainforest and Cure “Climate Cancer”? December 17, 2020 J.P. Thieriot in conversation with James Bowater. J.P. is the co-founder of the Universal Protocol Alliance (UPA) an alliance of companies out of which the first carbon neutral Bitcoin has been born. First, can we understand the mission of the UPA? The mission started off a couple of years ago, addressing the consumer side of [...]
EU Commission to open investigation into data usage by Google and Facebook December 2, 2019 The European Commission has begun a preliminary inquiry into Google and Facebook, and whether the two firm’s data usage complies with EU regulation. “The Commission has sent out questionnaires as part of a preliminary investigation into Google’s and Facebook’s data practices. These investigations concern the way data is gathered, processed, used and monetised, including for [...]
Brokers, intermediaries and blockchain December 15, 2020 As a follow-on from my article on the top 7 things that people want to know about blockchain, I came up with another question: Does blockchain create value? Or to put it another way, “How does blockchain create value?” The short answer is: It doesn’t – in and of itself. Blockchain is infrastructure. Blockchain is [...]
Pret A Manger to close 30 stores after lockdown, putting 1,000 jobs at risk July 6, 2020 At least 1,000 jobs are understood to be at risk at Pret A Manger as it prepares to close 30 of its shops following a brutal lockdown. Pret has said it has suffered “significant operating losses” during the UK-wide shutdown of non-essential shops since late March. And while it has reopened 339 of its 410 [...]
EU opens antitrust cases against Apple over App Store and Apple Pay June 16, 2020 The European Commission today launched two new antitrust cases against Apple, bolstering its fight against market dominance in the technology sector. The first investigation will explore whether Apple’s practice of charging a 30 per cent commission fee on sales and subscriptions made via its App Store is anti-competitive, following complaints by Spotify and Rakuten. Spotify’s [...]
Sky to claw back £330m from sports cancellations ahead of Premier League restart June 16, 2020 Sky is set to receive rebates of up to £330m from organisers of leading sporting events, as the broadcaster seeks to shore up its balance sheet after months of cancelled events. The Premier League has agreed to return £170m to Sky, the Financial Times reported, after the UK broadcaster allowed customers to halt sports subscriptions [...]
Retail park sold in £50m deal for online warehousing space January 6, 2020 A retail park owned by M&G’s shuttered property fund has been bought for more than £50m to be converted into warehouses. The deal indicates the growing dominance of online retail which requires large amounts of warehouse space to service customers. The 128,000 sq ft Ravenside retail park in Edmonton north London was reportedly acquired by [...]