World Cup 2018: Four signs you remember England’s 1990 semi-final July 10, 2018 1. Nessun Dorma gives you goosebumps If there is a more evocative, spine-tingling opening credit sequence than the BBC’s Italia 90 montage of iconic World Cup moments soundtracked by Nessun Dorma then it should come with a health warning. Juxtaposing the stirring tones of Luciano Pavarotti belting out Puccini’s composition with slo-mo footage of football’s [...]
Moody’s unable to tolerate BT’s weaker operating trading figures January 26, 2017 A leading ratings agency has cut the outlook of telecoms giant BT after revealing its patience had run out. On the eve of BT revealing its third quarter trading figures, Moody's changed the group's outlook from stable to negative. The news comes as another blow to the FTSE 100 firm after it revealed on Tuesday a £530m accounting [...]
Amazon Prime’s US Open coverage represents a missed opportunity for streaming September 9, 2018 When Amazon purchased the UK television rights for the US Open earlier this year in a £30m five-year deal, the acquisition seemed like the next stage of streaming giants acting as great disruptors to the established media order. Potentially, Amazon could shape live sports broadcasting in ways that we can't yet imagine, much in the [...]
The Italian job: Analysts react to BT’s £530m accounting slip-up January 24, 2017 BT warned on its outlook for the year this morning, after revealing that the impact of impropriety in its Italian business would be much bigger than previously expected. Shares in the company had fallen 18 per cent by mid-morning following the announcement that the financial impact of problems in its Italian business has inflated to [...]
Access Denied: The fight against cyber criminals March 5, 2018 Cyber-attacks defy borders and jurisdictions and are recognised as a Tier One threat to national security by the UK government. As the world becomes more connected, the attacks are becoming stronger, more frequent and more sophisticated. Nearly half of UK businesses identified at least one cyber security attack in 2016, according to UK government data, [...]
It looks like BT is ramping up its experiments with blockchain technology, patent filings reveal April 19, 2017 BT is ramping up its work on blockchain technology, with several patents related to the distributed ledger technology filed in recent months. The FTSE 100 telecoms firm which also provides IT services to high profile clients globally, such as Nationwide Bank, has filed at least six patents since the start of the year in relation [...]
Premier League broadcasting: What is the future of the 3pm kick-off and the TV blackout? September 13, 2018 Bob Lord, Burnley chairman between 1955 and 1981, was an outspoken voice in the national game and, among many things, a staunch critic of televised football. Fearing that a future of sports coverage being broadcast across England’s living rooms would drive down attendances and match-day revenue, he banned the BBC’s Match of the Day cameras [...]
Premier League broadcasting: What is the future of the 3pm kick-off and the TV blackout? September 13, 2018 Bob Lord, Burnley chairman between 1955 and 1981, was an outspoken voice in the national game and, among many things, a staunch critic of televised football. Fearing that a future of sports coverage being broadcast across England’s living rooms would drive down attendances and match-day revenue, he banned the BBC’s Match of the Day cameras [...]
From vicars to City titans: Goldman Sachs, Shell and Barclays among names behind £550m Lloyds legal battle | City A.M. April 4, 2018 Today City A.M. reveals the varied and surprising names behind a massive £550m legal battle with Lloyds over its takeover of HBOS at the height of the financial crisis – and the cast includes major institutions, aristocrats, vicars and politicians. The groups, which includes institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Nomura Asset Management and pension funds [...]
BT and Inmarsat shatter returns at hedge fund Lansdowne February 17, 2017 One of London's oldest and most highly-respected hedge funds was hit by the poor performance of shares in BT and Inmarsat in January, according to reports. Lansdowne Partners said the shocking performance of BT in the wake of a profit warning and a £530m accounting black hole in its Italian division, together with the floundering of [...]