Exclusive - Comcast to sell movies for download, streaming: sources

LOS ANGELES Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:41pm EST

The Comcast Corp logo is seen in this undated handout photo.

Credit: Reuters/Comcast/Handout

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comcast Corp plans to start selling movies for download and streaming through the cable operator's set-top boxes and its Xfinity TV website, according to people with knowledge of the plan.

The effort, which would offer a new path for Hollywood studios to generate revenue from films after they leave theaters, could start by the end of the year, the sources said.

The initial offering will include a range of titles from several Hollywood studios that include new releases, older movies and some TV shows, one of the sources said.

A Comcast spokeswoman declined to comment.

Now, Comcast and other cable operators offer on-demand movies for free viewing or rental to watch during a specific time period.

Movie studio executives are looking for ways to boost digital sales of movies as customers move away from purchases of traditional DVDs, cutting a lucrative source of revenue.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer and Andrew Hay)

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às 13:14

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Telefonica set to sell $3.6 billion Czech stake: sources

A man walks past Telefonica's building in central Madrid March 26, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Juan Medina

By Clare Kane, Sophie Sassard and Anjuli Davies

Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:25pm EDT

MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) - Spanish telecoms group Telefonica has started preparing the sale of its $3.6 billion stake in its listed Czech unit, three sector bankers closely following the process but not directly involved said on Monday.

Telefonica, which aims to cut its debt to under 47 billion euros ($64 billion) by the end of the year, has sold a number of assets to pay down borrowings, including its Irish business O2.

Analysts have long tipped Telefonica Czech Republic as an asset the group might shed. Telefonica reported net debt of 49.8 billion euros in mid-year results.

Two of the sources said Czech investment group PPF, owned by the country's richest man Petr Kellner, was the most likely buyer.

PPF recently sold its telecoms arm, which will compete as Revolution Mobile under new ownership, but seems keen to get back into the sector. It considered joining a 4G spectrum auction now underway in the Czech Republic as a new entrant but did not, and so buying Telefonica's business would be an alternative way into the market.

One of the two sources said a private equity fund could snap up Telefonica Czech Republic if PPF does not, adding that while he thought Russian telecoms groups would be interested in the asset, they could face political opposition.

A spokesman for Telefonica in Madrid declined to comment.

Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday that Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale were helping Telefonica find a buyer for the stake, though sources consulted by Reuters were unable to confirm which banks had been mandated.

Societe Generale and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Telefonica currently holds 69.41 percent of the Czech company, which has a market value of $5.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data. Telefonica Czech Republic's share price rose 6.4 percent to 322.50 Czech crowns on Monday.

The company faces long-term pressure on margins due to growing competition in the Czech telecoms market, where it faces rivals T-Mobile and Vodafone as well as so-called virtual operators that rent network space.

The former fixed-line monopoly is fighting back by trying to grow its data business over its fixed-line portfolio and by expanding its smaller business in Slovakia.

The business has a total client base of 9.3 million in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and reported a 7 percent decline in half-year revenues to 930 million euros.

(Additional reporting by Robert Hetz in Madrid and Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Mark Potter)

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às 01:07

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Broadcasters could bring Aereo fight to Supreme Court: sources

By Erin Geiger Smith and Ronald Grover

Fri Oct 11, 2013 3:28pm EDT

n">(Reuters) - The broadcasters involved in a high-profile lawsuit with online TV service Aereo could file a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court as early as Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Aereo, backed by Barry Diller's IAC/Interactive Corp, charges about $12 a month to watch live or recorded TV channels on computers or mobile devices.

In federal court in New York, Walt Disney Co's ABC, Comcast Corp's NBC, Fox and CBS Broadcasting are among those claiming that Aereo's service amounts to stealing their proprietary content. In April the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aereo could continue to operate while the New York litigation moves forward.

The television industry is closely watching the case to see whether it could disrupt the traditional TV model. The TV industry sees the service as a threat to its ability to control subscription fees and generate advertising income, its two main sources of revenue.

The main question in all the suits is whether Aereo's technology provides users with a "public performance" of the plaintiffs' content. Copyright owners have the exclusive right to public performance of their works.

The news that the broadcasters were considering appealing to the Supreme Court was previously reported by Variety and the Wall Street Journal.

A representative from CBS declined to comment. Representatives from Fox, Disney, NBC and Aereo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Thursday, Online TV service Aereo Inc logged another court victory, with a federal judge refusing to temporarily shut down the IAC-backed start-up in a lawsuit brought by a Boston station owned by Hearst Television Inc.

(Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker; Editing by Michael Perry)

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