Comcast's Sky offer & BBC streams 4K HDR

Comcast makes formal bid for Sky
American cable company Comcast has offered £12.50 a share for Sky in a bid which has been described as a “significant premium” to Fox’s proposal and pointed to “significant opportunities for growth”, The Financial Times reported. Fox had offered £10.75 a share as well as agreeing to sell its entertainment assets to Walt Disney.

BBC first 4K HDR sports stream
Last Sunday, the BBC iPlayer showed a live rugby match in 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) for the first time. A spokesman said the broadcaster deliberately did not publicise the trial or screening because it was produced for the benefit of its engineers rather than for public viewing, the BBC reported. 

EU to regulate tech giants
Google, Amazon and Apple will face regulations from the European Union under a new law aimed at governing their commercial relations. The global first will target app stores, search engines and e-commerce sites, requiring more transparent justifications on search engine ranking and why they delist services. Reuters reported the proposal would also give companies the opportunity to collectively sue online platforms if they disregard the new non-discriminatory rules.   

Samsung launches VR series pilot
Samsung has launched an initiative called Pilot Season, which is designed to develop episodic virtual reality (VR) content for its VR video service customers. The new project aims to fund indie filmmakers while encouraging them to use their equipment, reported Upload VR.   

Facebook to ramp up video investment
Facebook has plans to heavily increase its social video investment throughout the remainder of 2018, looking to rival YouTube with different offerings. According to Digital TV Europe, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged passive video consumption was down the social media giant would focus on personal connections within the video for groups and people to watch and connect. 

Snapchat unveils new waterproof spectacles
The ’smart’ glasses are designed to be worn to capture moments in picture and HD video forms to instantly share on Snapchat. According to Fortune, the new design makes for a more comfortable experience that can even be taken underwater and provides faster-transferring capabilities.

Cybercrime website deactivated 
The website Webstresser which has been blamed for launching over four million cyber attacks globally has been taken down in an international investigation including the UK’s National Crime Agency, which helped to block the site that enabled criminals to purchase targetted attacks on businesses. According to the BBC, six suspects behind the website have been arrested who allegedly conducted attacks with little or no trace for only £11.