Weekly news roundup: Nine acquires Fairfax and Facebook's value plummets

Nine snaps up Fairfax for $1.6bn 
Australian television network Nine Entertainment Holdings has agreed a deal for buy Newspaper publisher Fairfax. Reuters reported that it would make Nine the biggest media company in the country, ahead of News Corp’s Australian arm.

Facebook’s value drops following fake news and privacy scandals
Facebook’s value fell $119bn on Thursday, which according to an Independent report is the most dramatic share price decline of any company in US stockmarket history. A data privacy scandal and concerns about fake news have left the social network “reeling”, according to the Independent.    

Virgin Media removes UKTV channels
Virgin Media has removed UKTV channels including Dave in a row over fees for the 10 channels, according to the Guardian. UKTV claims that Virgin has sought a multimillion pound cut in fees. Virgin Media saus that UKTV has sought “inflated sums”.

Sky reports rise in profit and revenue
Sky has reported a rise in annual revenues, profit and customer numbers, with operating profit in the year to June rising by 7% to £1.034bn, according to the organisation’s Sky News. 

US politician pushes deregulation effort
An attempt to redue US comunications regulations and repeal must-carry and retransmission consent rules has been launched by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. According to Broadcasting and Cable, Scalise said: “Innovation tends to follow the path of least government resistance. For proof, look no further than the growth of online streaming services that are operating in a completely free market, while competing against other platforms that are regulated as if they were still monopolies from the 1990s.”

News Corp calls for restrictions on Australian public broadcasters
News Corp Australia has asked the government to restrict public broadcasters from competng with its newspapers and websites. The Guardian reported that Rupert Murdoch’s Australian arm has told a government inquiry the internet has transformed the ABC and SBS into “news publishers” who have the advantage of being taxpayer-funded

ITV targets ‘Best of British’ service
ITV is set to launch a a streaming service that it hopes will compete with online rivals such as Netflix, according to Bloomberg. ITV Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall told Bloomberg TV. “We know people are willing to pay for other subscription services in this country, particularly if it has distinctive British content.” ITV’s half yearly results showed total advertising revenue grew 2% in the first six months of 2018.

Commercial Broadcasters Association calls for “ambitious” Brexit deal
The Commercial Broadcasters Association (COBA) has told the government that no deal with the European Union would put the UK’s international broadcasting sector at risk. According to Advanced Television, COBA Executive Director Adam Minns said: ”We know the Government cannot promise a deal, but it can promise to fight for arrangements on broadcasting that are ambitious, and it can give industry confidence by explaining what that would look like.”