The Russian alternative telco Golden Telecom has acquired two smaller providers – ZAO BryanskTel and OOO BryanskIntel – which together constitute Group BryanskTel, for around $5.5 million (€3.83 million). Group BryanskTel is based in the region of Bryansk and has over 20,000 cable TV and broadband subscribers, along with around 12,000 receiving its telephony service. [...]

The SPI International-owned channel Nonstop Kino will change its name in the Czech Republic to Filmbox Extra at the beginning of next year, according to local reports. It will also start using the new name in Hungary and Slovakia on the same date, followed by Poland on March 1. Nonstop Kino is also available in [...]

The Polish National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) is reported to be investigating iTVP, the interactive TV service operated by the national public broadcaster TVP. Launched in January 2005, the service is not technologically neutral, being only available to Windows and not Apple Mac users, with those employing Linux also not guaranteed full access even after installing [...]

HBO will become available on the Polish DTH platforms Cyfrowy Polsat and n at the beginning of next year, according to a local report. Up until now the service has been carried solely on Cyfra+, the country’s third DTH platform, on an exclusive basis. The reasons for this are largely historical, as in the late [...]

The Polish DTH platform Cyfrowy Polsat has announced that it now has 2 million subscribers. Launched in 2000, the service currently offers 62 Polish-language TV channels, several hundred FTA foreign services and nine radio stations. It operates in a market also served by Cyfra+ (1 million subscribers as of last month) and n (200,000 subscribers [...]

The Bulgarian national commercial station bTV is reported to have begun work on a new HQ. Based in the capital, Sofia, it will cost €23 million and should be completed in mid-2009. The facilities at the new HQ will allow bTV to switch all its output to the HD format. The station, which is backed [...]

The Carlyle Group is to purchase a 35% holding in French cablenet Numericable. The private equity company will purchase half of the 70% stake currently held by Cinven, which is expecting to realise €1 billion from its holding, valuing Numericable at around €3 billion. Altice controls 30% of the French cablenet, created from a consolidation [...]

Narrowstep founder Iolo Jones has quit the internet company to establish his own consultancy. Jones launched Narrowstep in 2002, but in March he moved aside to become chief strategy officer. Jones’ new venture TV Everywhere will advise clients on strategy, content packaging, technology, delivery and promotion. Prior to Narrowstep, Jones was CEO, Interactive1 and spent [...]