Virgin to continue using EE network

EE sent out a press release earlier confirming the long standing agreement between themselves and Virgin Mobile is set to continue and the MNVO will get access to both 2G, 3G and we believe soon 4G networks.

The original deal was signed 14 years ago between then T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile but was coming to an end, and with T-Mobile now being part of EE, it was agreed to carry on what has worked so well for them all these years

Virgin Media extends long-standing MVNO partnership with EE

Virgin Media customers to continue to benefit from the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network 

21 October 2013, United Kingdom: EE and Virgin Media have announced that EE will continue to provide the network and services that underpin Virgin Media’s mobile service, Virgin Mobile, the UK’s leading MVNO with over three million customers.

The new and exclusive MVNO agreement is an extension of EE and Virgin Media’s longstanding and successful partnership, which dates back to the launch of Virgin Mobile in 1999 as the world’s first MVNO.

EE was selected based on the strength of its network, its strong industry reputation and its flexible and technologically advanced MVNO platform. EE offers the widest 3G and 2G coverage in the UK as well as the country’s biggest and fastest 4G network.

Gerry McQuade, Chief Marketing Officer, Non-consumer, EE said: “We’re delighted that following a competitive industry tender, Virgin Media has again chosen to partner with EE and build on our longstanding and successful relationship. By choosing the EE network, Virgin Media will ensure its customers and around 14,000 employees continue to have access to the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network.”

Dana Strong , Virgin Media’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Combining the leading mobile network with our powerful broadband means Virgin Media customers get the best connectivity whether at home, out and about, or even beneath the streets of London. Having worked together for over a decade, this partnership between the world’s first virtual operator and what is now Britain’s most comprehensive mobile network is moving into an exciting new phase.”

HTC continue to slide as Samsung posts record profits

It really shouldn’t be happening. HTC make great handsets. The HTC One is, quite simply, brilliant. The HTC One mini is great too, but the Samsung steam-roller has blasted the opposition away with sexy phones and an advertising budget that would make a lottery winner feel poor.

This morning, on a webpage with “Phoenix” in the URL, HTC reported their first ever quarterly loss. This is a company that effectively created this website with the classic Orange SPV. This is the company that, just a couple of years ago, supplied many of the phones that people carried around with them. Now, despite narrowing their range and producing fantastic and thoughtful devices, the opposition are kicking them square in the nuts. HTC made a net loss of 2.97 billion Taiwan dollars, which works out at £62 million over just 3 months. It’s no wonder that they recently sold their remaining Beats share for around £165 million. At this rate, that £165 million will be gone pretty quickly.

HTC shares nose-dived yet again following the news…

 

Meanwhile, despite doubts that there was no further room to grow, Samsung have exceeded analyst expectations and posted a colossal 10.1 trillion won profit for the last quarter, which is £5.8 billion. Yes, £5.8 BERRRIIIILLIOOON. That’s a 25% increase from last year, and they show no signs of slowing down.

Netflix gloats as broadcast television ratings continue to horrify

5:00 PM

Netflix’s share price ticked up 2% on Thursday as ratings for one of the most important days of the new television season came out. Wednesday is the second-most lucrative day for the television ad market after Thursday — and this week, most of the key Wednesday shows had their season debuts. The results were mostly dismal.

ABC’s anchor sitcom, The Middle, was down 17% from its season opener last year. The new ABC comedy Back in the Game is dead on arrival, posting the lowest debut number of any ABC sitcom since 2009. The critically praised country drama Nashville collapsed by 25%, CSI was down 16%. Revolution hit a series low, diving more than 50% from its debut last year. Alarmingly, Survivor dropped by more than 10% from last week’s episode, hitting another series low. Weirdly, the ancient Law and Order: SVU was the one show that surprised on the upside, climbing 28% from last year’s opening.

These shocking declines of between 15% to 50% in ratings come after the terrible weakness the broadcast networks showed in the autumn of 2012. Some industry observers thought that ratings declines were so steep last year that some stabilization was due in 2013. At the moment, this seems like a forlorn wish. Perhaps the most ominous emerging trend is that both new and old shows are showing substantial drop-offs in their second weeks, from Survivor to Sleepy Hollow.

All eyes are now on the main event: The crucially important Thursday evening ratings of tonight. In a few hours, the opening episodes of Parks and Recreation, Glee, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy will basically determine if raw panic is going to engulf the broadcast television business. After the weak Wednesday, the industry needs some good news.

The problem with Thursday is that many of these key shows are starting to look old and haggard: Glee, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy in particular have not aged well. The decision to put the Michael J. Fox Show into such a pivotal night seems like a weird gambit since he holds little appeal to anyone younger than 40 years.

Tomorrow morning we’ll see just how giddy the executives of Netflix and Hulu are going to be during the Friday happy hour.

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