The deals mean that HBO Go subscribers can watch content from the service on connected devices via Apple TV set-tops.

The WatchESPN service allows Apple TV owners to watch sport video content from the ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 channels. Consumers must have ESPN as part of a pay TV package to watch it on Apple.

“HBO GO and WatchESPN are some of the most popular iOS apps and are sure to be huge hits on Apple TV,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP of Internet Software and Services.

Sky News, Crunchyroll and Qello were also all added to Apple TV, the technology company said. Sky News on Apple TV will delivers the channel’s live 24/7 news feed to users in the US, UK and Ireland.

Crunchyroll, the leading global video service for Japanese Anime and Asian media, will allow subscribers worldwide to watch the latest HD shows one hour after they air in Japan and Qello, a leading on-demand streaming service for HD concerts and music docs, will offer free or paid-for music content.

Apple noted that iTunes users are now purchasing Over 800,000 TV episodes and over 350,000 movies per day.

Andrea Scrosati (above) has been elevated to executive VP, programming and will lead the new unit. Previously there were numerous separate content division. Scrosati ran the cinema, entertainment and third-party channels divisions under the earlier structure.

The programming unit covers all content and channels aside from sport, which remains a standalone division. Sarah Varetto, vice president News, will continue leading the Sky TG 24 news channels.

“Sky boasts a wealth of outstanding premium content, but it still has great potential for further improving its quality and investing in new TV formats,” said Sky Italia CEO Andrea Zappia. “This new division was created to fulfil this potential.”

Scrosati’s new role is the second major change in the execuitve ranks at Sky Italia this week, following the appointment of Delia Bushell as chief commercial officer.

Sky Sports in the UK is dedicating an entire channel to its coverage of this summer’s Ashes cricket series.

Sky Sports Ashes will offer 63 days of action between 30 June and 31 August and will take the place of Sports 2 on the EPG. An HD version of the Ashes channel will take the place of Sky Sports 2 HD.

The channel will also screen live county cricket fixtures, highlights and various Ashes support shows and will be free to existing Sky Sports customers. Other cricket matches to air on the channel include the Women’s Ashes series and England versus Pakistan under-19 international coverage

This summer’s Ashes contest is the eighth to be shown exclusively live by Sky Sports. Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports said: “There has never been a better time to be a Sky Sports subscriber, our six channels are offering more than ever before.”

The programme joins three other original co-commissioned series covering politics, tech and business, which will also be available on Yahoo!. These are: Thinking Aloud, a current affairs debate programme; personal finance show Loose Change; and The Lab, a series of short films on UK’s brightest young inventors.

In addition, Sky News’ live feed will also be available on Yahoo! during breaking news events. The new deal builds on an existing partnership between the two firms, with Sky News already used as a news feed for the Yahoo! site.

“As a leading news provider, Sky News is the perfect partner to deliver and co-create content on news, politics and business that we know our users want. Yahoo! supplies the cross-device platform and personalisation technology to ensure that Sky’s quality content is delivered to new and existing audiences in the most relevant way,” said Jean-Christophe Conti, Yahoo! vice president and head of partnerships EMEA.

Streaming video box-maker Roku has raised US$60 million (€46.5 million) in Series F funding from new and returning investors to help fund further growth of the business.

The round was led by an unnamed firm that Roku described as “one of the world’s largest institutional investors” – reported to be Fidelity. US media firm Heart Corporation was the other new investor, with prior backers BSkyB and News Corp also contributing to the round.

Roku said the funds would help it grow its streaming software and services business. Though the firm is best known for its streaming player boxes, Roku is also working to with other consumer electronics brands to extend its platform with new ‘Roku Ready’ devices.

Roku said it is currently working with two dozen electronics manufacturers that are making more than 3.5 million Roku Ready devices, mainly TVs, that will retail by the end of the year.

These devices are designed to work with Roku’s Roku Streaming Stick, a USB-sized device sold by Roku, though the firm said it will continue to expand access points to its streaming platform in the coming months.

“Roku has a significant portfolio of investment and strategic partners with very successful global businesses. Their recognition of our brand success and belief in the Roku platform is a tremendous endorsement of our potential to shape the future television experience,” said Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood.

“BSkyB and News Corporation are exceptional partners and we look forward to deepening our relationship with Hearst in the months to come.”

Sources close to the companies have said MTG Studios and Sky Vision are the remaining bidders in the process, with MTG set to win an auction process that began earlier this year due to its financial clout. Endemol is understood to have been in the final three bidders but dropped out of the race.

The deal is expected to be worth about £18 million (€21 million). DRG turned over £23 million in the 12 months to March 31, 2012, though it made an overall loss of £268,369.

MTG Studios launched last year as the new content unit of Scandinavian pay TV broadcast giant Modern Times Group and includes producer Strix, which sells formats, and Romanian production company Paprika in its stable.

Buying DRG would give MTG Studios both a standalone UK-based distribution wing and a foothold in the English-language market. One source said the latter point was a key growth strategy for Svensk, who was a key player at Zodiak TV, which later merged with RDF and became Zodiak Media. He joined as MTG Studios chairman and CEO in September 2011 and is also executive VP, content, MTG.

MTG Studios launched its own distribution arm last year and has rights to international formats such as The Farm.
It is understood BSkyB-owned Sky Vision would have merged DRG’s assets with its own to create one of the UK’s largest distribution outfits.

DRG was first put on the block in September last year following the departure of CEO Jeremy Fox. In January, around 10 potential buyers took a look at its wares, which include international rights to series such as comedy The Inbetweeners, Doc Martin and Australian drama Underbelly (though ITV Studios sells one season of the latter). It also has formats including Don’t Tell the Bride.

DRG’s backer Ingenious Media has previously played down suggestions the company is for sale but as a venture capital company is expected to sell at some point, and TBI understands a deal is imminent. Neither Ingenious nor DRG could be reached before press time.

Former CEO Fox launched DRG in 2006 with the backing of media investor Ingenious. It subsequently went on to buy Channel 4 International, iD Distribution, Zeal Entertainment and Portman Film and Television.

The BBC has raised the prospect of charging BSkyB to carry its channels as it attempts to force the satellite broadcaster to stop charging £5 million (€5.9 million) a year in retransmission fees.

The UK’s four main terrestrial broadcasters – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – pay an estimated £10 million to Sky to retransmit their signals via satellite, with the BBC paying half of the total.

James Purnell, recently appointed as director of strategy and digital at the BBC, has made he issue of retransmission fees a priority.

John Tate, director of policy and strategy at the BBC, said: “Sky should do the decent thing and stop charging licence fee payers to carry BBC services that, in reality, underpin their ability to generate enormous profits. This free ride needs to stop.”

BSkyB responded by saying that its fees were about recouping costs. “The BBC directly benefits from the billions of pounds we’ve invested in our TV platform and the technical services that support the 49 channels they run over the Sky platform. These payments are no different to paying for electricity, studio facilities or any other operational costs,” said a spokesman.

This issue has come to the fore as the BBC sets about completing the implementation of its £700 million cost-cutting plan, with the BBC and Channel 4 arguing that Sky has failed to recognise the benefits that carriage of their services brings to the satellite platform.

In January, culture minister Ed Vaizey used a speech at the Oxford Media Convention to call on BSkyB to cut the fees. Vaizey said the government wanted “to see a solution to the current situation on so-called retransmission fees where Public Service Broadcasters and licence fee payers have paid large amounts to satellite providers for the content to be carried” and said that “zero fees either way” would mirror the arrangement currently in place between public service broadcasters and cable platforms.

Vaizey said that “if the industry can’t find a way to stop imposing this cost on licence fee payers and PSBs, we will look at our options for intervention”.

Virgin Media will connect about a third of Sky’s unbundled local exchanges with Sky’s own wholly-owned broadband network.

The five-year contract will see the core of the network in place by the end of this year, with Virgin Media Business’s high-capacity services product delivering speeds of up 10Gbps for each connection.

Launching ahead of the UEFA Champions League final this weekend, Sports 360 will let users select and replay action during the game from over 20 different camera angles.

Live multi-camera technology from EVS will also makes feeds from around the pitch available during the game, allowing fans to pick a camera angle and to watch highlights in slow motion.

“This is about putting the technology into the hands of the viewer and allowing them to recapture the big moments in the final. It’s the first time we’ve offered this through our app and it’s another example of our investment in the Sky Sports viewer’s experience,” said David Gibbs, director of Sky Sports Digital Media.

The UK sports network has taken rights to up to 500 international matches over three years as part of the deal – including highlights for England qualifiers and full match coverage for the Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland matches.

Separately ITV announced that it would exclusively show live coverage of all England’s international matches for the Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualifying competitions.