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Der britische Pay-TV-Riese BSkyB will seinen hochauflösenden Ableger von Sky News am 6. Mai um 9.00 Uhr auf Sendung bringen. Ausgestrahlt werden die Nachrichten dann aus einem überarbeiteten Studio, teilte BSkyB am Donnerstag mit.
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Music Choice - The reason why Music Choice will no longer be available on Sky as of 30th June is that Sky and Music Choice were unable to agree upon a new commercial agreement to allow Sky to continue to retail the Music Choice channels. We are currently in negotiations with other platforms in the UK and will let you know via FB once Music Choice will be available in the UK again.

Virgin expected to sell TV channels to BSkyB

Speculation is mounting that former arch-rivals Virgin Media and BSkyB are close to a "sweatheart deal", acccording to MediaGuardian.

It was only a few years ago that James Murdoch, then chief executive of BSkyB, blocked Virgin's takeover of ITV by buying a 17.9% stake. Later, BSkyB stopped supplying Sky1 and Sky News to Virgin.

Now the two companies seem to be on the verge of much closer co-operation. BSkyB is now run by its former finance director, Jeremy Darroch, and Neil Berkett is the pragmatic chief executive of Virgin Media.

If the proposed deal goes ahead, BSkyB will take control of Virgin 1's valuable Freeview slot, giving it a useful toe-hold on the free-to-air platform. Virgin's niche entertainment channels will complement Sky's sports, films and news channels.

A recent Ofcom ruling, forcing BSkyB to cut its wholesale prices to rival broadcasters for Sky Sports 1 and 2, will also form part of the new deal between the two companies.

Virgin is expected to get a long-term deal for the premium content it needs from Sky to drive its cable TV business forward.

Sky Real Lives to close

UK satcaster BSkyB is to close down its female-skewing factual channel Sky Real Lives.

The channel, which is home to shows such as The Biggest Loser and The Real A&E, was launched three years ago.

Sky is currently in discussion with the channel's staff with a view to shuttering the net this summer, in a bid to focus on its flagship entertainment channels, Sky1 and Sky2.

A Sky spokesman said: "In light of our strategy of doing fewer things better, we have begun a consultation with staff about the planned closure of Sky Real Lives. By focusing content investment on those channels that offer greater reach and exposure, we believe we can better meet customer demands."

In related news, Sky has announced plans to pull its Sky Sports News channel from the UK's Freeview platform, returning it to the pay-TV model. The channel will be available to Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk TV customers, as well as online and on mobile.

On Freeview, its slot will be filled by Sky3 +1, a time-shifted version of existing Freeview channel Sky3.