News Round Up: Capital FM, Amazon, Lovefilm, YouTube and The Queen
This morning's round up of technology, media and marketing news hears about a possible takeover of Lovefilm, a new lease of life for Capital FM and that The Queen's most popular Christmas message was delivered over 50 years ago.
Radio station Capital FM has gone nationwide, reports the Daily Express. The network, previously only available in London, began to broadcast across the country from 10am on Monday and is expected to reach more than 6.5 million people. The last figures issued by radio body Rajar found Capital had a weekly reach of 2.12 million in London. There has been speculation the station would hire Chris Moyles if he leaves Radio 1 at the end of his current contract, due to expire in July.
Amazon targets Lovefilm in £200m deal
Amazon is gearing up to make an offer for Lovefilm in a deal that could value the movie rental site at around £200m, suggests the Telegraph. The company already has a 42pc stake in Lovefilm after merging its DVD rental businesses in the UK and Germany with Lovefilm in 2008. Lovefilm, which increased its sales by a third in 2009 to almost £100m, has reportedly been looking at options to fund its expansion via a stock market listing. In August, the company struck a deal with MGM to allow customers to watch the Hollywood studio's films online.
The Queen's 1957 Christmas message is YouTube hit
The Telegraph reports that the Queen's first ever Christmas message has proved to be her most popular in the internet age, receiving more than one million views on YouTube. The Royal family launched a dedicated channel on the video-sharing website in 2007. This winter it passed a milestone of nine million views, thanks in part to the Queen's most recent Christmas Day broadcast, which has been viewed 82,000 times. However, it is the historic 1957 address that has proved the most popular, receiving almost 1.2 million hits.
Goldman Invests in Facebook at $50 Billion Valuation
Facebook has received $500 million from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor which estimates the social network to be worth $50 billion, reports the New York Times. The deal values Facebook above Ebay, Yahoo and Time Warner and could signal an intention to consider a public offering in 2012. Under the terms of the deal, Goldman has invested $450 million, and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm that has already sunk about half a billion dollars into Facebook, invested $50 million.