Music video streamer ROXi lands backing from US broadcasters
A music video-streaming service whose shareholders include the U2 bassist Adam Clayton will this week announce that it has sealed a management buyout after months of talks.
Sky News understands that the assets of MagicWorks, which trades as ROXi, have been sold to a new company called FastStream Interactive (FSI), with backing from two major US-based broadcasters.
Sources said that Nasdaq-listed Sinclair and New York Stock Exchange-listed Gray Media were among the new shareholders in FSI, with the launch of new interactive TV Channels in the US expected to take place shortly.
The deal, which has involved raising millions of pounds of new equity from new and existing investors, has resulted in previous creditors of the business being repaid in full, according to the sources.
Its search for funding from the US was seen as vital because of the programme to roll out its FastScreen technology.
Founded in 2014, ROXi described itself as the world's first 'made-for-television' service, allowing viewers to stream millions of songs and download hundreds of thousands of karaoke tracks.
Its broadcast channels allow viewers to skip through content in which they have no interest.
Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams were among the prominent music industry figures who had previously been named as ROXi investors.
Financiers including Guy Hands and Jim Mellon are said to be part of the new ownership structure.
In response to an enquiry from Sky News, Rob Lewis, FSI chief executive, said: "The new technology, FastStream, will revolutionise broadcast TV.
"For the first time in history, consumers tuning into a normal TV channel will find they automatically start at the beginning of the programme, and that they are able to skip, pause or search, even though they are watching normal broadcast TV".
Begbies Traynor Group, the professional services firm, and Rockefeller Capital Management advised on the process.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
12 minutes ago
- CBS News
Roseville-based company hosts program to guide high schoolers to high-demand trade careers
ROSEVILLE – A unique summer program is giving high school students a head start on a stable, well-paying career, not in a college classroom, but on the job site. Monday marked the first day of a week-long course designed to introduce students to careers in construction. It's part of the Heavy Metal Summer Experience, a national program focused on showing students the wide range of opportunities available in the skilled trades. The goal is to expose young people to career paths that don't require a four-year degree. Instead, students can pursue training through trade schools and apprenticeship programs, often avoiding student debt altogether. The Roseville-based company Intech Mechanical is hosting the program for the second year in a row. For one week, many of the company's staff step into the role of instructors, sharing real-world knowledge and guiding hands-on training. According to Gary Myers, a partner at Intech Mechanical and director of the local program, the effort is both timely and necessary. "Our industry needed to do a better job of promoting the construction industry as a whole," Myers said. "And teaching these high school kids there's a lot of opportunities, whether that's being a sheet metal worker, plumber, pipe fitter, electrician, construction worker, laborer, whatever that is." The program comes at a critical time. The skilled trades are facing a significant shortage of workers as older generations retire, leaving tens of thousands of job openings across the country. Fields like electrical work and pipefitting are experiencing especially high demand and programs like this are helping prepare the next generation to step in.
New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
Even Before His Return to the White House, Trump Was Becoming a Crypto Czar
Donald J. Trump got a small taste last year of life as a cryptocurrency mogul. His stake in World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency firm that he unveiled during the presidential campaign, earned about $57 million, making it one of the Trump family's most lucrative investments in 2024. And a licensing deal involving a related industry, NFT collectibles, produced another $1.2 million. Mr. Trump's wife, Melania, contributed to the family income, receiving $217,000 in licensing fees related to a digital token. The results, detailed in Mr. Trump's mandatory financial disclosure report for 2024 and released on Friday, previewed the crypto riches he is now poised to reap as president. Since Mr. Trump took office a second time this year, his crypto fortunes have skyrocketed through a series of business ventures that pose unprecedented conflicts of interest. Not only is Mr. Trump a major operator in the crypto industry, he is also its top policymaker — and a symbol of its rising stature in Washington. Even as the president seeks to deregulate and promote the industry, Mr. Trump's personal net worth has soared through crypto. Though the information in the financial disclosure ends as of Dec. 31, 2024, World Liberty announced this year that it had sold more than a half-billion dollars' worth of its coin, a significant portion of which the Trump family was entitled to. Separately, Mr. Trump developed a personal cryptocurrency known as $TRUMP, a memecoin launched days before his inauguration, that on paper could be worth billions of dollars. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Forbes
17 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘How To Train Your Dragon' Soaring Toward No. 1 Debut At Box Office
The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, starring Gerard Butler, is knocking Lilo & Stitch off the top of the domestic box office perch this weekend. Lilo & Stitch, a live-action remake of the 2002 Disney animated hit has been No. 1 at the domestic and worldwide box office since its debut in theaters on May 23. Since that time, the PG family hit has been outperforming such heavy hitters as Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Karate Kid: Legends and From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. With the release of How to Train Your Dragon, however, Lilo & Stitch has finally met its match. Deadline projected Friday that the DreamWorks/Universal Pictures film will earn $82.5 million from 4,356 North American theaters through Sunday to become the new No. 1 film domestically. Butler, who voiced the role of Chief Stoic the Vast in the animated film, plays the character in the live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon. Mason Thames plays the role of his haphazard son, Hiccup, who bonds with a Night Fury dragon he names Toothless; while Nico Parker takes on the role of Hiccup's teen Viking rival-turned-ally Astrid. Lilo & Stitch, meanwhile, is projected by Deadline to earn $16 million from 3,675 theaters domestically. If the forecast holds, it will boost the film's worldwide take to $367 million. Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal in "Materialists." A24 Also new in theaters this weekend is Past Lives' Oscar-nominated filmmaker Celine Song's romantic comedy Materialists, which stars Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans. Deadline projects Materialists, which is an A24 release, will earn $12 million from 2,844 North American theaters through Sunday. Paramount Pictures' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and Lionsgate's John Wick spinoff movie Ballerina are in a battle for the No. 4 spot, as Deadline projects both films will earn about $9 million each. The Final Reckoning is playing in 2942 North American theaters this weekend, while Karate Kid: Legends is in 3,008 venues. Should the projections hold, it will up Ballerina's domestic tally to $41.4 million, and boost The Final Reckoning's North American box office take to $165.2 million. Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with the most current numbers as they become available. The final numbers for this weekend's box office will be released on Monday.
