Twenty-First Century Fox has triggered a 46-day deadline to raise its bid for Sky in a battle with Comcast for control of the British pay-TV group.

Netflix shares pared their worst drop in two years, regaining a key support level for the stock.

Sky shares leaped to an 18-year high yesterday as investors bet that a transatlantic battle for the TV group had further to run after Comcast’s $34bn (€29bn) bid trumped an offer from Rupert Murdoch made just hours earlier.

The UK has said it is unlikely to refer Comcast’s bid for Sky for a lengthy investigation by regulators after an initial review found that the $30bn (€25.5bn) offer did not raise public concerns about media ownership.

Confirmation that the Football Association is considering an offer to buy Wembley Stadium from American billionaire Shahid Khan has prompted an outpouring of opinion, ranging from anger to approval.

Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and Netherlands-based Ziggo Sport — owned by John Malone’s Liberty Global and Vodafone — said they had been targeted in a European Commission investigation into a possible cartel in sports broadcasting rights.

Walt Disney offered to buy Sky News to help Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox win over UK regulators reviewing Fox’s £11.7bn (€13.3bn) acquisition of broadcaster Sky.

Sky News would be sold off to Walt Disney or ringfenced under improved concessions put forward by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox as part of its efforts to seize full control of broadcaster Sky.

US cable giant, Comcast, offered to buy Sky for £22.2bn (€25.3bn), in an unsolicited approach, taking on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and Bob Iger’s Walt Disney in the battle for Europe’s biggest pay-TV group.

NBC and Universal Pictures owner Comcast has made a $30.9bn takeover approach for Sky in an attempt to trump 21st Century Fox's efforts to seize full control of the UK broadcaster.

The Premier League is waiting for a late delivery from Amazon.

Ireland’s leading consumer advocate has called on Sky to cut the costs of premiership soccer subscriptions after it emerged it will pay 16% less per game in the latest auction of English Premier League rights, write Eamon Quinn, Joe Mayes and David Hellier.

Twenty-First Century Fox shares jumped in US trading and Sky shares rose in London after sources said both Comcast and Verizon Communications were also interested in buying parts of its studio and TV operations.

Disney, the world’s largest entertainment company, has outlined plans to sell some of its premiere content directly to consumers online.

Technology shares led a broad slide in US stocks Tuesday after a day of mostly choppy trading.

US stocks have made small gains as media companies and sellers of beauty products and food moved higher.

US stock indexes fluttered up and down on Thursday - then ended the day a fraction above where they started.

Good evening. Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Walt Disney Co fell the most in four years after posting third-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates and cutting its forecast for cable-TV profit.

Charter Communications, controlled by cable industry pioneer John Malone, has offered to buy Time Warner Cable for $56bn (€52bn), seeking to combine the number two and three US cable operators to compete against market leader Comcast.

US: A man bought a domain name worth $15,000 (€13,000) for just $10.99 after a website glitch gave him the in-demand address by mistake.

The Chief State Solicitors Office is challenging an amendment by businessman, Declan Ganley, to include the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal in his case against the State and Denis O’Brien over the second mobile phone licence.

Netflix has agreed to pay for more-direct access to Comcast’s broadband network to improve speed and reliability for its video-streaming customers, according to sources.

Businessman Denis O’Brien has succeeded in his attempt to join the State as a defendant in the case taken by Persona over the awarding of the mobile phone licence to Esat.

Businessman Declan Ganley’s ability to pay the costs of a legal action over the issuing of the State’s second mobile phone licence means two companies associated with him do not need to put up money in advance in case they lose the action, a High Court judge ruled.

Billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien has alleged before the High Court that Declan Ganley has acted “maliciously” and out of “spite” in bringing proceedings against him over the award of the State’s second mobile phone licence to Esat Digifone.

Lawyers for Denis O’Brien are looking for security of costs ahead of a High Court battle over the awarding of the second mobile phone license to Esat in the 1990s.

An application by billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien to be added, as a defendant, to a multi-million-euro legal action against the State, will be heard in the High Court on Oct 9.

Stocks closed mostly lower after investors found little to like in weak corporate earnings reports and news of only tepid growth in the US economy in the third quarter.

A Supreme Court judge has said it will be a “disgrace to the nation and the State” if it is proven that there was corruption at the highest level of Government in the awarding of a mobile phone licence to Esat Digifone.

The Tonight Show has shed about two dozen workers, prompting host Jay Leno to accept a pay cut to spare other staffers as NBC clamps down on expenses.

There was more than one storyline playing out on the US stock market today.

The Supreme Court has cleared two unsuccessful bidders for the State’s second mobile phone licence to proceed with a legal challenge to the manner in which the licence was allocated in 1995 to Esat.

Seventeen years after it was awarded, the second mobile phone licence, the most lucrative ever awarded by the State, is still embroiled in controversy, as competitors for the licence get their day in court, writes Michael Clifford

Two multimillion euro legal actions over the awarding of the State's second mobile phone license to Esat Digifone in 1995 will now go ahead.

The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on appeals by two unsuccessful bidders for the State’s second mobile phone licence aimed at allowing them proceed with actions challenging the manner in which the licence was allocated in 1995 to Esat Digifone.

P. Diddy is launching a new music-themed cable network.

WARNER Bros, leading a push to spur movie purchases by delaying the availability of DVD rentals, is running into resistance in the US from two of its biggest customers.

US entertainment giant Comcast is in the final stages of a deal to bring Harry Potter’s magic to life in Hollywood.

Michael Jackson’s doctor has defended his use of the surgical anaesthetic propofol to put the entertainer to sleep.

THE Supreme Court is expected to be asked next May to grant a priority hearing of appeals which will determine if two unsuccessful bidders for the state’s second mobile phone licence can proceed with actions challenging the manner in which the licence was allocated in 1995 to Esat Digifone.