Rebirth of England.

Chapter 943 Sky Group
On September 9, The Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States is accepting a complaint related to the Android system.

Android has been accused of using the Android system to promote its other services and pre-install partners' apps to combat competitors.

According to data from market research firm IDC, Android currently accounts for the largest share of the domestic smartphone market in the United States at 59%, Apple iOS accounts for 38%, and Microsoft Windows Phone accounts for only 2.35%.

According to internal sources, the FTC's investigation is still in its early stages and it is unclear whether the FTC will devote its full attention to investigating the matter.

However, the FTC has not yet contacted Android to question it about this investigation.

Sources said some app developers and other Internet service providers have filed complaints about the Android system, and the FTC recently held talks with them.

One of the issues the FTC is concerned about is whether Android companies are using the Android system to strengthen their leading position in certain application areas.

For example, the Android system has its own search service built into it. Smartphone manufacturers can use the Android system for free, but if they want to access the app store and other services to enhance the functionality of their Android phones, they must agree to place their search service in a prominent position.

In addition, the Android system also has applications including Twitter, Woaw, WoawChat and YouTube built into the system.

IT companies including Microsoft and Google, as well as some application developers, said that this practice was suspected of unfair competition...

After all, IC Capital, the owner of Android, is also a major shareholder of Twitter and Woaw Technology.

FairSearch, an alliance of large technology companies including Microsoft, said Android had abused its market position and welcomed the FTC's investigation into Android.

"Android has adopted a range of anti-competitive tactics that have made it more difficult and costly for innovative companies to expand into new markets," the group said.

The FTC declined to comment on the news.

An FTC spokesperson said: “FTC investigations are not public and we do not comment on the existence of an investigation or the existence of an investigation.”

In addition, EU antitrust officials also stated that if necessary, they will conduct relevant investigations into the Android system.

After this incident broke out, Barron and Ivanta realized that these complaints about Android were not only the actions of competitors such as Microsoft and Google, but there were more forces behind them...

After all, after IC Capital participated in the counterattack against Vanguard Group's control of Sinclair Group and snatched Sky TV from Comcast Group, Jewish capital will inevitably rebound.

At present, it seems that they have first set their sights on Android, which is controlled by IC Capital.

Of course, Ivanta was not completely helpless. The super action committee "Fair Vision" controlled by her took action first, mobilizing some of the congressmen she supported to put pressure on the U.S. Trade Commission (FTC), demanding that they "act with caution" in their investigation of Android.

In addition, Android also issued an announcement to explain some of the accusations.

For example, its search, map and other services are themselves part of the convenient services provided by the Android system to users, and in these aspects, this is true for both iOS and WP systems.

In addition, regarding the issue of pre-installed apps, mobile phone manufacturers themselves also have the corresponding authority to pre-install them, and the accusations against Android are completely groundless.

On the other hand, Ivanta has not relaxed his pursuit of Sky TV...

After Comcast's board of directors decided not to raise the acquisition price of Sky, IC Capital's team continued to negotiate with Murdoch...Finally, the two sides reached an agreement on September 9, and IC Capital will complete the acquisition of Sky for US$13 billion in cash.

The handover between the two parties has begun since the moment the agreement was reached and will be completed within a month.

To be precise, what IC Capital acquired was not just Sky TV, but the Sky Group, but Sky TV is more well-known among them.

Sky Television (BSkyB) is just a subsidiary of Sky Group. Currently, Sky Group's business covers media (Sky Television), Internet, telecommunications and other industries.

After completing the acquisition, IC Capital announced that after the acquisition, Remi Darroch will continue to serve as CEO of Sky Group, and Ivanta TP will serve as Chairman of Sky Group.

Remi Darroch joined Sky Group as chief financial officer in 2004 and became chief executive three years later.

Under his leadership, Sky experienced a period of rapid growth, transforming the company into a European giant.

Since he had done well in Sky Group before, Barron and Ivanta were willing to continue giving him opportunities, especially after Remi Darroch met with Ivanta's representative Heda Kahn and expressed support for IC Capital's acquisition of Sky Group.

Anyway, if the other party's performance is not as expected, then we can change it...

In fact, SKY Group has long been dissatisfied with the British and Irish markets. In recent years, it has expanded rapidly in other European countries by acquiring local companies, and its market share in Germany, Italy, Austria and other places has been steadily increasing year by year.

After the acquisition, Ivanta told Remi Darroch that it would support Sky Group's expansion in multiple fields and more markets, hoping to increase the number of paying users in Europe from the current less than 2000 million to more than 2500 million within three years.

It will also achieve substantial development in business areas such as the Internet, new media, and telecommunications.

Due to the rapid development of streaming media such as YouTube and Netflix in the past two years, Ivanta also hopes that Sky Group will pay attention to its development in the streaming field.

Before this, Sky Group had its own streaming platform, but its development was not very good. Ivanta proposed a bold idea, which was to promote the merger of Sky Group's streaming platform with DailyVedio...

You know, DailyVedio is backed by SEM Group and O2 Telecom, and was previously a competitor of Sky Group.

But now...

And the most crucial thing is that if the merger between the two parties is successful, it means that SEM Group, Sky TV, and even some other small TV stations and content providers will share the platform, which is of great significance.

"This is very difficult. After all, the other party has the upper hand, and it is difficult to guarantee our interests..."

Hearing Ivanta's proposal, Remi Darroch looked embarrassed, but still said:

"We can communicate with each other and give it a try. If we can reach a cooperation, it will be good for us."

Of course, this is not easy, because although IC Capital is controlled by Barron, all parties have corresponding interests, and balancing these interests is not so easy.

But if completed, DailyVedio, as the largest streaming platform in the UK and even Europe, will be able to compete with platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.

(End of this chapter)