I am a trader as well as an investor and hopefully this thread will reflect both aspects ....

We should start by saying this is a highly speculative share and the market takes no prisoners.

Over the last 18 months I made lots twice in the early days - then lost it back - bought a million at 2.6p average - founded the TAG - bought another half a million or so at sub 1p - sold most at average 4.25 - bought back at 2.2p and less - sold most at 3.5p and now buying back - overall a good net profit at this time.

I think the d4e will happen (say 90% chance) and the 3% currently talked about will give or should give a price equating to say 3/5p. Longer term on succcess of d4e and progress in the sales market the shares should move to around 10p - assumming markets are not in freefall.

I am looking to buy at any time and hoping for a war generated dip - when I do I will let you know.

The TAG site is a great place for catching up on the TWT news and I will post here as well.

Currently trading on TWT is light (1.7 million traded) and the price is down a littlw with a wide spread (2.01/2.35p). This is a sets share and you must expect a crtain amount of manipulation in these troubled times - FTSE down over 4% intraday

I have a core holding of at least half a million shares and intend to be a long term investor at this time.


ainsoph


http://www.investoraction.co.uk - currently we have 804 registered members holding around 100 million shares in total

Freeview is 'key TV battleground'

Jason Deans media guardian
Friday March 7, 2003

BBC-backed digital terrestrial service Freeview could be the key battleground in deciding whether the corporation or BSkyB dominates UK broadcasting in the future, according to AOL Time Warner's most senior UK television executive.

If the BBC can persuade millions to buy Freeview set-top boxes and give the service's 30-odd digital channels widespread terrestrial distribution, viewers would be less willing to pay for BSkyB's offering, Andy Bird, the co-president of AOL Time Warner subsidiary Turner Broadcasting System International, has warned.

But he added that BSkyB was playing a clever game, getting involved in the marketing of Freeview and taking channel capacity on the service, and was the "one organisation that has the physical, financial and intellectual bandwidth to stand up to the BBC".

"I believe the future of British television lies more in the hands of [BBC director general] Greg Dyke and [BSkyB chief executive] Tony Ball than anyone else. The game is a battle of the giants... one which may well be played on a pitch called Freeview," Mr Bird said, speaking at a Royal Television Society dinner last night.

"If Greg can get Freeview to work and become more widely distributed, then he has a better argument in the charter renewal process. If Freeview works, it's feasible that the UK will start to resemble Germany, with 28-30 widely distributed terrestrial channels," he added.

"These channels command serious revenue streams and provide a wealth and variety of programming, including things like sports rights. When you have a market dynamic such as exists in Germany today, the appetite for a pay TV platform [such as BSkyB] is greatly diminished."

Mr Bird said ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five did not have the "financial muscle" or the bandwidth to compete with the BBC. "So they are getting and will continue to get marginalised."

BSkyB was in the best position to mount a serious challenge to the BBC, he argued.

"Sky being the smartest kid on the block is also playing both sides and is perfectly poised to dominate commercial TV in the future.

"They're in the marketing alliance for Freeview, they have channel capacity on Freeview and best of all, they can buy Channel Five to give them an analogue window if needed," he said.

Mr Bird oversees channels including CNN International, movie service TCM and Cartoon Network.

(REUTERS) Microsoft, Sony set for European online gaming war
Microsoft, Sony set for European online gaming war

By Bernhard Warner
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Sony <6758.T> and Microsoft
will open a new front in their computer games battles
in Europe later this month, trying to win over trigger-happy
recruits to the online gaming platforms they view as the next
big growth segment in the industry.
Though small now, online gaming is seen as an important
emerging market for video game console makers. It enables them
to charge players subscriptions to engage fellow gamers anywhere
in the world in a dark alley shoot-'em-up or simulated bombing
run on enemy camps.
Market research firm ScreenDigest predicts online gaming
will surpass $1 billion in Europe by 2006. Sales of online
gaming kits in the U.S. have exceeded expectations with Sony
selling more than 500,000 and Microsoft more than 350,000, the
companies said.
Japan's Nintendo <7974.T>, the second biggest video game
console maker in Europe behind Sony, and ahead of Microsoft,
said in January it would begin its own online gaming trials with
customers this month in Europe. But it said it would not make
significant investments in the area until consumer broadband
Internet access hits a higher critical mass.
SONY TRIALS BEGIN
On Friday Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced
consumer trials for its PlayStation 2 broadband network gaming
platform will be started on March 31 in Britain, followed by a
commercial launch expected later this spring.
Similar trials will kick off in Germany, France and Spain in
mid-April. Italy, Scandanavia and the Benelux region will start
in late May. By the autumn Sony will sell PlayStation 2 network
adaptor kits needed for online gaming throughout Western Europe,
the company said.
Microsoft, a relative newcomer to the video game console
wars with its Xbox, has a few month's headstart on Sony in
Europe. It began European Xbox Live online trials in November
and a commercial launch is slated for March 14.
"Xbox Live and online gaming in general is the next big
trend in the industry. Ultimately, it has the potential to be
more broad-based in its appeal than traditional console gaming,"
Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer for the U.S. software giant,
told Reuters.
Bach said trials indicate that online gaming attracts
individuals outside the core gaming demographic of male
teenagers, an important development if Xbox is ever going to
catch up on PlayStation 2's installed base of over 50 million
units worldwide
Bach said Xbox has sold over eight million units worldwide
since its launch in the autumn of 2001 with 5.4 million selling
in the U.S. and 1.8 million in Europe.
Having designed its Xbox machine as a broadband-ready device
capable of multi-player action, Microsoft sees online gaming as
the one serious feature to close the gap on PlayStation 2's
dominance and generate badly-needed gaming revenues. Analysts
say Microsoft loses money on every Xbox sold.
CALLING ALL ISPs
The online gaming turf war isn't over just the hearts and
minds of gamers. Sony and Microsoft are enlisting European
Internet Service Provider and cable broadband partners to help
market, and, in the case of Sony, provide computer server
capacity and handle some billing activities.
Microsoft has signed on 15 ISP partners across Europe,
including BT Group in the UK, Wanadoo in France
and T-Online in Germany.
Sony is still forging deals with ISPs across Europe; in
Britain its partners include BT, Telewest , NTL
and Freeserve. The British trials are seen as an important
proving ground for the viability of online gaming, the company
said.
Ray Maguire, managing director of Sony's UK video games
unit, said the trials, in which the company hopes to recruit
thousands of game players across Europe, will shape the nature
of the eventual commercial offering.
Unlike Microsoft, Sony is not charging players subscriptions
for multi-player gaming. Both companies say the business model
is still open for change.
For ISPs online gaming is seen as an enticement to winning
new consumers and a way to increasing average revenues per user.
"It will accelerate broadband adoption in the UK and provide
a further boost to the exponential growth of the total gaming
market," Maguire predicted.
Sony will sell its adaptor kits, which includes a headset
and a multi-player-ready version of "SOCOM: US Navy Seals," for
40 pounds ($64.15) in the UK. European prices haven't been
established.
Microsoft will sell its adaptors, which also includes a
headset, trial versions of three online games and a free annual
subscription for gameplay for 39 pounds in the UK and 59 euros
in Continental Europe.
((Writing by Bernhard Warner, editing by Greg Mahlich;
bernhard.warner@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
bernhard.warner.reuters.com@reuters.net; European Equities Desk
+44 20 7542 2490))

Interesting ..... I tried to buy a few five minuts ahead of the close but couldn't get a price ....


07 March 2003

Arena Leisure Plc

attheraces launches on Telewest Broadband

Arena Leisure Plc ("Arena"), the racecourse operator, gaming technology provider
and media rights owner, is pleased to announce that from today attheraces, its
horseracing and gaming joint venture in partnership with BSkyB and Channel 4,
will also broadcast its daily racing programme on Telewest digital television
(channel 534). The channel will be available as part of Telewest's digital TV
starter pack.


attheraces is currently being shown on Sky digital (channel 418) and ntl cable
(channel 908) and this new carriage agreement adds a further 830,000 digital
homes to attheraces' audience reach, raising the number of UK households now
capable of receiving the attheraces broadcast to over 8.5 million.


attheraces launched its first racing coverage on Sky on May 1st 2002 and then
added ntl in October 2002. attheraces broadcasts racing seven days a week, 17
hours per day from 49 of the 59 racecourses in the UK, including all the premier
tracks. Racing from North America is also now shown seven nights of the week. An
interactive digital TV betting service was launched on attheraces' Sky channel
in October 2002.


Ian Penrose, Group Managing Director of Arena Leisure, said:


"This is another positive step forward for attheraces and comes at a time when
racing's major festivals are about to start. The television audiences for
attheraces are growing steadily, and the strong levels of audience interaction
already achieved on our Sky digital, internet and telephone platforms are a
testament to the quality of the attheraces product and betting opportunities. We
look forward to offering our full interactive betting services to all broadcast
channels carrying attheraces during 2003."

18:51 GMT, Friday 7th March 2003 -- by Neil Wilkes
Fashion TV will launch on Telewest's digital lineup later this month, it has been announced.

The 24-hour station will be available to subscribers of the Supreme pack on channel 281 beginning March 21.

"Telewest Broadband always aims to cater for the widest range of interests our customers may have," said Gavin Patterson, MD of Telewest's consumer division. "The launch of Fashion TV will give our subscribers access to the latest fashion news and gossip so they can always stay on top of the trends."

Today's announcement is the latest in a string of recent launches on the platform. Earlier today, racing channel 'attheraces', plus the long-awaited extra Sky Movies screens all joined the lineup, and will be followed on March 21 by Extreme Sports.

I had a problem with my blueyonder service this morning - browser wouldn't go anywhere although email worked ..... two phone calls and around 15 minutes later it was up and running again. although one of the calls to the technical help desk was no longer a freeline (now 0845 national rate) they were helpful and knowlegeable ......

ains

From the end of March, Sonys PS2 Broadband trial in the UK will commence, the Japanese firm revealed yesterday. Partners include BT, NTL, Telewest and Freeserve, though it will be possible to connect through almost any broadband service, like Xbox Live.

Heres the official word on this trial:

To join the PlayStation 2 network gaming trial community, consumers must have a PlayStation 2 and a broadband connection. They must register their interest to participate in the trials by visiting uk.playstation.com and completing an online questionnaire. If subsequently accepted as a trial member they will then be able to purchase a 'starter kit' comprising: PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor, SOCOM USB Headset, and a special on-line only version of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs, the first network console game with voice communication between players. The PlayStation Network starter pack will be priced at 39.99 (plus postage and packing 5.00) and will be available through the PlayStation online shop (uk.playstation.com) only to players accepted onto the consumer trial.
Of course, this announcement also means that the PS2's online services in the UK and throughout Europe, will be for broadband connections only, unlike in the USA, where a standard dial-up connection is also supported. This will no doubt mean that some gamers will be unable to connect, though will also perhaps encourage others to make the investment in high-speed internet access.

By Luke Guttridge

FYI


ITV applauds BBC decision to ditch Sky

Owen Gibson
Wednesday March 12, 2003


Clive Jones: ITV will 'review all options'

ITV has welcomed the BBC's decision to launch its own free to air satellite service and hinted it may follow suit when its contract with BSkyB comes up for renewal in August 2004.

Joint managing director Clive Jones said ITV had long believed the prices charged for carriage were too high, and that ITV would "review all options" before renewing its contract with Sky.

"We understand entirely why the BBC has felt it necessary to take this course of action and wish them every success," said Mr Jones.

"The public service broadcasters have long argued that the price Sky charges for conditional access is too high.

"ITV currently needs Sky's conditional access facilities in order to deliver the best regional service to viewers," he added.

"However the 17m per annum that ITV pays for this service bears no relation to its actual cost. This is the fault of a regulatory regime that allows a dominant market player to extract monopoly prices from customers without fear of recourse from the

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regulator."

Along with the BBC, ITV has been lobbying the government to reinstate a "must carry" clause in the forthcoming communications bill that would limit the amount they pay Sky to carry their channels.

The long running debate centres on the fact that, according to the draft bill, the BBC and ITV are required to offer their channels to Sky but the satellite broadcaster is not bound to carry them.

Effectively this allows Sky to charge the BBC and ITV the same amount as it charges other commercial channels to appear on the platform.

But the BBC and ITV argue they should pay a reduced charge in view of their status as public service broadcasters.

The BBC estimates it will save 85m over five years, more than previously thought, as a result of broadcasting its own signals rather than paying Sky to do so.

Sky argues that it is only fair that the BBC and ITV pay a market rate for their transmission space, in the same way as they do for water and electricity, and that the amount they charge is governed by EU regulations on "fair and non-discriminatory" pricing.

Mr Jones said ITV would push the House of Lords to amend the communications bill to take account of the special nature of public service broadcasters but warned that if it failed it would consider other options when its contract with Sky came up for renewal in autumn 2004.

"In the meantime we will review all options and follow developments with interest," he added.

ITV is in a difficult position. It didn't broadcast on Sky at all until 2001 because shareholders Carlton and Granada believed it would help their own doomed ITV Digital service. As a result ITV lost viewers and advertising revenue and is now tied to a contract with Sky for the next 18 months.

Channel 4 also welcomed the move but was more circumspect in its criticism of Sky.

The C4 chief executive, Mark Thompson, said the broadcaster had a "satisfactory broadcast arrangement in place with BSkyB for some years ahead" but that the BBC's move could help bring down costs in the long term.

Because it operates two pay-TV channels, Film Four and E4, Channel 4 could not broadcast on a free-to-air satellite network and needs the conditional access infrastructure supplied by Sky.

ains
are you still running that TAG scam, what a money maker that was for you, pretending to help out the por shareholders and ramping the share like mad,
no wonder Concorde is your choice, what a man.

splat cockroach, hic heheheh

JOHN MAJOR

Dropped a little today and coming within range for adding a few ..... volumes continue to be low.




Digital chiefs start auction TV channel
By David Hellier Indy
13 March 2003


Sit-up, a television group run by two founders of ITV Digital, is launching a second live television channel later this year in a move that appears to defy the gloom currently engulfing much of the media sector.

The new channel, which will be called price-drop.tv, will aim to build on the success of the company's existing auction channel, bid-up.tv, which claims to be second only to QVC in the television shopping market-place.

The summer launch of price-drop.tv, which will introduce a falling price mechanism into an auction situation, follows a recent 5m private financing round. On price-drop.tv, the price of goods bought by customers will fall gradually until there are none left.

The company, which is 32 per cent owned by the cable group Telewest, is aiming to reach a 100m turnover target in 2003, the group's third year.

Sit-up was formed by Ashley Faull and John Egan who both quit ITV Digital more than a year before its collapse (when it was still known as Ondigital) to set up on their own.

They have studio space in Acton, west London, and plan to hire 100 new staff to service the new channel, which will be available on launch in more than 10 million households via SkyDigital, ntl home and Telewest.

The group recently appointed Robin Klein, a former managing director of marketing and home-shopping at Arcadia, as a non-executive director.

John Malone of Liberty Media resigns due to scheduling, will be replaced by Pauline Richards.
March 13, 2003: 2:29 PM EST



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cendant Corp., the travel and real estate services provider, said Thursday that John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Group, has resigned from its board of directors.



The New York-based company said in a faxed statement that Pauline Richards, 54, chief financial officer of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch (Bermuda) Ltd., a trust company business, will replace Malone.

Cendant Chief Executive Henry Silverman said Malone's schedule at Liberty precluded him from devoting more time to Cendant. He said Liberty (L: up $0.32 to $9.00, Research, Estimates) and Malone have no current plans to sell Cendant (CD: unchanged at $12.06, Research, Estimates) shares.

Separately, Cendant said Richards will replace former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on the board's audit committee. Mulroney, who has been a director since December 1997, will remain on the board as a member of its corporate governance committee, Cendant said.

Cendant's brands include the Days Inn and Ramada hotel chains, the Century 21 and Coldwell Banker real estate brokers, and the Avis and Budget Group car rental firms.

Malone to take control of UPC

Owen Gibson Guardian
Friday March 14, 2003


John Malone: will emerge with 65.5% of Europe's largest cable firm

Europe's largest cable company UPC has had its financial restructuring plan approved, allowing US media mogul John Malone to take full control and suggesting he will soon turn his attentions to UK firms Telewest and NTL.

A Dutch court today approved the plan to restructure UPC's 63bn debt burden, one of the final formalities in the resurrection of the bankrupt company.

It will result in Mr Malone emerging with 65.5% of the company in return for erasing two thirds of its debt. Existing shareholders will be left with just 2% of the company.

In common with other cable companies around Europe, including NTL and Telewest, UPC was pushed to the brink of collapse after overspending on acquisitions and building its network across the continent.

UPC racked up an enormous debt rapidly when it bought cable networks in the belief the combination of digital television, telephony and fast internet access would prove a popular with consumers.

But it was hamstrung by high prices, technical issues and customer

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service concerns which, combined with the u-turn in investor sentiment following the dotcom crash, pushed back the launch of services and the time it would take to make a profit.

Mr Malone bought into UPC last year when it was on the brink of collapse by purchasing its majority shareholder, UnitedGlobalCom.

Many analysts saw it as the first step Mr Malone's an attempt to build a European cable empire to rival the one he built in the US 25 years before selling at the top of the market to AT&T.

He is expected to play a key role in the eventual merger of NTL and Telewest in the UK.

The Telewest managing director, Charles Burdick, believes this could take place as early as the beginning of next year.

Through his company Liberty Media, Mr Malone already holds a 25% stake in Telewest, which is close to completing its own financial restructure in an effort to halve its 5.3bn debt.

Mr Malone has been described by fellow mogul Rupert Murdoch as the "Warren Buffett of the media" - a reference to his considerable investment skills - and he is widely thought to have been biding his time in an effort to buy into European cable at the right price.

Mr Malone is the second biggest shareholder in News Corporation and is expected to either partner or go head to head with Mr Murdoch in the battle for DirecTV, the biggest satellite company in the US, owned by General Motors.

I beg forgiveness if this has already been asked but the old memory cells aint what they used to be! Did Telewest ever sell their share of SMG, and if so to who and for how much?

Regards,

Wordy

6 November 2002

Following the approval of the Company's shareholders given at an EGM on 4 September 2002, Telewest has placed its
entire 16.9% shareholding in SMG with institutional investors. The placing was managed by Schroder Salomon Smith
Barney. The shares were placed at a price of 85p per share and the placing will realise proceeds of 45.1 million.

33 million of sale price was due in repayment to Toronto Dominion on terms of guaranteed loan.

Telewest Communications plc confirms they will be announcing their Preliminary
and 4th Quarter results for the period ended 31st December 2002 on Thursday 27th
March 2003.

As previously reported on Digital Spy, Fashion TV, the Extreme Sports Channel and Discovery Health have all secured carriage on the service from March 21.

These will now be joined by foreign language channels Deutsche Welle and Leonardo on channels 830 and 832 respectively, both available in the Supreme pack, as well as Discovery Kids and Discovery Wings on channels 721 and 221, also in the Supreme pack.

MTV's latest music channel TMF will join the Starter pack on channel 303, whilst Reality TV will launch on channel 146 in the Supreme package.

"Excellent content is a must for consumers and this is another example of how we are improving the range and depth of channels," said Gavin Patterson, MD of Telewest's consumer division.

"We are giving our customers the very best choice and value available and the launch of these new channels illustrates our commitment to quality content."

Earlier this month saw the long-awaited launch of the additional Sky Movies screens on the service

Seem to be holding their own again -





17:22 GMT, Monday 17th March 2003 -- by James Welsh
Telewest has announced today it is launching a new international calling package designed to undercut arch-rival BT.

For 3 per month, customers can subscribe to "Talk International", lowering standard international rates to 2p per minute for "popular destinations" such as the USA, Germany andthe Netherlands; and 3p per minute for those further away such as Australia and New Zealand. A 6p connection charge applies to all calls.

David Hobday, Telewest's deputy managing director, said: "We're tearing up the rule book once again, demonstrating that people don't have to accept what they're given.

"We're proving it doesn't have to be expensive to keep in touch with friends and family abroad with calls to many international destinations now costing the same as a local daytime call."

2002 - the first year of broadband

London, March 19 2003, (netimperative)



by Chris Lake

Two new reports have revealed that consumer uptake of broadband exploded during 2002, paving the way for a four-fold surge in connections throughout Europe by 2006.


A report published by the Office of National Statistics discovered the number of households that connected to the high-speed internet in 2002 grew by 256%. 'Always-on' permanent connections now account for more than one in ten internet connections in the UK.

The report linked the growth to the ubiquitous marketing campaigns that have been implemented by the likes of BT in order to increase mass market awareness of the high-speed internet, as well as falling prices.

Meanwhile, the latest Datamonitor study into European broadband adoption suggests there will be a four-fold rise in connections by 2006, when 41m households across Europe will have access to the high-speed internet.

By that time, the UK is likely to have surpassed France to make it the second largest broadband-connected country after Germany.

Datamonitor believes that prices need to fall to the equivalent of $25 per month before consumers adopt the faster internet en masse.

Datamonitor said the online content market, which will be driven by broadband, will be worth about 3.4bn by late-2006, when Europeans will spend an average of $76 per year on content and services. The content market is estimated to be worth about $350m in 2003.

DTV in more than 40% of UK households

London, March 19 2003, (netimperative)



by Philip Buxton

More than 40% of UK households have digital TV, according to new figures released by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) today.


Though using estimates for DTV penetration by both ntl and Telewest, the new figures point to continued growth in interactive TV, largely boosted by the success of BBC's Freeview, which the Beeb said last month had reached 1.4m households. The ITC confirmed those figures with estimates that 1.3m houses had Freeview by the end of the year.

The Commision also said that the growth, if continued, would mean that DTV would overtake internet penetration in the UK later this year.

The figures are good news for the government which is still hoping to switch off the analogue TV signal from 2006 and wants to offer its own services over iTV.

The ITC said that digital television penetration in the UK was estimated to have increased to 41.4% of households at the end of 2002, the first time digital penetration had exceeded 40% in the UK.

It added that growth in DTV had also been sparked by the continued success of Sky's digital satellite services. Digital satellite added a further 227,000 pay subscribers compared with last quarter and has an estimated 6.3m subscribers in the UK.

Including analogue services, overall multi-channel penetration is estimated to have increased to almost 47% or 11.5m households. By the end of 2003 it is likely that the majority of households in the UK will have access to more than the five terrestrial services.

shares still in a very tight trading range - wars - markets or sector news seem to have no effect

ains





ENGLEWOOD, CO (AFX) - Liberty Media Corp said it plans to raise some 1.5 bln usd through the offering of 20-year exchangeable senior notes, which are exchangeable into shares of AOL Time Warner Inc, Liberty Media series A common stock, cash or a combination thereof.
Liberty said it may raise a further 250 mln usd through an option granted in connection with the offering.

Liberty plans to use the net proceeds of the offering, which is open to qualified institutions only, for general corporate purposes.

It expects the first issuance under the offer could be consummated as early as next Wednesday.

michael.pai@afxnews.com

by Neil Wilkes
Continuing its drive to add more channels to its lineup, Telewest has held talks with US news channel FOX News, Digital Spy can report.

Whilst a carriage agreement has yet to be reached, a spokeswoman for the cable company said that "initial discussions" had been held for carriage of the channel, which is currently only available via Sky Digital in the UK.