Weekly news round-up: HBO hack, Amazon's tennis deal and fake Cisco kit

HBO hit by 1.5TB hack

Hackers claim to have pilfered a Game of Thrones script along with swathes of other material from cable and satellite network HBO. According to the BBC, the group says it has 1.5TB of the firm’s data. Insiders reportedly told The Hollywood Reporter the attack was sophisticated and targeted particular content and data located in a variety of locations, suggesting many different points of entry.

Amazon inks live tennis deal

Amazon Prime Video has secured the UK rights to the ATP World Tour from Sky. Amazon’s bid is thought to be worth as much as £10m per year, according to the Guardian. The deal is Amazon’s first major live TV sports rights deal outside the US. Earlier this year, it signed an agreement with the National Football League to stream 10 American football games in the US.

Starz hits out at AT&T’s proposed Time Warner deal 

Movie channel Starz has criticised AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner. According to a study cited in a Reuters report, the $85m deal could give AT&T the scale to direct customers away from Starz to its own premium channels. AT&T said the conclusion of the report “doesn’t square with the facts”.

ITN forges IAAF joint venture

ITN Productions, which produces content for ITV, Channel 4 and other broadcasters, has formed a joint venture with the International Association of Athletic Foundations (IAAF). The Telegraph reported that ITN wants to make athletics coverage more exciting through the use of new technology.

NEP acquires Vitec’s Bexel 

Broadcast and live event production services provider NEP has acquired Bexel Global Broadcast Solutions. As reported by TV Technology, Vitec subsidiary Bexel is a provider of outsourced broadcast systems and rental kit for sports, entertainment and live production. The Bexel deal is the latest in a long list of acquisitions by OB giant NEP; in January it acquired Avesco. 

Sony Pictures strikes Funimation deal

Sony Pictures Television Networks is to acquire a majority stake in US-based anime distributor Funimation Productions. The $143m deal will give Sony a 95% stake in Funimation. The company’s catalogue include titles such as Cowboy Bebop and My Hero Academia. The deal will add to Sony’s multiplatform Animax network, which is focused on anime content, according to Variety.

Fake Cisco kit seized

City of London police seized hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of fake Cisco networking equipment. According to The Register, more than 1,000 items of counterfeit networking gear were discovered in last week’s raid.