While shares for British Sky Broadcasting continue to climb on this side of the pond, the U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it would review the satellite powerhouse and its position in that country's multichannel market. Even with the scrutiny, a spokesman for the company said, "We are very pleased to see that the OFT recognizes the significant market developments which have taken place since BSkyB gave its undertakings, including the consolidation of the cable industry, and the advent of digital technology, which has given the U.K., uniquely, three competing platforms for digital TV." The move comes as the cable business in Britain goes under significant changes. Cable operators are winning the attention of major international companies such as AT&T, Microsoft and France Telecom, "and do not need the help of the regulators to negotiate their carriage deals," the BSkyB spokesman said. Meanwhile, BSkyB's digital service is adding an average of 70,000 customers a week, quickly expanding on its 2 million-strong customer base. Rupert Murdoch of News Corp., which owns 40 percent of BSkyB, released the subscriber news at a financial conference in the States. On Wednesday, BSkyB's ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange grew $6.75 to $107.25, a new 52-week high.

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Sky Wins OK In Argentina

Sky Latin America is moving ahead with its Argentina service after it won a ruling that overturned an earlier lower court decision suspending its operating license. Before Sky can the launch the service, however, the company needs another favorable court ruling concerning its ownership structure in the South American country. Sky, the Latin American satellite service backed by News Corp. and others, said it plans to spend $120 million on its business in Argentina. Consumer groups asked Argentine courts to prevent the company from launching service, citing foreign ownership rules and News Corp.'s involvement with the platform. Sky will go head-to-head with the DirecTV service from Galaxy Latin America, competitors not only in Argentina but throughout the region. Sky Argentina is expected to offer 120 channels of television programming.

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XM Plans Public Offering

XM Satellite Radio filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of 4 million shares of common stock and 2 million shares of convertible preferred stock, representing new financing for the company. Bear Stearns and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette will act as joint lead and joint book-running managers for each offering. The common stock offering will be co-managed by C.E. Unterberg, Towbin and Salomon Smith Barney. The preferred stock offering will be co-managed by Banc of America Securities and Salomon Smith Barney. XM Satellite Radio will deliver via satellite a mix of music, talk, news, sports and children's formats for $9.95 a month. The service should launch sometime next year.

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DBS A Takeover Target?

This week's mega-merger news involving Time Warner and America Online, as well as the smaller yet significant deal between Pegasus and Golden Sky Systems, led to a flurry of rumors and innuendo involving other media titans, including the two DBS platforms. The Yahoo!s and Lycos' of the world are reportedly interested in buying traditional outlets such as Disney and News Corp. But if one digs deeper, DBS providers DirecTV and EchoStar also are part of today's speculation. According to insider rumors, EchoStar is ripe for a merger deal by the end of the year while AT&T has its eye on DirecTV in a much shorter time frame. At the moment, there appears to be no substance to either rumor. In the past, DirecTV had a rocky relationship with AT&T, which once had a small stake in the DBS provider. However, with former Hughes Electronics' boss C. Michael Armstrong now at the helm of the giant telco/cable company, it's a whole new game. As for DISH ... Don't expect Charlie Ergen to sell out easily. With a firm grip on the rapidly-growing company and wealth figured at $11 billion and counting, it would take a lot to get Ergen out of the small-dish business. Industry insiders largely doubt that Ergen would ever exit this business. Meanwhile, Boeing and Hughes declined to comment on news reports that the aerospace/airplane giant will buy Hughes' satellite manufacturing unit for around $4 billion. Industry analysts like the rumored deal, saying any move to sell the satellite manufacturing arm may help Hughes with its service side, including DirecTV.

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INTL: Canadian Government Boosts DBS Jobs