Sports merchandise company Fanatics has acquired online sports retailer Kitbag in a move designed to pave the way for future growth and take advantage of the growing popularity of football in the U.S. The Manchester-based company confirmed the takeover -- reported to be around GBP11.5m -- in a statement from its previous owners, Findel plc, which hailed the move as "a fantastic opportunity for future growth and expansion."

In what could signal signs of fatigue in the global tablet market, Boston-based advisory firm Strategy Analytics released a new study today, showing that in 2015 tablets had their worst year-on-year performance to date. According to the report, shipments fell 11% to 69.9m units in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 8% to 224.3m units for the full year. However, the figures show progress in the 2-in-1 tablet market and, specifically, Windows Tablet segments, with 379 per cent year-on-year growth.

The BBC and ESPN have secured four-year deals to show on-demand Cricket World Cup highlights. The innovative UK digital rights deal covers major events including the 2019 World Cup, which will be hosted by England and Wales. The deal with the International Cricket Council will see the BBC Sport and ESPN websites show video clips, end-of-day roundups and digital preview programming for a string of events over the next four years including the World Twenty20 competition.

She may be a bestselling author and makeup mogul now, but Zoe "Zoella" Sugg is still attracting new fans on her original stomping ground: YouTube. The vlogger's main YouTube channel has just reached the milestone of 10 million subscribers, making it the fourth British channel to reach that mark after One Direction, KSI and Adele. Zoella's videos focus on beauty, fashion and collaborations with other YouTubers, although she has also addressed issues such as anxiety and panic attacks.

Amazon's UK sales smashed past the GBP6 billion mark last year despite tough times in British retailing, accounts show. The online retail and media giant made $9.03 billion (GBP6.31 billion) from Britain, up $700 million or 8% on a year earlier. The rate of growth was slower than in 2014 when it added $1 billion in UK sales to hit $8.34 billion. Britain is Amazon's third-biggest market after America and Germany.

Television advertising is showing incredible resilience amid the rise of digital and mobile advertising, helping total ad spend to break the GBP20bn milestone in 2016. According to data from the Advertising Association and Warc, total TV advertising spend for the UK was up 10.8% to exceed GBP1bn for the first time in the third quarter. This was partly driven by the Rugby World Cup. Further growth of 6.2% has been forecast for 2016.

The supplier scandal is having a negative impact on consumer perception of Tesco, according to YouGov BrandIndex ratings. Over the last week, Tesco's index score - which is a combination of consumer perception within areas such as quality, value and reputation - has fallen by 12.2 points; a drop that is deemed statistically significant. Its buzz score, which is a balance of positive and negative consumer sentiment towards a brand, fell 16.3 points leaving it comfortably bottom of the UK's 26 biggest food retailers.

Facebook paid a tax rate of just 3.6% on profits outside America last year thanks to its offshore tax avoidance, accounts show. The world's biggest social media company paid only $123 million in foreign tax despite pre-tax profits of $3.39 billion on sales of $9.41 billion in countries outside America, according to the newly published US annual report. By contrast, Facebook paid a much higher rate of 35 per cent in its home country where it had a tax bill of $3.01 billion on sales of $8.51 billion.

The technology has been years in development and is the result of heavy investment. Sky will not reveal the exact figure, but industry rivals claim an estimated bill of around GBP250m. It is the first complete overhaul of Sky's flagship pay-TV product in a decade, and for the first time introduces a new premium tier above the most expensive Sky+ packages. The cheapest version of Sky Q costs GBP42 per month and with the operator's sport and movies channels a subscription will cost nearly GBP90.

Sony has moved the bulk of its global media into MediaCom following a competitive pitch, it is understood. It called a review for its five business divisions, including the global PlayStation account, which moves to MediaCom, moving from OMD in EMEA and from Carat in other markets including the U.S. Sony Electronics and Sony Mobile, which had been held by MediaCom in the UK, have now been consolidated globally into the WPP media agency.