Channel 4 has agreed to release outgoing chief executive Mark Thompson from his contract early so that he can leave to take up his new position as director general of the BBC later this month.The BBC announced recently that Thompson had been appointed to succeed Greg Dyke as director general of the Corporation, in a… Continue reading Channel 4 Releases Thompson To Join BBC Early

A peak of 5.2 million viewers tuned into Channel 4 on Friday night to watch political activist Kitten become the first of this year’s housemates to get evicted from the Big Brother house.Unofficial overnight viewing figures from BARB show that an average of 5 million viewers watched the programme, which secured an impressive 25% share… Continue reading More Than Five Million Watch Kitten Get The Boot

The majority of media agencies and advertisers believe the controversial contract rights renewal system set up to prevent the newly merged ITV from monopolising the market for airtime sales is working well.Media super-regulator Ofcom yesterday published its first report on the contentious behavioural remedy, which allows advertisers to roll over the discounts on their current… Continue reading Agencies Voice Support For Contract Rights Renewal

Broadband Britain is rapidly becoming a reality with almost 4 million UK households opting for a high-speed internet connection, according to the latest research carried out by media-super regulator Ofcom.The figures show that broadband access in the UK topped the 3.9 million mark in the first three months of this year with more than 40,000… Continue reading Broadband Boom Hits 4 Million UK Households

Advertising agencies are failing to capitalise on the full potential of SMS marketing, mistakenly believing that consumer acceptance of the fledgling medium is much lower than it actually is.A recent survey from mobile technology provider Empower Interactive reveals that a staggering 84% of European mobile users are willing to receive SMS marketing and promotional messages… Continue reading Advertising Agencies Fail To Capitalise On SMS Marketing

WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell sounded an uncharacteristically optimistic note on the prospect of a global advertising recovery when he unveiled the company’s annual report yesterday.Sorrell is usually reluctant to be overly upbeat when predicting the industry’s fortunes and has so far refused to call an end to the worst advertising downturn in living… Continue reading Sorrell Positive On Global Advertising Recovery

Freeview saw uptake rise by more than 18% in the first quarter of this year in a development that helped to push digital television penetration to around 53% of all UK households.The latest figures from Ofcom show that around 3.5 million households received the free-to-air digital terrestrial service in the first three months of this… Continue reading Freeview Continues To Boost UK Digital Up-Take

The Financial Times has confirmed that it is considering a number of changes to its UK edition as part of a concerted effort to revive its fortunes and improve falling domestic sales.The paper told NewsLine this morning that FT features editor Andrew Davis has been handed the full-time task of looking at ways to improve… Continue reading Financial Times Ponders New Look To Boost Sales

Classic FM has the oldest listeners of any commercial radio station in London or across the UK, according to the latest set of audience figures to come out of GfK’s National Broadcast Survey.The ongoing national study of radio and television audiences shows that more than three quarters of Classic FM’s listeners are aged over 45,… Continue reading Classic FM Proves A Hit With The Golden Oldies

Channel 4 experienced a night of record ratings last Friday as millions of viewers tuned in to watch the last ever episode of Friends and the highly anticipated opening night of Big Brother 5.Unofficial overnight viewing figures from BARB show that a record 8.6 million people tuned in for the hour-long Friends finalé, which secured… Continue reading Channel 4 Hits Ratings High With Friends And Big Brother