The UK’s commercial broadcasters today unveiled their long-awaited marketing body, dubbed Thinkbox, which will launch on 21 February with a budget of £1.5 million and a stated aim to help advertisers “get the best out of television.”Jointly composed of commercial television companies Channel 4, Five, GMTV, IDS, ITV, Sky Media, Turner Broadcasting and Viacom Brand… Continue reading Thinkbox Unveiled As New TV Marketing Body

Future Publishing has announced the creation of its latest computing title, Computer Upgrade, representing the nation’s first publication dedicated entirely to helping readers upgrade their current PC.The title, launching in April, will be housed within Future’s Technology group, currently home to the company’s PC Format, PC Plus and T3 magazines. The publisher states that its… Continue reading Future Upgrades PC Portfolio With New Title

Ofcom has awarded the FM local commercial radio licence for Ashford in Kent to Local Ashford Radio Kent (Lark), partially owned by Kent Messenger, which will broadcast in the area as KM-FM Ashford.In awarding the licence Ofcom stated that, as a ‘smaller’ licence serving a locality which is not the sole focus of any existing… Continue reading Ofcom Awards Ashford FM Licence To Kent Messenger

Radio operator The Wireless Group has confirmed reports that it has received a proposal for a cash offer for the company from its senior management, including chairman and chief executive Kelvin MacKenzie.While reports over the weekend stated that MacKenzie was preparing to take control of the company in a deal worth £100 million, TWG stated… Continue reading MacKenzie Outlines Plans For Wireless Group Purchase

Radio audience measurement body, RAJAR, has announced the much-anticipated results of its tests into the latest audiometer technology, selecting devices from Arbitron and Eurisko to go forward for more trials this year.The aim of RAJAR’s tests has been to determine how well different audiometer devices perform in identifying up to 33 different radio services, playing… Continue reading GFK Pulls MediaWatch From RAJAR Audiometer Tests

Five grabbed its largest audience to date last night, with a double bill of Friends spin-off, Joey, drawing over 4 million viewers as the show made its debut on British TV.Both 30-minute episodes of the show, following popular Friends character Joey Tribbiani as he moves to Hollywood, secured audiences of 4.1 million and a 16%… Continue reading Joey Breaks Five’s Viewing Records With 4.1 Million

Independent News and Media’s flagship Northern Ireland newspaper, the Belfast Telegraph, has announced the creation of a new compact morning edition for the Saturday market, designed to compliment its existing afternoon titles.The newspaper claims its research has revealed a “great demand” to extend into the Saturday morning market. Belfast Telegraph editor, Edumnd Curran, stated: “People… Continue reading Belfast Telegraph Launches Weekend Compact Edition

HIT Entertainment has formed a partnership with radio operator GWR to create a new digital radio service for the under-10s, providing entertainment for young listeners, as well as their parents and carers.HIT and GWR will each hold a 47.5% stake in the venture, called Children’s Radio UK Ltd (CRUK), while Susan Stranks, founder of London’s… Continue reading GWR Hopes For Hit With Children’s Digital Radio Offering

Broadband customers using British Telecom to access the internet will see the speed of their connections increase dramatically this month, as the company plans to increase the amount of bandwidth available without increasing the cost to users.The internet giant announced the decision this morning, pledging to boost access speeds for its 1.4 million retail broadband… Continue reading BT Boosts Broadband Speeds At No Extra Cost

Channel 4 has this morning unveiled a restructuring of its commissioning structure, with new programming heads appointed to its digital channels, E4 and More4, and a new head of documentaries installed at flagship Channel 4.The management shake-up also paves the way for Channel 4 to boost the programming budget of E4 by a massive £20… Continue reading E4 Shake-Up Paves Way For £20 Million Budget Boost