Channel 4 confirmed this morning that it has begun the search for a new chief executive amid mounting speculation over possible candidates for the role previously occupied by Mark Thompson.BBC chairman, Michael Grade, announced late on Friday that Thompson had been appointed to succeed Greg Dyke as director general of the Corporation, in a move… Continue reading Search For Thompson’s Successor Already Underway

BSkyB and Arena Leisure have announced a relaunch date for failed horseracing channel Attheraces following a last minute rescue bid to put the operation back on track earlier this month.The channel will begin broadcasting on Sky Digital on 11 June, after completing an agreement with SIS to secure the company as its broadcast production partner,… Continue reading At The Races Sets Date For Channel Relaunch

Culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, has reaffirmed calls for a clear strategy for the digital switchover and has asked the country’s terrestrial broadcasters to draw up an appropriate timetable for the move to be made.The call came as Jowell told MPs that ‘switchover between 2006 and 2010 remains attainable’ and explained that round table talks between… Continue reading Jowell Calls For Switchover Date To Be Set

Richard Desmond’s Express Newspapers has appointed Victoria Hazell, former advertisement manager at IPC Connect, as its group magazine controller with responsibility for a range of celebrity titles including OK!, New! and Star.The move will see Hazell charged with some of the company’s biggest brands, as well as the Daily Express and Sunday Express‘s magazine supplements.… Continue reading Express Plunders IPC For New Celebrity Magazine Head

AOL has cut the cost of its broadband package for home users to below the £20 mark, in a move that further fuels the price war between internet providers vying for business at the low-cost end of the market.Both BT and Telewest have slashed prices in recent months in efforts to tempt custom away from… Continue reading AOL Raises The Stakes In Broadband Price War

Hachette Filipacchi has relaunched its monthly women’s title B for discerning twenty-somethings, as it attempts to strengthen its position in the increasing crowded market.The new-look magazine will hit news-stands on 27 May after months of work by newly appointed publishing director Rita Lewis and editor Frances Sheen. The revamp comprises a new logo, as well… Continue reading Hachette Relaunches B For Discerning Twenty-Somethings

Media super-regulator Ofcom has announced new proposals to transfer the regulation of broadcast advertising to the Advertising Standards Authority despite criticism that the system could be fundamentally flawed.The watchdog will hand over its regulatory obligations for overseeing television and radio advertising to a new co-regulatory system with the ASA as its public face in November.… Continue reading Ofcom Shifts Broadcast Advertising Regulation To ASA

Satellite superpower Sky has announced a £250,000 jackpot to the creators of the most innovative and imaginative interactive advertisements in a move to encourage use of the medium.The challenge, dubbed Out of the Box, invites agencies to create advertisements demonstrating the relevance and usefulness of interactive TV spots, simultaneously hoping to promote greater understanding of… Continue reading Sky Boosts iTV Advertising With £250k Prize

Kelvin MacKenzies’s national talkSPORT radio station has secured a deal with skin care brand Nivea to become the exclusive on-air sponsor of its Euro 2004 coverage in a deal worth around £500,000.The deal will see the cosmetics giant sponsor talkSPORT’s live match commentaries throughout the event, as well as supporting a range of promotions and… Continue reading TalkSPORT Nets Sponsor For Euro 2004 Coverage

Ofcom has unveiled its plans to launch up to thirty new FM radio licences throughout the UK with a gradual process of phasing in and a structured timetable for applications for broadcasting rights.The process will see Ofcom advertise the licences for one non-metropolitan area each month and a licence for a metropolitan or regional area… Continue reading Ofcom Finally Lifts Lid On New Local Radio Licences