Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan yesterday lifted the lid on the broadcaster’s long-awaited plans to enter the digital radio sector, outlining designs for a raft of Channel 4 branded stations to offer more competition to the BBC as a public service broadcaster.The TV boss revealed that Channel 4 would make a “serious bid” for… Continue reading Channel 4 Announces Plans For Digital Radio

Channel 4 was the only terrestrial broadcaster to avoid a dip in audience share during 2005, according to the latest figures from BARB, with the broadcaster maintaining a 9.7% share for its main channel over the year, despite mounting pressure from multi-channel competitors.The yearly figures show BBC One suffering the most over the course of… Continue reading Channel 4 Share Steady Despite Terrestrial Decline

Daily Newspaper MarketBritain’s daily newspaper market continued to look depressed in November, with a 5.1% decline in readership overall was reflected by year on year declines in every category.The quality sector saw one of the largest single casualties, with the Financial Times seeing a drop in readership of 28.7% year on year in November, the… Continue reading NRS National Newspaper Round-Up: November 2005

Daily Newspaper MarketDecember saw the British newspaper market exhibit mixed performances for the nation’s daily titles, with respectable circulation rises in the quality sector outweighed by a downturn in sales across both the mid market and popular divisions.The latest ABC figures released today show the market as a whole in decline, with circulation decreasing by… Continue reading ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: December 2005

The latest ABC figures released today will give the Financial Times cause for celebration, as the paper reaches its highest circulation since May 2004.A healthy increase of 2.7% year on year for December gives the newspaper a total circulation of 439,563, just one month after editor Andrew Gowers resigned, citing “strategic differences” with the FT‘s… Continue reading FT Ends 2005 With Circulation High

ITV has delayed the launch of its new children’s channel CiTV by a month, pushing the launch date to 11 March to ensure a premium quality offering from the outset.ITV refused to give exact reasons for the last minute change, stating only that the date was changed “in order to make the channel as strong… Continue reading One Month Delay For ITV Kids Channel

Sky’s pilot broadband TV service has launched, giving a glimpse of the broadcaster’s intentions for a fully-fledged video on demand (VOD) service following its acquisition of internet service provider, EasyNet.The Sky By Broadband pilot is available free of charge to all Sky subscribers, offering content from Sky Movies and Sky Sports through a peer-to-peer (P2P)… Continue reading Sky By Broadband Trial Offers Glimpse Of VOD Plans

GCap’s 95.8 Capital FM has today unveiled a radical rebranding, returning the station’s name to Capital Radio and shifting its music policy to offer less repetition and fewer advertisements.The radically reduced ad minutage, first announced in November, is specifically designed to attract those who see advertising as a “turn-off.” The new format Capital will never… Continue reading Capital Radio Returns Following Rebrand

A price war between several national newspapers looks imminent today, following unexpected price cuts by three of the nation’s daily titles.The Daily Express today lopped 10p from its cover price, reducing it to 30p, while stablemate the Daily Star shed 5p to the same price.Associated Newspapers also adjusted the cover price of the Daily Mail,… Continue reading Price War Looms As Newspapers Cut Costs

Last year saw an increased focus on digital broadcasts by the radio industry, as the rising penetration of DAB radio equipment provided increased incentive for station operators.According to figures from RAJAR, DAB listening has now overtaken combined listening via digital television (DTV) and through the internet, with total listening hours for digital radio increasing by… Continue reading End Of Year Round-Up: Radio