The traditional power balance between programme makers and broadcasters will shift in an on-demand world, according to Simon Sutton, President of HBO International, who yesterday told the Oxford Media Convention that content producers would gain the upper hand in the future.According to the American TV boss, video on-demand will create a gradual “shift in power… Continue reading HBO Boss Predicts More Power For Programme Makers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The last year has seen the online industry take its position at the centre of all traditional media, tying itself firmly into the nation’s TV, radio and print operations.The last 12 months have seen TV broadcasters dipping their toes into online delivery, while online radio listening has rocketed. Press owners also took to online with… Continue reading End Of Year Round-Up: Online