London Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev has hinted that he is “in the picture” to buy the Independent and Independent on Sunday.Lebedev, who acquired a 74.9% share in the London Evening Standard earlier this year, openly expressed an interest in the loss-making titles but said “I don’t want to multiply my problems”.“It would be interesting… Continue reading Lebedev hints at Indy purchase

BBC One’s new Rivers with Griff Rhys Jones dominated the 9pm to 10pm peak-hour last night with a high of more than 5 million viewers.The channel’s new five-part documentary series managed to secure over 4.7 million average viewers and a 20% audience share during the all-important slot.BBC Two’s Sunday evening prime time programme On Thin… Continue reading Overnights: The BBC’s Sunday night line-up pips ITV1 to the top spot

AOL has decided to rebrand its Platform-A advertising services brand following a 100-day review by its new CEO Tim Armstrong.The ad sales operation, which was launched just ten months ago and includes Tacoda, Advertising.com, Third Screen Media and Adtech, will be renamed AOL Advertising.As part of the rebrand, the new division will look to automate… Continue reading AOL rebrands Platform-A

BT Vision is set to introduce Sky Sports on its on-demand platform next year in a bid to bolster its paid-for content.BT Vision’s chief executive Marc Watson claims both Sky and BT will benefit from the deal, which will allow BT customers to access the full Sky Sports package – a step up from the… Continue reading BT Vision to broadcast Sky Sports

Absolute Radio has signed British Gas as a new sponsor for the station’s Christian O’Connell breakfast show.The six month sponsorship deal will include British Gas branded pre-show trails across the station throughout the day, as well as in-show credits and features.To celebrate today’s launch, the Absolute website homepage will also have a British Gas “re-skin”… Continue reading British Gas to sponsor Absolute Radio

ITV is understood to be close to finalising a deal for Friends Reunited with internet entrepreneur Peter Dubens.Duben’s private equity firm Oakley Capital is in exclusive talks with ITV to agree a deal for around £15 million, a £160 million loss on the price the broadcaster paid for the site in 2005, according to the… Continue reading ITV to sell Friends Reunited at £160m loss

Five has been forced to slash its programme budget by 25% this year as a result of the ongoing advertising downturn.The commercial broadcaster has reduced its budget to £165 million, down from £220 million last year, which is the biggest percentage fall of any broadcaster in the UK.However, Five’s newly reduced budget still sits above… Continue reading Five cuts its programme budget by 25%

BBC One’s New Tricks secured the highest ratings during the all-important prime time slot last night with more than 7 million peak viewers.The second episode of the new eight-part series attracted over 6.7 million average viewers and a impressive 28.7% audience share during the 9pm to 10pm slot, beating ITV1’s revamped Sunhill police drama to… Continue reading Overnights: New Tricks tops The ‘new-look’ Bill

Arqiva has unveiled plans to launch a new consumer video-on-demand service following its acquisition of Project Kangaroo’s technology.The broadcast transmission company hopes to launch a new platform with free and paid-for content from broadcasters and independent content providers, according to reports.BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV – the partners behind the failed broadband TV venture… Continue reading Arqiva plans VoD launch with Kangaroo technology

ITV1’s new Wednesday evening line-up proved to be a hit last night with Midsomer Murders attracting a high of 6.2 million viewers during the prime-time slot.The first of two new cases for detective DCI Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles, pulled in more than six million average viewers and a 27.5% audience share between 8pm… Continue reading Overnights: Midsomer Murders returns with 6.2m viewers