Two of Independent News & Media’s biggest shareholders have offered £27 million of their own money in a bid to secure crucial refinancing for the struggling media group.Sir Anthony O’Reilly and Denis O’Brien have put up their own cash to help renegotiate a €200 million bond before a mid-May deadline.INM’s advisors hope to convince investors… Continue reading Independent shareholders forced to part with their own cash

Time Warner Cable has expressed an interest in acquiring video service Joost, which is actively seeking a buyer, according to reports.Joost was launched in 2007 by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, also the founders of Skype and Kazaa, in a bid to offer a more efficient and high-quality video service.However, the company has since struggled… Continue reading Joost puts itself up for sale

MediaTel NewsLine understands that Henry Lawson, president of DDS worldwide & chief operating officer for Europe, has left the systems and software provider Donovan Data Systems.Lawson was responsible for the management of DDS operations in Europe and also worked alongside the DDS chairman and chief financial officer to oversee its worldwide operations.He joined the company… Continue reading Henry Lawson leaves DDS

Media regulator Ofcom has warned that Project Canvas, the joint broadband TV venture between BBC, ITV and BT, could face a competition investigation.In its submission to the BBC Trust, Ofcom said Canvas could face the same regulatory scrutiny as Project Kangaroo, a VoD venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, which was subsequently blocked… Continue reading Project Canvas could face competition investigation

Kiss radio is set to launch a new website in a bid to host the first commercial radio site to run a display ad-free homepage.Kiss will trial the new format, which is similar to Channel 4 and Channel Five’s sites, and instead offer creative commercial takeovers and integrated advertising options.The site will launch with an… Continue reading Kiss launches ad-free home page

Lord Carter, the communications minister who is currently composing the final Digital Britain report, has been mooted as a potential replacement for Michael Grade as ITV’s chief executive.Yesterday, the commercial broadcaster announced that Grade would step down before the end of the year to become a non-executive chairman and allow the broadcaster to bring in… Continue reading Lord Carter could replace Grade at ITV

The Apprentice raced ahead in the peak-hour ratings war last night with more than 7.8 million peak viewers, more than double the number of viewers compared to its closest terrestrial channel rival between 9pm and 10pm.More than 7.6 million average viewers tuned in to see the wannabes launch a brand identity and TV ad campaign… Continue reading The Apprentice races ahead

The media, telecoms and creative industries are set to gain access to a new £2.5 billion public fund aimed at creating more highly skilled jobs, according to Alistair Darling.In his budget announcement yesterday, the chancellor said: “There is £2.5 billion for business, to encourage investment in the industries and high-paid high-skilled jobs of the future.”In… Continue reading Darling: Media industry to get £2.5b public fund

Interactive video network Smartclip has launched in the UK, offering agencies and advertisers the ability to convert TV ad campaigns to an online video format.The German network, which was founded by by ex-Lycos executives Jean-Pierre Fumagalli and Roland Schaber last year, has run 180 advertising campaigns across its 300-plus network of publishers, with more than… Continue reading Video network Smartclip launches in the UK

German publisher Burda has relaunched its real-life weekly Full House! magazine and reduced its cover price to 50p.The new-look title will feature a new 12-page weekly pullout, “Beat the Credit Crunch”, in a bid to appeal to readers who are feeling the economic pinch, according to reports.Editor Dave Claridge said Full House! is now more… Continue reading Burda relaunches Full House!