The BBC should be at the heart of public service broadcasting in the UK and take on a key role of pioneering new digital platforms, according to Ofcom’s new report published today.Ofcom’s much-anticipated public service broadcasting blueprint suggests that the BBC should focus on the development and take-up of content across new platforms but rejects… Continue reading Ofcom rejects top-slicing the BBC’s funding

Channel 4, ITV and Five are all pleased with the recommendations set out in Ofcom’s Public Service Broadcasting blueprint, which was published earlier today (see Ofcom rejects top-slicing the BBC’s funding).Channel 4’s chief executive Andy Duncan has welcomed Ofcom’s proposals to create a new commercial public service broadcaster, moulded around C4.Duncan said that Ofcom’s idea… Continue reading C4, Five and ITV welcome Ofcom recommendations

Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal kicked off the Great British Food Fight season on Channel 4 last night, with Big Chef Takes on Little Chef.The first of three programmes, which follows Blumenthal’s mission to redesign to menu of the struggling roadside restaurant chain, pulled in more than 3.4 million peak viewers and an average 12.7% audience… Continue reading Great British Food Fight kicks off with 3.4 million viewers

Four out of the five main terrestrial channels saw declines in viewing share in December – Five was the only channel to buck the downward trend, recording a 0.1 percentage points increase year on year.All ViewingBBC One and ITV1 both experienced a year on year decline of 0.5%, taking their shares down to 21.9% and… Continue reading Television Viewing Round-Up – December 2008

ITV1’s Dancing on Ice girls pulled in more than 9.7 million peak viewers last night, just beating the boys to the top spot, after they attracted 9 million peak viewers last Sunday (see Dancing on Ice returns with 9 million viewers).More than 9.1 million average viewers tuned in to see the girls battle it out… Continue reading The Dancing on Ice girls attract 9.7 million viewers

Ofcom will recommend that the ITV breakfast television franchise, which is now owned by GMTV, should be restored to ITV to help the commercial broadcaster to shore up its finances this week.The media regulator is expected to argue that allowing ITV to keep hold of the franchise will help the broadcaster to pay for its… Continue reading Ofcom will recommend for ITV to regain morning slot

Virgin Media customers will now have on-demand access to the latest Barclays Premier League games, FA CUP matches and England home friendlies following a deal with Setanta Replay.Setanta Replay is due to launch on Virgin’s VoD service today, offering customers a range of top sporting fixtures on demand for up to seven days after live… Continue reading Virgin teams up with Setanta Replay

Bauer Media and Unilever have launched a six-figure cross-platform campaign to promote the launch of the newest addition to the LYNX deodorant range.The ‘Unleash The Man Leather’ campaign, which will kick-start on January 19 and run for five weeks, will see LYNX Instinct exclusively sponsor radio promotions, adverts and features across Bauer’s radio stations Kiss… Continue reading Bauer launches new LYNX promotion deal

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising has expressed concern at the Office of Fair Trading’s decision to provisionally recommend the relaxation of ITV’s contracts rights renewal.The IPA has said it is “disappointed” with the recommendations made by the OFT in it’s provisional report (see OFT recommends relaxation of CRR), which is due to be presented… Continue reading IPA hits back at OFT’s CRR recommendation

Advertisers need to get to grips with social networking and the changing marketplace, according to the IPA’s second future of advertising report.The IPA has teamed up with the Future Foundation, a global strategic consultancy and think tank, to produce ‘Social Media Futures – The Future of advertising and agencies in a networked society: A 10… Continue reading IPA: Social Networking Revolution