Disney Channel is opening up the channel to enable brands to associate themselves with properties such as Hannah Montana and High School Musical for the first time.This will offer marketers the opportunity to reach kids and families in an uncluttered, spot advertising-free environment.p>Michael Ghosh will head up an 11-strong sales team, which will be jointly… Continue reading Disney Channel increases commercial activity

Yahoo has confirmed the appointment of Carol Bartz as its new chief executive and has also announced that its president, Susan Decker, will be stepping down after almost nine years with the company.Former Autodesk boss Bartz has been given a seat on the Yahoo! board, and is set to take up her new position at… Continue reading Yahoo! names Carol Bartz as new chief

BBC director general Mark Thompson has confirmed that the BBC and ITV are close to agreeing a deal, which would allow the commercial broadcaster to continue to provide regional news.Speaking to the House of Lords Communications Committee today, Thompson said the broadcasters have been in discussions about the possibility of sharing facilities since last month,… Continue reading BBC and ITV set to strike regional news deal

Guardian News & Media (GNM) is launching a subscription service for its Guardian and Observer readers this weekend, with three varying rates on offer.Readers will have the opportunity to take out a weekend subscription, which includes the Saturday edition of the Guardian and Sunday’s Observer, giving them a 20% discount on the cover price.Alternatively, a… Continue reading GNM launches new subscription service

Unforgiven, the new drama with ex-Corrie star Suranne Jones, pulled in more than 7.6 million peak viewers last night, securing ITV1 with a 30.2% average audience share between 9pm and 10pm.Over 7.1 million average viewers tuned in to see episode one of three, in which Jones plays a woman released from prison on a licence… Continue reading ITV1’s Unforgiven debut pulls in 7.6 million viewers

CNN International is set to join the Freeview digital TV service from Thursday, just days before the new US president Barack Obama steps into the White House.Freeview viewers will now have the option to watch Obama’s inauguration on the international news channel, or the digital terrestrial TV service’s two UK-based 24-hour news channels, Sky News… Continue reading CNN International is set to join Freeview

AOL is set to launch the third arm of its core business unit, MediaGlow, as part of the group’s larger global restructuring plans.MediaGlow will centralise AOL’s entire publishing efforts, while Platform-A continues to focus on advertising and People Networks, which houses sites such as Bebo and AIM, continues to focus on social media.The creation of… Continue reading AOL launches its third core business unit

Dennis Publishing is set to close its monthly Computer Buyer title after 18 years in order to focus on its Computer Shopper magazine.The March issue of Computer Buyer will be the last copy of the magazine to hit the shelves – the title has seen its circulation decline significantly over the past few years, down… Continue reading Dennis publishes last Computer Buyer magazine

The IPA’s latest Bellwether survey reveals that up to half of companies are planning to cut marketing budgets in 2009, which is the first time that initial annual budgets have been set lower than the previous year in the report’s nine year history.UK advertising will be “no a place for the faint hearted” this year,… Continue reading Bellwether survey reports record adspend decline

ITV1’s spectacular Dancing on Ice show returned with more than 9 million peak viewers this weekend.The new ice-skating reality show season, which features 13 celebrities including Jeremy Edwards, Melinda Messenger and Michael Underwood, pulled in over 8.4 million average viewers and a 32% audience share between 7pm and 8.30pm last night.Dancing on Ice: The Skate… Continue reading Dancing on Ice returns with 9 million viewers