The Daily Mail is set to raise the cover price of its Saturday edition for the first time in five years, from 70p to 80p.It will make the paper 20p more expensive than its mid-market rival, The Daily Express, which complained about The Daily Mail‘s price increases earlier this year.The Mail increased its weekday price… Continue reading Daily Mail Saturday Ups Price To 80p

A new Freeview channel is set to go up for auction, potentially kick-starting a bidding war among broadcasters.Arqiva is inviting bidders to make an offer for the channel before October 22, which it expects to award in January next year.Arqiva holds the licence for two of the six multiplexes that make up the UK’s digital… Continue reading Freeview Channel Set To Go Up For Auction

WPP Group has released a statement confirming it has secured 81.8% of TNS shareholders’ backing for its £1.1 billion takeover bid.Last week, WPP extended TNS’ deadline to 3pm yesterday afternoon, after receiving just 60.86% of valid acceptances as Friday’s deadline expired. (see WPP Extends TNS Offer Deadline).In response, the TNS board urged shareholders to accept… Continue reading WPP Secures Unconditional TNS Offer

BBC One’s new comedy, Sunshine, proved to be a hit with almost four million viewers and a 16.7% audience share between 9pm and 10pm last night.The new comedy drama series, starring Steve Coogan as Bob ‘Bing’ Crosby, attracted the peak audience during most of the hour-long prime-time slot, with an average audience of 3.6 million… Continue reading Sunshine Proves Popular With Almost 4m Viewers

Google has launched click-to-buy ads on YouTube, enabling users to buy items directly related to the videos they are watching.Adverts will appear directly below videos on the video-sharing site, with a link through to retail sites so that users can purchase related products.The first click-to-buy ads are mostly appearing against music videos with links through… Continue reading Google Launches Click-To-Buy Ads On YouTube

Ofcom has launched a consultation on changes to TV advertising regulations, with the possibility of boosting the amount of TV advertising around peak-time shows.Television channels, including ITV, could be allowed to show an extra 20 minutes of adverts during some mass-audience shows, such as The X Factor, if the regulator agrees.If Ofcom favours this particular… Continue reading Ofcom May Change Peak Ad Time Rules

Michael Grade today underlined options for ITV’s future, following the release of Ofcom’s phase two Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) review two weeks ago.Speaking at the Royal Television Society this morning, Grade outlined two alternative options in response to Ofcom’s report.The first model would see ITV retain its public service status and provide guaranteed levels of… Continue reading Michael Grade Speaks Up About ITV’s PSB Future

London’s Smooth Radio programme controller, Gavin McCoy, has been made redundant after just 18 months in charge of the station.McCoy has left the station as part of a management restructure, following former Global Radio executive Paul Fairburn’s arrival earlier this year as station director.GMG Radio released a statement saying: “London’s Smooth Radio has undergone a… Continue reading Gavin McCoy Leaves Smooth Radio

Five’s programming is set to become available via the BT Vision on-demand television service, as the two companies sign a new deal.BT Vision will be the first on-demand TV service in the UK to feature Demand Five, allowing viewers to catch-up on Five’s programmes from the previous eight days.Demand Five is set to feature Five’s… Continue reading Five And BT Vision Sign New Catch-Up TV Deal

GMG Radio has started a new drive to invest more in original content by asking independent production companies to pitch new documentary ideas.GMG hopes to produce new documentaries on its Smooth, Real, Century and Rock Radio stations from January, according to reports.John Myers, chief executive at GMG Radio, is leading the initiative, while it is… Continue reading GMG Radio Invests In Original Content