ITV has hired former BBC One controller Peter Fincham to take over from Simon Shaps as director of television.ITV has also announced that Michael Grade has agreed to stay in post as executive chairman until the end of 2010, one year longer than his original three-year term.Shaps, who has headed ITV’s channels division since 2005,… Continue reading Fincham To Replace Shaps At ITV

Virgin Media has announced that it added 24,000 net cable subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2007, while churn dropped to 1.4% from 1.7% in the previous quarter.The cable company also saw its broadband subscriber net additions grow by 15.6% to 111,200, up from 96,100.Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, increased by 2.6%… Continue reading Virgin Media Enjoys Subscriber Boost

Radio-specific ownership rules create unnecessary barriers to industry consolidation, commercial radio representatives told peers at the House of Lords yesterday.The appearance was part of the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications’ ongoing inquiry into Media Ownership and the News.RadioCentre chief executive Andrew Harrison was joined on the panel by Mark Story, managing director of… Continue reading Commercial Radio Calls For End To Outdated Ownership Rules

A new report from eMarketer forecasts that 42.8 million Britons will go online in 2012, accounting for about 70% of the population. The UK Internet Users and Usage report says that although the UK is a mature broadband market, penetration is still increasing steadily, with survey data suggesting that 90% of at-home users will enjoy… Continue reading 70% Of UK Will Go Online In 2012

Music applications are the fastest growing services on mobiles, according to a new report from TNS Global Technology. The TNS Global Telecoms Insight study, which interviewed 16,000 respondents across 29 countries, found in the last year that the use of MP3 players on mobile phones has risen by 78% and the use of radio via… Continue reading Music Applications Are Fastest Growing Services On Mobiles

Google’s share price suffered a fall last night, closing at its lowest point for nine months. The online giant saw its share price fall to $464.19 (£233.75) by close of trading yesterday. Since a November peak of $747.24, Google’s shares have fallen 38%. The dip followed the publication of data by online analyst comScore which… Continue reading Google’s Share Price Falls

The EU has handed out a record €899 million (£680.9 million) fine to Microsoft for charging unreasonable prices to let rivals access its software. The EU competition commissioner, Neelie kroes, told journalists that the fine could have been as much as €1.5 billion. The fine reflects the 488 days within which Microsoft refused to comply… Continue reading EU Fines Microsoft €899

Trinity Mirror has announced that its pre-tax profits reached £203 million in 2007, following the disposal of titles in the south east and The Racing Post. Its revenues for the year were £1.009 billion, compared with £1.073 billion in 2006. Digital revenues at the company now represent 3.7% of total revenues and 6.7% of advertising… Continue reading Trinity Mirror Profits Up

Marketers worldwide believe that 65% of their marketing spend had no discernible effect on consumers in 2007, according to a new report from the Fournaise Marketing Group.The Global Marketing Effectiveness report surveyed 3,000 marketing professionals, questioning them on a range of issues such as the efficacy of different marketing tools and the pressures and concerns… Continue reading Report Claims Marketing Effectiveness At All Time Low

The camp drama of Hotel Babylon was a big hit last night, with guest star Alan Davies helping to bring in a peak audience of 5.1 million adults.The BBC One show, on at 9pm, had an average audience of five million adults (a 23% share).It was a strong night for the Corporation’s main channel, with… Continue reading 5.1m Adults Check Into Hotel Babylon