Ofcom has announced new measures to strengthen viewer protection in participation TV, introducing new mandatory licence conditions for television broadcasters.The new measures come after a host of phone-in scandals rocked the industry, with the watchdog handing out massive fines to Channel 4 (see Ofcom Fines Channel 4 £1.5m Over Phone In Quizzes) and GMTV (see… Continue reading Ofcom Announces New Licence Conditions For TV Phone-Ins

NME Radio, the new broadcast brand extension from IPC Media and DX Media, has gained two new members of staff ahead of its launch this summer.Joanne Burlando has been appointed head of operations, having spent more than four years at Xfm as music and programme manager, and Katie Torrie joins NME Radio as music and… Continue reading NME Radio Makes Key Appointments

BSkyB’s total advertising spend has increased more than 30% year on year, to as much as £160 million in 2007, according to new figures from Nielsen Media Research.BSkyB spent £115 million on above-the-line media, said Nielsen, a 60% year on year increase.Agency estimates put BSkyB’s total media spend for 2007 at close to £160 million,… Continue reading Sky’s Media Spend Could Reach £160m

This week will see Sky launch its appeal against the Competition Commission’s ruling forcing it to reduce its 17.9% stake in ITV to under 7.5%. The news comes three weeks after business secretary John Hutton followed the Competition Commission’s recommendation, leaving Sky until next Monday to lodge an appeal (see Sky Told To Reduce ITV… Continue reading Sky To Launch ITV Stake Appeal This Week

New figures from Nielsen Media Research show that BSkyB’s total advertising spend has increased more than 30% year on year, to as much as £160 million in 2007. Nielsen said that BSkyB spent £115 million on above-the-line media, a 60% year on year increase. Agency estimates put BSkyB’s total media spend for 2007 at close… Continue reading Sky’s Media Spend Could Be As High As £160m

Scottish Media Group has now received four offers for Virgin Radio, of between £60 million and £70 million, pushing the group’s share price up. A surprise bid has come from Malaysia’s largest media company, Astro All Asia Networks, with other bidders including Global Radio, which recently offered £313 million for industry leader GCap Media (see… Continue reading SMG Gets Four Offers For Virgin Radio

Yahoo! has restarted talks with AOL about a deal designed to help it avoid a takeover by Microsoft. AOL is believed to have held discussions with Yahoo!’s advisers in recent days to see if an agreement between the two companies is possible. Yahoo! and AOL have held discussions in the past, but failed to team… Continue reading Yahoo! Reopens Talks With AOL

The global broadcast market is expected to experience significant revenue growth, from US$284.1 billion in 2007 to US$326.2 billion by 2010, according to Datamonitor. However, it is expected that growth will only be secured through revenue diversification from value-add and bundled services, including internet service provision, HD content, on-demand solutions, interactive applications and multi-platform distribution.… Continue reading Global Broadcast To Grow To US$326.2bn By 2010

Following on from last week’s ABC results, MediaTel Group is to host the ‘Future of Consumer Magazines’ in early March, looking at what’s next for the industry.The session, which will take place in London on Thursday 6 March, boasts the likes of Mike Soutar, chief executive of Shortlist Media, and Duncan Edwards, chief executive of… Continue reading Seminar To Examine Consumer Magazine Market

The BBC and ITV’s nationally available free-to-view satellite platform, Freesat, will have problems getting off the ground when it launches due to Sky’s dominance in the sector.According to Top Up TV chief executive officer Nick Markham, who was speaking at the Broadcast Building Audience Loyalty conference last week, the service, which is set to launch… Continue reading Sky Could Prove Problematic For Freesat