The latest UK economic estimate from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) suggests that the growth rate in the third quarter of the year was 0.7%, slightly slower than the second quarter figure of 0.8%. A study last month by NIESR as part of the Euroframe Group pointed to a growth rate… Continue reading UK Economic Growth Rate Slows

Rupert Howell, ITV’s new MD of brand and commercial, will aim to get the broadcaster “into some sort of virtuous cycle rather than the vicious circle that there’s been in recent times”. In his first public appearance since the appointment, at MediaTel Group’s ‘Future of Television’ seminar in London this morning, Howell told the BBC’s… Continue reading Howell Reveals His Vision For ITV’s Future

Doc Martin, on ITV1 last night, was the big winner in the all-important 9pm slot, bagging itself a very impressive 7.9 million adult viewers (a 36.9% share of the audience).The show, which stars Martin Clunes as the local GP in the Cornish village of Portwenn, had an average of 7.8 million adults hooked for its… Continue reading Doc Martin Dominates At 9pm

IPTV service Joost has signed a content deal with ITN On to provide news, entertainment and sports content on its platform.The deal will enable Joost viewers to access the latest UK, world, sports, showbiz, weather and business news, in addition to a weekly sports news bulletin ‘Sports Fix’ and daily football show EPL.The deal will… Continue reading Joost Signs Content Deal With ITN On

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) has appointed David Mansfield as its new chairman, succeeding Lord Gordon of Strathblane, CBE, who retired earlier this year after four years in the post.Mansfield is currently an executive director of Ingenious Media PLC, which he joined in May 2006. His career spans nearly 30 years in television and radio,… Continue reading David Mansfield Appointed New RAJAR Chairman

Trinity Mirror has launched a new free business title, Business 7, targeting the Scottish business community.The weekly paper, along with its website, business7.co.uk, is Trinity Mirror’s first free business title.The website, which launched alongside the print copy, includes a daily business news update, a blog and interactive features.The paper is distributed every Friday morning across… Continue reading Scottish Business Freesheet Launches

Gorillabox, a new fully managed mobile TV enabler, has just launched, allowing video content to be streamed to any mobile handset in Europe or the US.Gorillabox said that central to its proposition is a unique fixed fee commercial model, which will allow network operators, content owners, brand owners and ad agencies to take advantage of… Continue reading New Mobile TV Enabler Launches

The European Commission has opened an investigation into the proposed takeover of Reuters by Thomson, the Canadian financial information company. In a statement, the Commission said: “The initial market investigation indicates that the proposed merger would raise serious doubts as regards adverse effects on competition in several markets of the financial information sector.” The planned… Continue reading European Commission Investigates Reuters Takeover

Hearst Corporation, owner of the UK’s third largest magazine publisher The National Magazine Company, has made a &pound:700 million indicative offer for Emap’s consumer magazine division. Emap is the second largest magazine publisher behind IPC Media, with a range of magazines including women’s weeklies Grazia and Closer and men’s monthly Arena. Emap recently sold its… Continue reading Hearst Bids £700m For Emap’s Consumer Magazine Division

A new report from ABI Research has forecast that mobile broadband enabled consumer electronics devices will expand in 2008. There is a new class of devices emerging on the horizon: a convergence of everyday consumer electronics and mobile broadband, says ABI. Consumer electronics increasingly will include Wi-Fi for connectivity within the home and to the… Continue reading Mobile Broadband Consumer Electronics To Grow In 2008