Blue Peter is to be cut from three episodes a week to two, the BBC has confirmed.The BBC said that the move would allow the show to “concentrate on more compelling and ambitious content”.A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Over the past year Blue Peter‘s daily presence has been reduced from five days a week… Continue reading BBC Cuts Back Blue Peter Episodes

A peak of 9.2 million adults watched Milan exact revenge for the miracle of Istanbul last night, as they ran out 2-1 winners over a Liverpool team that played its heart out.The Champions League final, shown live on ITV1, had an average of 6.8 million viewers glued to their screens throughout its running time, as… Continue reading 9.2 Million Adults Watch Football Final

Emap Advertising has announced the winners of its competition to find the UK Young Creative Team to represent the UK in the print competition at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival Young Creatives Competition.Art director Jay Phillips and copywriter Neil Clarke from McCann Erickson in London have been chosen as the UK representatives at the… Continue reading Emap Advertising Announces UK Cannes Lions Print Team

Social networking site and MySpace rival, Facebook, now reports more than 3.5 million users in the UK, after a massive surge in popularity in the past six months.Londoners make up the website’s second largest regional user group worldwide, with around 450,000 in the capital.Figures compiled by comScore for MediaGuardian.co.uk showed a steady increase in unique… Continue reading Facebook Records Surge In UK Users

Multichannel TV, broadband and 3G mobile take-up in rural areas is lower than in urban areas in all of the UK’s nations apart from England, according to Ofcom’s Communications Market Report for the nations and regions of the UK.The survey found that interest in obtaining access to many new communications services was greatest in Wales… Continue reading Digital Take-Up Lowest In Rural Areas

BSkyB’s 17.9% stake in ITV has been referred to the Competition Commission by the Department of Trade and Industry.The decision to refer the case to the Competition Commission follows recommendations from Ofcom (see NewsLine) and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) (see Sky’s ITV Stake Raises Significant Competition Concerns)that the matter should be referred.In an… Continue reading Sky’s Stake In ITV Referred To Competition Commission

Ofcom has announced its ruling on the Celebrity Big Brother race row, saying that there was a serious failure within Channel 4’s compliance procedures for the series.The regulator ruled that the broadcaster had contravened the broadcasting code and will have to show apologies at the beginning of the launch episode of the next series of… Continue reading Ofcom Announces Celebrity Big Brother Ruling

Film magazine Empire is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars by creating 30 different covers featuring characters from the classic sci-fi film.The covers, which have been designed in partnership with George Lucas’ Lucasfilm company, are a feature of the title’s July edition and are all available to buy online, with discounted rates for collectors… Continue reading Empire Strikes Back

Tim Lindsay, chairman of Publicis UK, has left the agency to become chief executive of Omnicom’s TBWA Group UK.Lindsay will now take over the responsibilities of Paul Bainsfair, who left TBWA in March this year.The London office of Publicis is now without a chairman, chief executive or managing director. It is expected that Lindsay will… Continue reading Tim Lindsay Leaves Publicis For TBWA

Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) has reported a 24% increase in profits over the six months to April 1. DMGT said that its first half performance reflects continued good growth from its business to business operations, supplemented by acquisitions. The group made an adjusted profit before tax of £135 million for the six months… Continue reading DMGT Records Profits Increase