The Office of Fair Trading has told the government that BSkyB’s acquisition of an almost 18% stake in ITV means Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster is no longer fully independent, and the deal raises significant competition concerns.The OFT has said that the case needs to be referred to the Competition Commission, after reporting to the Department… Continue reading Sky’s ITV Stake Raises Significant Competition Concerns

ITV Local, the broadcaster’s regional broadband TV service, is partnering with Mediabox to showcase short films, TV programmes, documentaries and vodcasts made by disadvantaged young people in England.Mediabox, which launched in December 2006, is a £6 million Department for Education and Skills fund for 13-19 year olds which allows them to make their own media… Continue reading ITV Local Teams Up With Government Scheme

Virgin Media has submitted papers to the High Court in support of its argument that it is the victim of a deliberate strategy by BSkyB to stifle competition in the UK pay-TV market.The papers outline Virgin Media’s side of the argument, which centres on its view of Sky’s behaviour during channel carriage negotiations.Virgin Media alleges… Continue reading Virgin Media Submits Sky Complaints To High Court

Recent Strategy Analytics research forecasts that 90% of UK homes will be watching High Definition TV by 2020 as long as Ofcom allocates spectrum on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform for HDTV. Without HD on DTT, a mere 60% of homes would be watching HDTV by 2020. This report, HDTV and DTT: The Impact… Continue reading 90% Of UK Homes Could Be Watching HDTV By 2020

A new report from Screen Digest forecasts that there will be up to 82 million European HD ready households by 2010 (48% of TV households). Screen Digest says that HD TV set penetration is increasing rapidly due to the success of flat panel TVs and the European ‘HD ready’ logo endorsed and promoted by manufacturers,… Continue reading European HD Market To Grow

Last night’s edition of The Apprentice brought in 5.4 million adult viewers as Natalie was fired following poor sales in the art gallery task.Sir Alan said he regretted having to fire her, but clearly not enough to save her from his wagging finger. An average of 4.9 million adults watched the kind-hearted lass get her… Continue reading The Apprentice Does It Again For BBC One

The list of new entries into the consumer magazine market which have folded after just a few issues has expanded, after men’s monthly Switched On has announced it will close.Trojan Publishing has closed the magazine, which it launched as a replacement to lad’s mag Ice, after just four issues.Dan Lessons, Trojan group ad manager, said… Continue reading List Of Failed Magazine Titles Expands

The BBC could reconsider its plans to develop a network of local television news stations due to its licence fee settlement being less than it had anticipated.Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC, said: “This is a good example of effectively a new commitment which I think inevitably… Continue reading BBC Could Reconsider Plans For Local TV News Stations

The Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic (ABCe) figures released today show that Guardian Unlimited, the Guardian‘s online network, had just over 15 million UK and international users during March.Times Online, the site’s main competitor, recorded eight million.The Guardian is one of four national newspaper groups that have chosen to publish its ABCe figures every month… Continue reading ABCe Shows Guardian Unlimited On Top

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is to investigate claims that bulk copies of the London freesheets thelondonpaper and London Lite have been dumped by distributors.This comes after Associated Press circulated footage of thelondonpaper distributors dumping bulk copies of the title and counter claims from News International that it had footage of the London Lite… Continue reading ABC To Investigate Freesheet Dumping