The board of ITV has met this week to begin putting together the shortlist of candidates to replace Charles Allen, with Mike Clasper, former BAA chief, believed to be an insider favourite.Related LinksITV

Magazine publisher Natmags has purchased the website handbag.com to add to its growing new media portfolio.Earlier this year, the company bought netdoctor.co.uk and launched new websites for titles Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan.The Handbag group publishes four female targeted websites and the core website handbag.com, which was launched in 1999 as a joint venture between Boots… Continue reading Natmags Adds To New Media Portfolio

A massive marketing campaign for a range of Freeview compatible PVR products, promoted under the Freeview Playback brand, has been delayed until next year due to a technical hitch.According to reports in the trade press, the campaign was due to launch this month, and was said to be critical in driving awareness of PVRs on… Continue reading Freeview Playback Service Is Delayed

The UK’s top home interest magazine, Ideal Home, launches its redesign with its November edition, which is on sale today.The title remains the best selling home interest magazine, despite declining sales figures, with the last ABC results leaving its total circulation at 237,525 copies (see ABC Results Jan-Jun 2006:Home Interest Magazines Report Mixed Bag Results).IPC… Continue reading Ideal Home Magazine Launches Redesign

In a deal valued at £2.7 million, London Underground is offering one advertiser a chance to own London with a 2-year sponsorship of Harry Beck’s iconic London Underground map.The sponsorship, the largest of its kind, is also the only opportunity to sponsor a London Underground branded property on this scale.The new sponsorship will run from… Continue reading Viacom Outdoor Offers Tube Maps Sponsorship

ITV has referred the Contract Rights Renewal, the measure put in place to control the broadcaster’s dominance, to the Office of Fair Trading in a bid to get it scrapped.The OFT will have to decide whether or not there is a case for removing the CRR, which has since 2004 caused ITV1’s ad revenues to… Continue reading ITV Refers CRR To OFT

Apax Partners could be on the verge of making a bid for ITV following the six months since they decided against it, according to a report in the Independent. However, the reported 130p offered by Apax per share in April is unlikely top be repeated. The Independent quotes a trader as saying: “Major investors could… Continue reading Market Rumours Suggest Possible Bid For ITV

There will be 36 million IPTV homes by 2011, or around seven times as many as 2006, according to new research from Informa Telecoms & Media. Despite this significant acceleration, Informa says that only 3.4% of the world’s TV households are forecast to subscribe to IPTV platforms by 2011, with operators battling for market share… Continue reading 36 Million IPTV Homes By 2011

ZenithOptimedia has downgraded its expectations for 2006 UK advertising growth by 2.0% points, and has also downgraded its expectation for 2007 by 1.1% points, while 2008 growth will remain flat at 4.6%. Analyst Merrill Lynch says that the weakness in 2006 is predominantly due to a 5.0% downgrade to ZenithOptimedia’s growth expectation for TV advertising,… Continue reading ZenithOptimedia Downgrades UK Ad Growth Forecast

Internet advertising will take a double-digit share of total advertising expenditure in two countries this year, and in eight countries by 2008, according to a new report from ZenithOptimedia. The report shows that internet advertising will take more than 10% of all ad expenditure in the UK, where it will take 12.9% of total expenditure,… Continue reading Internet Ad Share To Break Double Digit Barrier