Reports this afternoon suggest shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost could soon be offered free online, with Disney packaging special downloads with full ad breaks which viewers cannot skip through.According to the Reuters news agency, the American broadcaster sees the technology as a way to boost advertising revenues, and will attempt to supplement its… Continue reading Disney To Offer Ad-Packed Shows Free Via Internet

A price war looks set to erupt amongst Britain’s broadband providers this week, as mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse prepares to launch a free service for landline customers.Falling under its Talk Talk brand, it is not known what speed the service will offer consumers, or whether stringent usage caps will be imposed. Despite much speculation… Continue reading Price War Brews Over Free Broadband

Reports over the weekend claim cable customers could be in for a bumper summer, as cable giant NTL prepares to offer free TV to those who sign up for all of its services.The company, which will soon rebrand as Virgin Television (see NTL Confirms £962m Virgin Mobile Takeover), was reported by the Sunday Telegraph to… Continue reading Cable Giant’s Free TV To Boost Multi-Play Proposition

United Business Media (UBM) has announced that it has completed the sale of its Culverhouse Cross site to ITV for £18.7 million. The deal is part of UBM’s on-going process of monitoring its non-core assets, with the sale including the television studio complex that – until the completion of the site’s sale – was being… Continue reading UBM Sells Culverhouse Cross To ITV For £18.7 Million

Advertising is currently growing faster than gross domestic product (GDP), with global adspend set to increase to 6% in 2006, up from 4.9% in 2005. The latest forecasts, from ZenithOptimedia, attribute the strong growth to the World Cup held this summer, with the event producing lots of promotional opportunities. ZenithOptimedia projects that worldwide adspend will… Continue reading Global Adspend Forecast To See 6% Growth In 2006

Voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) looks set to revolutionise the telcoms industry, with new research from Continental Research forecasting strong growth for the medium. According to the study, 1.8 million internet users have used VoIP in the past 12 months, with a further 1.9 million saying they are likely to try the technology within the next 12… Continue reading VoIP Forecast To Shake-Up Telecoms Industry

Advertisers are not getting the volume of viewers they pay for, with a new study from Nielsen Media Research finding that top network shows in the US are losing a large part of their audience during commercial breaks. Using its new minute-by-minute ratings analysis Nielsen found that audiences for the hit show, CSI, dropped by… Continue reading TV Shows Lose Viewers In Commercial Breaks

March saw digital TV penetration continue to rise, with Freeview announcing that sales of set top boxes and integrated televisions have passed the 10 million mark, resulting in the service currently present in 6.4 million UK homes (see Freeview Sales Pass 10 Million). Total digital reception in UK households is currently at 64.2%, according to… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – March 2006

UBC Media will be rolling out its music downloading service before the end of 2006, with the Group reaching agreements with BT Movio, Carphone Warehouse and Chrysalis Radio to enable a trial of the service.The radio producer announced that it had developed software and licensing agreements allowing it to operate a system using digital radio… Continue reading UBC To Launch Music Download Service Before Year End

Government watchdog, Ofcom, is inviting applications for a third local FM commercial licence for Liverpool, enabling the successful applicant to broadcast for up to 12 years.Ofcom expects that between 1.4 million and 1.5 million adult listeners will be able to access the station covered by the licence.The 105.9 frequency will cover the city of Liverpool… Continue reading Ofcom Opens Bidding For Liverpool FM Licence