BBC One’s Sweeney Todd outperformed all rivals last night, slaughtering competition from ITV’s Teenage Tourettes Camp and the return of Shameless to Channel 4.The grizzly crime drama netted BBC One an average of 6.2 million adult viewers, while ITV’s obscenity-ridden Tourettes documentary drew 3.5 million in the same time slot.Channel 4’s evening was topped by… Continue reading Sweeney Todd Slaughters Competition For BBC

Havas has this morning denied a report by the Daily Telegraph which claimed Fernando Rodes Vila, head of the company’s Media Planning Group, is being groomed as its next group chief executive.The French media firm moved to quash speculation over the report, which claimed closer links between Havas and Aegis Group would be forged by… Continue reading Havas Denies Reports Of Management Change

Vincent Bollore, chairman of French advertising giant Havas, has outlined plans to appoint the company’s Fernando Rodes Vila, currently head of Havas’s media planning arm, as the next group chief executive, potentially forging closer ties with Aegis.According to a report in today’s Telegraph, Bollore, who also holds a 25% stake in Aegis, has already asked… Continue reading Havas Mulls Aegis Links Through Management Reshuffle

Mobile phone giant Orange has signed as the sponsor of Virgin Radio’s new Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show, marking the firm’s biggest-ever radio sponsorship deal, and the largest on-air and online brand marketing deal in the Virgin Breakfast’s history.The scale of the deal, Virgin claims, is testament to the appeal of Sony Award winning O’Connell, who… Continue reading Virgin Signs Largest Ever Breakfast Sponsorship

IPC Advertising has appointed Caroline McDevitt as its new managing director with immediate effect, seeing the media boss take a seat on the IPC Media Board.McDevitt joined IPC last May as director of group advertising (see IPC Picks McDevitt For Group Ad Director Role), and will now chair the IPC Advertising Executive, leading the company’s… Continue reading IPC Advertising Appoints McDevitt As New MD

Channel 4 looks set to cause controversy this Thursday, with the latest series Celebrity Big Brother rumoured to have signed shamed TV presenter Michael Barrymore.Newspaper reports this morning claim the former TV presenter and comedian will join Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith and comedian Johnny Vegas in the show, just weeks after Ofcom dismissed criticism… Continue reading Barrymore Tipped For Celeb Big Brother

The new year got off to a positive start for some of Britain’s largest broadcasters, as the Office of Fair Trading gave the thumbs up to the merger of NTL and Telewest, as well as BSkyB’s acquisition of Easynet just days before 2006 began.Announcing its decision, the OFT stated that “Both cases relate to the… Continue reading OFT Gives Green Light To Media Mergers

Digital was the watchword of 2005’s TV industry, as media regulator Ofcom revealed almost 66% of the nation’s homes now receive TV in digital format (see Ofcom Estimates Show 65.9% Of Britain With Digital TV).The surge in growth was fuelled in part by the launch of several high profile digital channels, as ITV3, ITV4 and… Continue reading End Of Year Round-Up: Television

ITV’s drama Rebus performed well last night, attracting an average adult audience of 8.1 million to dominate prime time viewing.Going head to head with BBC One’s film Catch Me If You Can, with a comparable audience of 5.6 million, ITV’s crime drama secured a share of 33.94% compared with BBC One’s 23.73%.However, The BBC’s earlier… Continue reading Rebus Reaps Rewards For ITV

Cinema admissions in November received a massive boost from the latest film in the Harry Potter series, with the Goblet of Fire fuelling a 4.3% rise in admissions year on year, as well as becoming 2005’s biggest film to date.The movie quickly stormed Britain’s box offices, grossing £31.6 million during November and smashing numerous records… Continue reading Potter Enchants Moviegoers To Smash Cinema Records