Chat show queen Oprah Winfrey will return to British television screens next year following a deal between CBS Paramount International Television and ITV.The larger than life presenter will appear on ITV2 in the first quarter of 2006, with British viewers seeing the 2005-2006 season of the American show.“Oprah Winfrey is an American icon and we… Continue reading ITV Signs Oprah Winfrey To Boost ITV2

MEMS, the sales house for multicultural digital television, has announced the addition of four new channels to its portfolio, increasing its line up to total 15 Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Latin American broadcasters in the UK.The company will now handle national sales for the long-running Asian channel, Zee TV as well as the new ZEE SAW… Continue reading MEMS Adds Ethnic Channels To Portfolio

Future publishing has scooped the rights to create the official magazine to accompany the next generation of Microsoft Windows software.The deal will see Future hold the rights to Windows Vista The Official Magazine for five years, with worldwide licensing and distribution opportunities coming as part of the package.The magazine will accompany Microsoft’s newest version of… Continue reading Future Scoops Rights To Windows Title

Demand is growing for true video capabilities from the internet, according to a new study from new media specialist comScore, whose new Media Metrix survey shows over 94 million American consumers, or 56% of the domestic Internet population, watching streaming video online. The growing use of streaming video represents an increasing trend for rich media.… Continue reading Streaming Video Offers Increased Ad Opportunity

Internet measurement specialist Nielsen//NetRatings has revealed the scale of Britain’s rapid broadband take up, with almost three quarters of users now accessing websites through high speed connections. This figure, according to the online analyst, represents a growth of 59% in broadband takeup in just one year. In addition, Nielsen//NetRatings reports broadband users to be spending… Continue reading Nielsen Lifts Lid On Broadband Usage

French entrepreneur and chairman of Havas, Vincent Bollore, continued to increase his stake in media buying firm Aegis today, approaching the 20% mark with the purchase of 9.15 million shares. The purchase, made through Bollore’s Financiere Du Loch, gives the media boss a total share of 19.96% in the company, which owns and operates the… Continue reading Bollore Boosts Share In Aegis To Almost 20%

Newspaper giant Trinity Mirror has warned employees that it may be forced to make redundancies across its national and regional portfolio. The company, Britain’s largest newspaper publisher, said that concerns over advertising revenues may lead to job losses, with an internal memo explaining: “All media owners are currently experiencing tough trading conditions due to the… Continue reading Trinity Mulling Job Cuts Across Portfolio

Groupe Bollore, owned by French entrepreneur and Havas chairman Vincent Bollore, has further increased its stake in Aegis Group to 19.15%, increasing from the 19.10% share reached yesterday. The company’s latest purchase of 629,939 shares at 126 pence per share is described as a financial investment by Bollore, as opposed to a strategic holding. However,… Continue reading Bollore Continues To Raise Share in Aegis

Radio broadcasters UBC Media and Chrysalis Radio this morning welcomed plans by media regulator Ofcom to expand the digital radio spectrum on local and national basis next year, announcing plans for the new bandwidth including video and data services.The new spectrum space, which Ofcom said is intended to achieve “additional coverage for DAB local services… Continue reading Broadcasters Welcome Expanded Digital Radio Spectrum

ITV’s football coverage failed to dominate last night’s television schedules, despite two high-profile international games featuring English clubs airing across ITV1 and 2.The games, Manchester United Vs Lille on ITV1 and ITV2’s Sparta Prague Vs Arsenal, drew average audiences of 4.4 million and 552,000 respectively, but were beaten by non-sporting offerings by both the BBC… Continue reading ITV Fails To Dominate With UEFA League