In a trading update, radio to magazine group, Emap, has said that group revenues for the first half of this year are expected to be up 2%, with celebrity gossip magazine Closer being cited as a key driver. Emap’s consumer media division, which includes Closer, is expected to be up 6% year-on-year for the six… Continue reading Closer Drives Revenues At Emap

Britain has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for broadband internet access, with new research showing that by the end of 2005 there will be more than 8.2 million broadband subscribers in the UK. The latest figures from Informa Telecoms Group’s Baskerville unit show that nearly 5.6 million of these will be connected… Continue reading One In Five UK Homes Now Have Broadband Access

Kelvin MacKenzie’s talkSPORT is attempting to take the Football Association to task for selling national broadcast rights to FA Cup games exclusively to the BBC, in a move that it claims damages its advertising and sponsorship revenues.The national speech-based station has lodged a formal complaint with media regulator Ofcom, claiming that selling all the games… Continue reading talkSPORT Tackles BBC And FA Over Football Rights

Channel 4 may finally get a slice of the BBC’s £2 billion a year licence fee if it goes ahead with controversial proposals to take control of the Corporation’s flagship youth station Radio One.The broadcaster is reportedly considering the radical option as part of a plan to safeguard its financial future. Other ideas have included… Continue reading Channel 4 Could Get Slice Of BBC Licence Fee

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising has added its weight to wide-spread calls for media regulator Ofcom to abandon plans to tighten the alcohol advertising codes, claiming the current proposals create too much difficulty for advertisers and their agencies.In its submission to Ofcom’s public consultation on new codes for broadcast television advertising, the IPA slams… Continue reading IPA Blasts Plans For Alcohol Advertising Crackdown

Times Newspapers has secured an exclusive contract with beer brand Guinness to sponsor its coverage of the autumn international rugby season, in a deal that builds on recent successes with major sponsors such as Lucozade Sport and HSBC.The deal will see Guinness sponsor a 68-page rugby handbook to be published in The Times on 6… Continue reading Times Signs Guinness For Rugby Sponsorship

ITV has secured SC Johnson’s Pledge Dusters as the exclusive broadcast sponsor the fourth series of Everything Must Go, which returns to its daytime slot on the channel next week.The daily programme features homeowners from all over the UK who want to sell off their worldly possessions and move on to new lives. Participants attempt… Continue reading ITV Secures Pledge For Daytime Sponsorship

Liberty Media has sold its remaining shares in cable operator Telewest for £119 million, a move that will put to rest its chairman’s ambition of dominating the UK cable market. During the 1990’s, chairman John Malone, bought significant stakes in European cable operators and during this time the financial press speculated that he was looking… Continue reading Liberty Media Sells Remaining Shares In Telewest

The BBC committee reviewing the future of its commercial arm, Worldwide, may consider floating a stake on the stock market, according to reports. According to The Independent On Sunday, as expected, the group has primarily been discussing how to set up joint ventures for its publishing, distribution and channel arms, which would allow the Corporation… Continue reading BBC Considering Flotation Of Worldwide Arm

Freeview, the BBC backed free-to-air digital television service, will be the fastest growing platform until 2005, according to new research, however, this will not be enough to knock Sky from the top-spot as the most dominant force in the UK multichannel television market. Continental Research’s Autumn 2004 Digital TV Report said that over the next… Continue reading Sky On Track To Reach Murdoch’s Target Of 8m Homes By 2005