Channel 4 will this month make deeper in-roads into the rapidly expanding area of advertiser funded programming with the launch of a series of health orientated docusoaps funded by FMCG brand Flora Pro.activ.The funding deal will see a series of five thirty-minute programmes entitled Fit Street broadcast by Channel 4. They will follow a group… Continue reading Channel 4 To Screen Flora Funded Fitness Show

New mothers tuning in to Discovery Health’s Baby Talk programming strand will be targeted by food manufacturer Heinz later this month, when the FMCG giant sponsors the broadcaster’s childcare output with its established Farley’s brand.The sponsorship includes on-air coverage, interactive applications and promotion through a one-off DVD created by Discovery as part of the deal.… Continue reading Discovery Finds Heinz As Backer For Baby Shows

Emap Advertising has announced the launch of an innovative digital radio initiative to provide subsidised advertising rates for DAB radio retailers in the all-important run up to Christmas.In an attempt to drive sales of digital radios in the UK and boost listening figures, the company is offering to pay half the total cost of any… Continue reading Emap Advertising Cuts Rates To Drive DAB Uptake

Chrysalis-owned Heart 106.2 is aiming to knock rival Capital 95.8 off the top spot in London by revamping its image and hiking up its adspend by around 20%.It is understood that Chrysalis has awarded advertising agency Clemmow Hornby Inge the £3 million account to lead a major relaunch of London’s Heart 106.2 FM and midlands… Continue reading Heart Pumps Up Adspend To Take On Capital In London

Virgin Radio is responding to the increasing popularity of music downloads by launching the nation’s first weekly chart rundown using Napster online sales figures.The Napster Online Music Chart, which launches later this month, will countdown the 20 most popular songs downloaded by Napster users from a catalogue of 750,000 tracks each week. The show will… Continue reading Virgin To Launch UK’s First Online Music Chart

Commercial broadcaster ITV has disposed of Carlton Books for an undisclosed sum as part of its £600 million programme to sell-off non-core assets. The sale of the non-fiction book publisher, which was a management buy-out, is expected to be the first of many and will be followed by the sale of the Moving Picture Company,… Continue reading ITV Starts Disposal Of Non-Core Assets With Carlton Books

Worldwide revenues from mobile data services will rise to $189 billion by 2009, up from $61 billion this year, says a new report from Strategy Analytics. According to the Wireless Internet Applications report, communication, which includes text, photo and video messaging will be the largest source of income, generating 46% of total mobile revenues. Mobile… Continue reading Revenues From Mobile Messaging To Triple By 2009

US advertising spending rose by 6.4% in the first half of this year, fuelled by a spending increase in political and traditional advertising, according to preliminary figures released from Nielsen Monitor-Plus.Advertising dollars were up across all 10 of the reported media, said the advertising intelligence service division of Nielsen Media Research, with the largest single… Continue reading US Ad Spending Grows By 6.4% In First Half Of 2004

Broadband Britain has come another step closer with the announcement that BT now has more than 3 million high-speed internet customers.The telecoms giant claims to have signed up an average of around 6,000 new customers each day over the last six months, in a move that has helped it add more than one million ADSL… Continue reading BT Helps Broadband Britain Become A Reality

The proposed £1 billion sale of the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, has generated a flurry of interest from commercial broadcasters, venture capital groups and investment banks.However, it is understood that some would-be buyers are being put off by confusion over the lucrative rights to successful BBC shows and products, such as The Office or… Continue reading Sale Of BBC Worldwide Raises Issues Over Rights