Canadian media giant, CanWest, has announced that it has sold its 30% share in ITV owned Ulster Television (UTV) for £59 million. The $50 million proceeds from the deal, which is the largest for ITV since Carlton and Granada merged earlier this year, will help CanWest reduce bank debt, standing at a reported £1.2 billion.… Continue reading CanWest Sells Ulster TV Share

Channel 4 has surprised the broadcasting industry by announcing the appointment of Andy Duncan, BBC director of marketing, communications and audiences, as its new chief executive. Duncan, the man behind the launch of the highly successful Freeview service, had not been named among the frontrunners for the position, which became vacant last month after Mark… Continue reading Channel 4 Appoints BBC Director As Chief Executive

Lord Black’s share in Hollinger International, owner of the Telegraph Group, dropped from 30% to 18.2% yesterday, following a refinancing of the cash-strapped holding company. Due to a pending cash collapse at Hollinger Incorporated, an issue of preference shares was announced, which would convert stock to shares in the Canadian vehicle which holds the stock.… Continue reading Hollinger Cash Crunch Drops Black’s Share

After a few years of sluggish growth, spending in the global entertainment and media industry is set to reach $1.700 billion by 2008, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s latest Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report. The Asia Pacific market emerges as the key industry driver for the 6.3% compound global annual growth rate expected, compared to 4.2%… Continue reading Entertainment And Media Set To Hit $1.700 Billion

Viacom Outdoor has secured Proctor & Gamble’s Ariel brand for an innovative advertising and sponsorship campaign that will dominate Southfields Tube station during this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships.The initiative has seen Southfields transformed with a series of tennis-related creatives including special sound effects of crowds cheering that are triggered by Tube trains pulling into the… Continue reading Viacom Turns Southfields Tube Into Tennis Court

Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel UK is believed to be in talks with giant poster contractor Mega Profile about a possible take-over that could save the company from the prospect of closure.Mega Profile has been one of the pioneers of large-format banner advertising since the format was imported from Continental Europe in the late nineties.… Continue reading Mega Profile Rumoured To Be In Takeover Talks

WFCA Integrated has announced the creation of its first dedicated media planning and buying department following its recent successful bid for Carpetright’s £7 million account.The new business will be headed by one of MediaCom’s original founders Bill Jones (pictured left), who will be joined by media manager Tina Crouch, another former Grey Global staff employee.Commenting… Continue reading WFCA Integrates Agency With Planning/Buying Division

The latest cinema box office figures have revealed record breaking weekly admissions during May thanks to the latest instalment of the highly lucrative Harry Potter film franchise.However, as the latest Harry Potter movie was released on 30 May it does not grab the top spot in terms of takings for the month, going instead to… Continue reading Harry Potter Magic Yields Record Cinema Revenues

Telecoms giant, British Telecom (BT), is set to slash the rental cost of high-speed broadband for new and existing customers from 1st July 2004. Almost all of BT broadband packages are set to be slashed. Customers can now expect to save a massive £13.00 when using the fastest connection package ‘BT Yahoo! Broadband 1Mb’, which… Continue reading BT Broadband Prices Slashed

The number of global internet users at-home has risen by more than 1.5 million from April 2004 to May 2004, according to a new report from Nielsen//NetRatings. Of the 13 countries sampled, Japan saw user figures grow faster than any other country – up 7.7% to over 33 million users. In contrast, the number in… Continue reading Global Internet Users Grow By 1.5 Million In May