Ofcom has announced a public consultation on new rules governing the advertising of alcoholic drinks on television.The watchdog claims the new regulations will respond to continued debate between industry and consumer groups and would seek to outlaw advertising campaigns which glamourise or trivialise alcoholic products.Among the watchdog’s new rules are bans on advertisements showing drinks… Continue reading Ofcom Calls Time On Loosely Regulated Alcohol Adverts

The Daily Telegraph has announced a deal which will see the newspaper sponsor the Glyndebourne opera company’s production of La Bohčme by Puccini to support the relaunch of its Telegraph Box Office ticket service.The sponsorship, which covers the production at the New Wimbledon Theatre, London, from December 7th to 11th, will support the Telegraph‘s partnership… Continue reading Telegraph Relaunches Box Office With Opera Sponsorship

ITV will lose one of its best known personalities next year, as long serving newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald steps down from his position with ITV News.The veteran broadcaster has stated that he will not renew his contract with the broadcaster’s news operation when it expires next year. His departure will mark the end of a… Continue reading Trevor McDonald Set To Leave ITV News In 2005

Clear Channel-owned outdoor advertiser Adshel has announced what it claims is the largest street furniture deal in 20 years, covering bus shelters around the outer circle of Birmingham city centre for the next decade.The contract, which covers the whole of the west midlands, was awarded to Adshel by transport firm Centro as part of a… Continue reading Adshel Secures Ten Year Birmingham Bus Contract

Nearly half of digital video recorder (DVR) users delay watching programmes live but instead record these with the aim of saving precious time by skipping through TV advertisements, effectively telling advertisers ‘don’t waste my time’ says Lyra Research. A recent survey from the technology information company revealed that TV delayed viewing for 43% of DVR… Continue reading DVR Users Avoid Advertisements To Save Time

European advertising growth is expected to grow by over 4% in the next year and overtake the US, according to a revised outlook from ZenithOptimedia. The media agency has today announced that it has updated its European advertising forecast to 4.2% from 3.7%, after its 2003 Europe-wide prediction of 1.8% was beaten when growth reached… Continue reading European Ad Market To Grow By Over 4%

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has earmarked £600 million worth of non-core businesses to sell off, including its 5% share in French multimedia company, Thomson SA. According to a report in the Sunday Independent, ITV plans to sell numerous assets from Carlton Screen Advertising, which sells adverts shown at cinemas, to stakes in top Premier League… Continue reading Sale Of ITV Businesses To Raise £600 Million

The UK’s two cable TV giants, NTL Europe and Telewest, are being urged by shareholders to begin merger talks to form a single company with a market value of $7 billion. According to a report in the Observer, shareholders are pushing for the talks to begin this autumn to bring together more than 1.5 million… Continue reading NTL And Telewest Shareholders Urge $7 Billion Merger

This morning, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange stating that ITV’s proposed acquisition of Scottish Media Group’s 25% stake in GMTV may be referred to the Competition Commission for investigation. The statement invites feedback about any competition or public interest issues to be sent to the OFT… Continue reading GMTV Acquisition May Be Referred To Competition Commission

City stockbroker’s have added further fuel to the rumours surrounding the alleged consolidation between Capital Radio and GWR Group, after a meeting with the finance director of Capital, left the team convinced ‘the two companies are far into negotiations’. The media team at stockbroker Panmure Gordon caught up with Peter Harris on Wednesday and said… Continue reading Capital And GWR In Merger ‘Negotiations’