International special-interest consumer magazine group, Future Publishing, has announced the acquisition of 38 magazine titles from rival publisher Highbury House Communications, for a cash consideration of £30.5 million.The titles purchased include, Fast Cars, Fast Bikes, DJ, DVD Review, the What Video group of magazines and Highbury’s puzzle offerings. The deal also includes Highbury’s US division,… Continue reading Future Acquires 38 Magazines From Highbury House

Britain’s first compact paid-for TV Listings guide, TV easy is launching a heavyweight national TV campaign with creative by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, the agency behind the Nuts advert campaign.The campaign breaks the day before TV easy hits the newsstand, May 2, running until May 29 across broadcasters ITV, Five, Sky, IDS Channels, Viacom, E4… Continue reading TV easy Launches National TV Ad Campaign

The Competition Commission (CC) has today formally cancelled the reference concerning the proposed acquisition by Future Plc of Highbury House Communications, after the CC received assurances from Future that the deal had been abandoned.The case was sent to the CC earlier in the month, after concerns were raised that the merger of the two publishing… Continue reading CC Cancels Proposed Future Bid For Highbury

Broadcaster ITV has bought UK digital multiplex operator SDN for an upfront deal of £134 million, furthering its growth in the digital arena.SDN is jointly owned by United Business Media (UBM) and S4C digital media, with its customers including Channel 5, the BBC, QVC and Disney.ITV is also said to be paying a further £15… Continue reading ITV Pays £134 Million For Multiplex Operator

The television industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, evolving from being a broadcast focused, mass-market single-event to a sector which is far more complex but potentially more profitable, according to a new report from Deloitte & Touche’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group.According to the report, the growth in on-demand TV, new television services and broadband… Continue reading Advertisers Warned Of Fragmented Media

The first quarter of 2005 signals slower growth for marketing, compared to the strong performance it enjoyed in 2004, according to the IPA’s latest quarterly Bellwether report, complied by NTC research.The report showed that current marketing budgets were revised up for the sixth consecutive quarter, but that growth was not as strong as seen in… Continue reading Q1 2005 Bellwether: Slower Growth Period Ahead

Ulster Television has confirmed that it has entered into discussions for a possible takeover bid for The Wireless Group (TWG) owner of talkSPORT radio station.Earlier this morning the directors of Ulster Television confirmed recent media speculation over the acquisition of TWG, saying that discussions were at a preliminary stage and that they may or may… Continue reading Ulster Confirms Possible Takeover Bid For TWG

BSkyB has announced that it has signed technology and equipment suppliers Sony, Tandberg Television and Harris Corporation, ahead of the forthcoming launch of its high-definition television (HDTV) service.Sony will construct and equip a new HDTV studio at BSkyB’s Isleworth headquarters and supply additional equipment for edit suites and dubbing facilities at the same site. The… Continue reading Sky Announces HDTV Launch Partners

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) has confirmed the appointment of the two main suppliers for its new consumer centric multi-media survey, IPA Touchpoints, with TNS Media undertaking the main survey work and RSMB handling the integration process.TouchPoints is a groundbreaking project giving users their first overview of all consumer media usage by acting… Continue reading TNS Media And RSMB To Deliver IPA Survey

Sarah Pearce – MediaTel NewsLine British Airways, O2, Direct Line and 20th Century Fox are to be amongst the first advertisers to use digital poster advertising technology on the London Underground.The first wave of advertising campaigns using Viacom Outdoor’s Digital Escalator Panels, enabling advertisers to create animated posters that move or feature changing text, will… Continue reading First Digital Advertisers Make Debut On Tube