Glasgow-based Scottish Media Group (SMG) has turned down a £100 million offer for Virgin Radio from private equity group, 3i, according to industry reports.The take-over bid started in December, but to no avail after SMG rejected the offer of Lord Alli, the media heavyweight spearheading 3i’s bid. Reports indicate that 3i has threatened to increase… Continue reading SMG Rejects 3i Offer For Virgin Radio

ITV has welcomed Ofcom’s Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) review, published yesterday, allowing the commercial broadcaster to cut its non-news regional output.Overall, ITV agrees with the government media watchdog’s diagnosis that the rapid transition to digital demands a modernisation of the public broadcast commitments imposed on commercial public service broadcasters.ITV has long been arguing that its… Continue reading ITV Welcomes Loosened PSB Requirements

Magazine publisher, Highbury House Communications has announced the proposed sale of its business publishing operations, BCom, to Ergo Science Corporation for gross profits of £12.5 million. This will put the Group on track to achieve its stated strategy of reducing indebtedness and focusing on its consumer newsstand business.It is estimated that net proceeds will total… Continue reading Highbury Sells Business Publishing Arm

Channel 4 has welcomed the Government media watchdog Ofcom’s strong endorsement of the channel’s public service role and future strategy, as stated in the much anticipated Public Service Broadcasting Review, published earlier today.Responding to the report, Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4 said: “This report contains everything that Channel 4 was asking for. Ofcom… Continue reading Channel 4 Welcomes Ofcom’s Support

The preview issue of Emap’s much anticipated first UK women’s weekly Grazia, was launched today, offering its readers a mix of fashion, news and celebrity gossip in a fast weekly format, contending with the larger monthly glossies.Advertisements are, in the main, of an aspirational nature; Giorgio Armani, Tod’s, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace all grace… Continue reading Emap’s Grazia Hits Shelves

Government regulatory body, Ofcom, has announced that ITV will be allowed to reduce its non-news regional output, allowing the commercial broadcaster to concentrate on more revenue-generating commercial programming.The long awaited review of the Public Broadcasting report, published by Ofcom today, has given ITV a new remit that, once the digital switchover begins, will require just… Continue reading ITV To Cut Non-News Broadcast By Half

The online sister publication of Hello magazine, hellomagazine.com has forged two new partnerships with broadband providers ntlworld.com and tesco.net, to provide celebrity news to millions of additional internet users.The new partnership with ntl, which also provides virtual internet service provider provision for tesco.net, will allow users to receive celebrity news on their most visited pages.… Continue reading hellomagazine.com Strikes Deal With ntlworld and tesco.net

Mobile marketing is predicted to rocket in popularity in 2005, with the coming year forecast to be the “breakout year for mobile marketing” according to a recent report by US analysts eMarketer.eMarketer’s new report, “Mobile Marketing and M-Commerce”, plots three potential scenarios for the spending growth for wireless advertising and marketing over the next five… Continue reading Mobile Marketing Forecast To Rocket Over Next Two Years

New research from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) has revealed that the advertising industry is dominated by young white people, with just under 50% of agency employees aged under 30.The IPA’s 2004 Agency Census states that the mean age of workers in the nation’s media agencies is 33.6, with 19% aged over 40… Continue reading Research Reveals Half Of Agency Employees Are Under 30

Outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux has announced an increase of 5.7% in revenues, totalling €1,631.4, revealing a strong performance in the second half of the year with organic revenues increasing by 6.8%.The solid results are better than the company expected, driven by strong organic revenue performance in all divisions, particularly in transport, where the business has… Continue reading JCDecaux Performs Ahead Of Expectations