Specials and old favourites will be key to the BBC keeping its viewing figures up during the festive season.The Corporation will screen special editions of Doctor Who, Little Britain, This Life and The Vicar of Dibley, whilst EastEnders will see the “dramatic” exit of one of the soap’s original characters, Pauline Fowler.Little Britain star Matt… Continue reading Specials And Nostalgia Key To BBC’s Festive Programming

Social networking site MySpace is looking for mobile partners to launch and promote MySpace mobile services across Europe.Earlier this week, the company appointed former business development manager at Vodafone, Jean-Paul Sanchez, to the position of vice president of mobile for Fox Interactive in Europe (see MySpace Takes A Step Closer To Going Mobile), and he… Continue reading MySpace Searching For Mobile Partners

Celtic’s 1-0 Champion’s League victory over Manchester United lured an average of 5.6 million adult viewers to ITV1 last night, giving the channel a 26% audience share between 7.30pm and 9.30pm.Following on from the match at a slightly later time than usual, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here dropped more than two million… Continue reading Triumphant Celtic Victory Lures 5.6 Million To ITV1

BSkyB’s holdings in ITV will reduce competition and raise plurality concerns in the UK media market, which is not in the public interest, according to a statement released by NTL.The company also said it is “considering all of its options” following ITV’s rejection of the cable group’s takeover approach yesterday (see ITV Board Rejects NTL… Continue reading BSkyB’s Acquisition Of ITV Not In The Public Interest, Says NTL

The ITV board has unanimously rejected a merger bid by NTL, claiming there is “little, if any, strategic logic for ITV to combine with NTL “.For each ITV share, the US cable giant had offered 105p in cash and new NTL shares, which were worth 17p at the close of business on 9 November. The… Continue reading ITV Board Rejects NTL Merger Bid

More than 70% of UK television households, almost 18 million, are watching digital television on at least one set in the home, according to new research released by communications watchdog Ofcom.The report entitled ‘The Consumer Experience’, also found that 26% of British homes have bought digital terrestrial television receivers, more than twice as many as… Continue reading Almost 18 Million UK Households Have Digital TV

More than 40 million mobile phone users in the UK have used their handsets for downloads and browsing the internet during Q3 2006, according to the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association (MDA).A total of 40.7 million users were recorded as having used their phones for this purpose. In July, the figure was 13… Continue reading More Than 40 Million Use Mobiles To Browse The Net

The BBC has unveiled its team to lead the Corporation’s new multimedia division, BBC Vision, which launches today.Simon Nelson will lead the team as controller of multi-platform and portfolio, having moved from his role of controller of radio and music interactive at the BBC. He will oversee the strategy for multi-platform services and content and… Continue reading BBC Restructures For Multi-Media Team

Sir Richard Branson, NTL’s biggest shareholder, is set to challenge BSkyB after the satellite giant bought an almost 18% stake of ITV late on Friday, in a deal worth close to £1 billion.NTL has said that it will complain to the competition authorities, including the OFT, the European Commission and Ofcom, about Sky’s £940 million… Continue reading Branson Bites Back At Sky’s Swoop On ITV

Ofcom executives are said to be discussing BSkyB’s shock acquisition of an almost 18% stake in the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster, ITV.Following the acquisition of the stake, Ofcom will have to decide whether the move constitutes a “change of control” at ITV and whether it would compromise the commercial broadcaster’s obligations as a public service… Continue reading Ofcom To Discuss BSkyB’s ITV Acquisition