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Despite all the hoopla surrounding the main broadcasters prime time reality projects, it was the dour sepia-soaked melancholy of Downton Abbey on Sunday night (ITV, 9pm) that won over the weekend’s biggest audience .

Dominic Mills is bewildered by some of the cities bidding for Local TV licences, but is London somehow different? He hears what the bosses behind the Evening Standard’s London Live had to say about the project…

EastEnders’ (BBC One, 7:30pm) habit of bringing back familiar faces seems to have done the trick last night as 90’s bad boy David Wicks reared his shiny head just in time for the dramatic closing drum beats.

8 million viewers watched as the prodigal son failed to materialise, securing a midweek downer for an audience share of 38%.

At the consumer end of the business, Virgin and Sky will fight like cats in a sack says Raymond Snoddy – but what is remarkable are the large areas of agreement between them. So what do they have to say about their future?

Last night BBC One hesitantly entered a brand new era with its long-running triumph New Tricks (9pm), as yet another familiar face disappeared from the successful line up.

As some industry commentators suggest that the Internet might have to turn its leading business model on its head, Peter Houston argues for a more simplistic approach to the ad-blocking problem: don’t run crap ads.

For years media brands have experimented and profited from brand extensions – but as markets evolve, Dominic Mills asks if some are straying too far…

As if there was any doubt, the past two days have seen the UK’s premium ‘talent’ show lord it up all over Saturday and Sunday’s TV schedule, as The X Factor’s success overshadowed all of the competition.

The smartphone market might be growing strongly, says Ed Owen, but the excitement and differentiation has died. Didn’t smartphones used to be exciting?