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BT is in talks with Channel 4 over a possible merger of its television subsidiary BT Vision with the broadcaster.Luke Johnson, chairman of Channel 4, said he would fully support a merger between Channel 4 and BT Vision, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph.Johnson said that a merger offered a “certain logic”. “A… Continue reading BT in merger talks with Channel 4

Investor Peter Thiel has revealed that Facebook was in takeover talks with Twitter last autumn, although disagreements over price and structure scuppered a deal.Twitter would have been paid for with Facebook stock, however, the two sides could not agree on a valuation of the company.In 2007, Microsoft bought preferred stock in Facebook valuing the company… Continue reading Facebook tried to buy Twitter

Screen Digest is forecasting UK advertising revenue to drop by 8.4% in 2009 as marketer’s confidence falls to its lowest point and several major client industries such as finance, retail and automotive retract budgets. As prices have hit an all-time low, TV advertising is set to decline by 7.7% in 2009, predicts Screen Digest. Amplified… Continue reading UK ad revenue to drop 8% in 2009

In February, a report from eMarketer revealed that more than 17 million households in the UK, or 67.2% of the total, will subscribe to various broadband technologies in 2009. This figure is an increase of almost 6.5% from the 16.1 million UK households using broadband in 2008 (see Boost in UK broadband use) In a… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – February 2009

Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, has reported an increase in sales and operating profits for 2008. The company, which also owns Penguin books, saw its strongest profit growth at the FT Group, up 13%. Online showed impressive growth for the FT Group last year, with 67% of revenues coming from digital services, up from… Continue reading Pearson reports increase in sales and operating profits

ITV1’s Dancing on Ice triumphed in the TV ratings battle last night, with a peak of 9.9 million watching the first of two Sunday night shows.The first instalment of Dancing on Ice, on from 7pm to 8.15pm, picked up a 37.4% share of the audience, while the skate-off, which saw Emmerdale star Roxanne Pallett voted… Continue reading Dancing on Ice picks up a peak of 9.9m viewers

Interpublic Group’s revenues fell 4.1% year on year in the three months to December. The group’s revenues dropped to $1.9 billion (£1.33 billion) in the fourth quarter. US operations saw a 1.9% decline in revenues while there was a 6.3% decline in international revenues. Michael Roth, Interpublic chairman and chief executive, said: “The latter part… Continue reading Interpublic’s revenues fall 4.1%

Bauer Media has appointed Dasha Zhukova as editor-in-chief of POP magazine, which has recently moved to new offices in London and Berlin.Zhukova, the co-founder of fashion label Kova & T and Roman Abramovich’s girlfriend, is set to work alongside editorial director Ashley Heath, who co-launched POP in 2000.She replaces Katie Grand, the founding editor of… Continue reading Bauer appoints Zhukova as new editor of POP

AOL is launching a new classifieds website that will allow consumers to search through millions of local classifieds listings for every postcode in the UK.AOL Classifieds has been developed in partnership with Oodle, which operates the largest network of classifieds services in the US.Sellers are able to promote their listings by leveraging the reach of… Continue reading AOL launches classifieds website

Microsoft has signed a deal with NBC Universal to expand the film hosting service on its XBox 360 games console.The deal will enable Xbox users to download a choice of 30 Universal movies and watch them in high-definition.Universal follows Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros in agreeing Xbox movie deals with Microsoft.Microsoft has also announced plans… Continue reading NBC Universal signs Xbox 360 movie deal