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Armando Iannucci, the comedy writer and producer behind Alan Partridge and The Thick Of It has said that the BBC should be making more money out of its content by setting up a paid-for subscription service similar to HBO in the US.Speaking at the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (MGEITF),… Continue reading MGEITF 2008: Iannucci Wants The BBC To “Clobber Critics” And Create Its Own HBO Service

It is all about showbusiness and entertainment according to Peter Fincham, who gave a passionate speech at the recent MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (MGEITF).Fincham, now director of television at ITV after he left BBC One following the infamous ‘Crowngate’ affair last year (see Fincham Quits Following Queen Doco ShockerFincham Quits Following Queen Doco ShockerFincham… Continue reading MGEITF 2008: TV’s Future Is In Entertainment, Says Peter Fincham

RTL Group, owner of Five and The X Factor producer Fremantle, has reported a 2.5% drop in operating profits for the first half of the year. The pan-European producer and broadcaster reported a 2.5% year-on-year drop in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation, to €502 million (£398 million). Revenue for the six months to the… Continue reading RTL Reports Fall In Operating Profits

UTV, owner of the ITV Northern Ireland franchise, reported a year on year rise in pre-tax profit of 12%, to £10.4 million in the first half of 2008. The Belfast-based group also reported a revenue rise of 8% in the first half of 2008, with a 4% decline in TV ad income offset by solid… Continue reading UTV Sees Rise In Pre-Tax Profits

Despite the popularity of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the US, this did not quite translate to huge amounts of video advertising, according to new figures from eMarketer. Based on video stream figures released by NBC, eMarketer estimates video ad spending on the NBCOlympics.com site will reach $5.75 million. That sum represents only 1.1% of… Continue reading New Figures Look At Olympic Online Video Adspend In The US

New figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 16.46 million UK households currently have internet access, representing 65% of households and an increase of 1.23 million households since 2007. Of all UK households, 56% have broadband internet access, an increase from 51% in 2007, while of the UK households with internet access, 86%… Continue reading 16.5m UK Households Have Internet Access

Internet TV has had little impact on British viewing habits, according to a Deloitte report produced for the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. The report found that only 4% of the UK population consider it “very important” to be able to receive TV via the internet, while 47% still regard it is as not… Continue reading Internet TV “Has Had Little Impact On British Viewing Habits”

Five has unveiled its autumn line-up, which is set to include a number of new architecture and property programmes.The channel’s season highlight features Bernard Braden’s unseen interviews from the 1960s, with icons such as Cilla Black, Robert Maxwell and Sean Connery.The three-part series made by Silver River Productions, 1968 Unseen, will also include recent interviews… Continue reading Five Unveils New Autumn Schedule

ITV1’s glossy medical drama, Harley Street, failed to pull in viewers to its final episode last night, only managing to gain a 12% audience share with 2.7 million average viewers.The hour-long programme between 9pm and 10pm has never been hit, only attracting a million more viewers in its first week, despite the hype (see On… Continue reading Harley Street Goes Out Without A Bang

Sky has appointed former AOL head of mobile Tim Hussain as its first head of mobile advertising, while David Gibbs has been promoted to general manager for mobile.Hussain joins former AOL colleagues Giles Ivey, sales director for Sky Digital Media, and Andy Jonesco, MD of Sky’s online business unit.Reporting to Ivey, Hussain will be responsible… Continue reading Sky Makes Mobile Appointments