More Industry News articles

Marston’s, the UK’s largest producers of premium cask ale, is to sponsor Sky’s on-air and online coverage of the cricket World Cup which begins in the Caribbean next week.The sponsorship covers sponsorship credits and break bumpers on Sky Sports broadcast coverage and branding on World Cup sections of skysports.com.Every match is being screened exclusively live… Continue reading Sky Gets Cricket World Cup Sponsor

Lisa Opie, Five’s managing director of content, has launched an initiative to enable viewers to directly pitch programming ideas to commissioners in a bid to reconnect the channel with its dwindling audiences.In an RTS speech last night, entitled ‘What is the point of Five?’ Opie said: “There has never been a way the viewer can… Continue reading Five’s Opie Announces Plan To Boost Programming

Liverpool FC’s entry in to the quarter finals of the Champions League last night drew an average adult audience of more than 5.8 million to ITV1, giving the broadcaster a 27% viewing share for a large chunk of primetime.BBC One’s Life On Mars, on during the last hour of the football coverage, lost around one… Continue reading Champions League Triumph For ITV1

Commercial TV marketing body, Thinkbox, is keen to engage with the media community for feedback as it develops its new television planning tool on the back of recently released research.At last week’s Thinkbox conference at the Roundhouse in London, the group’s research and strategy director, David Brennan, outlined how the body would use the insights… Continue reading Thinkbox Needs You! Industry Feedback Key To New TV Planning Tool

Nokia has announced that it is to launch two mobile advertising services.Nokia Ad Service is a service for advertisers to conduct targeted advertising on mobile services and applications. Nokia Ad Service consists of a group of mobile publishers forming a mobile ad network and a platform to deploy, manage and optimise mobile advertising campaigns.Nokia has… Continue reading Nokia To Launch Mobile Ad Services

Michael Grade bemoaned ITV’s lack of innovation as the broadcaster announced a decline in full-year pre-tax profits from £311 million to £288 million.In a financial statement released today, Grade said: “There is a lack of innovation in our programming, partly resulting from a fear of ratings failure and the punitive consequences that follow under the… Continue reading Grade Says ITV Lacks Innovation As Profits Decline

Virgin Media is offering discounts to customers thinking of ending their contracts following the dispute which saw Sky’s basic channels removed from the cable platform.Disgruntled customers will be offered discounts on a case by case basis, according to reports in the trade press, with the XL TV package expected to see a discount of around… Continue reading Discounts For Virgin Media Customers

Former Radio 1 DJ Mark Goodier is joining Smooth Radio to present the station’s mid-morning show from March 26.GMG Radio’s Smooth FM changes its name to Smooth Radio on March 26 and Goodier is just one of several presenters lined up for the relaunch (see Collins Goes From Virgin To Smooth).He will be on air… Continue reading Mark Goodier To Join Smooth For Relaunch

ITV has announced that its full-year pre-tax profits slipped from £311 million to £288 million. Turnover for the year to 31 December 2006 was £2.18 billion, compared to £2.19 billion in 2005. Digital channels showed strong growth, with revenue up 41% at £157 million, partly offsetting ITV NAR down 12% at 1.28 million. ITV content… Continue reading ITV’s Profits Decline

Johnston Press has announced that its 2006 pre-tax profits were down 6% to £146.7 million. In a statement released today, the Edinburgh based group said that revenues this year would be similar to those recorded for 2006. Digital revenues at he publisher were up 36% to 11.3 million for 2006. However, it also said that… Continue reading Johnston Press Sees Profits Fall