More Industry News articles

De Agostini, the Italian publisher, is understood to be preparing a bid for Endemol, the producer of Big Brother. It is believed that De Agostini has hired US bank Citigroup to examine the possibility of making a bid for the 75% stake which Telefonica could be putting up for sale (see Telefonica Board Meets To… Continue reading De Agostini Could Make Endemol Bid

BBC Staff, together with a group of MPs, have written a letter to the BBC Trust urging it to reject proposed advertising on its BBC.com international website.The letter, published today in national newspapers, was signed by 10 MPs and follows an Early Day Motion submitted by Labour MP Austin Mitchell.The MPs are concerned that hosting… Continue reading MPs And Staff Say No To BBC Web Ads

Eight out of ten internet connections are now via broadband, according to a new report from the Office Of National Statistics. The survey of internet service providers shows that in December 2006, broadband connections accounted for 79.2% of all internet connections. The Office of National Statistics says that the year-on-year increase in broadband connections was… Continue reading UK Broadband Connections Increase

Sir Martin Sorrell, head of WPP, has said that those in charge of running media companies should make sure that they keep up with the shift in power taking place in the media industry.Sorrell, speaking yesterday at a Chrysalis event, said that media owners need to get their heads around the fact that profitability will… Continue reading Sorrell: Media Owners need To Keep Pace With Change

Five has replaced Nick Thorogood, controller of its digital channels Five Life and Five US, with Hannah Barnes, currently managing editor of Sky One, Two and three.In his role as director of programming, Barnes will oversee Five’s digital channels, Five Life and Five US, which were both launched last October (see Five To Launch Two… Continue reading Five Digital Controller Replaced

Life On Mars remained strong against the brawling scenes of the Champion’s League, luring almost 5.5 million adults to BBC One once again, compared to the football’s average of 4.6 million.The 1970s time-glitch crime drama gave the channel a 24.2% viewing share, up slightly from its series two debut last week (see Life On Mars… Continue reading Life On Mars Battles Champion’s League Brawl

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has launched a new initiative aimed at developing a new measurement standard for newspaper readership across print and digital.It has set up a Media Measurement Integration Task Force to explore the possibility of creating a global standard for combined print and digital measurements.The task force’s first project will be… Continue reading WAN To Develop Measurement Standard For Digital And Print Newspapers

The Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) is near to agreeing a plan which could see all food and drink advertising, except ads for fruit and vegetables, banned from non-broadcast media.The plan was raised at yesterday’s Department of Health food and drink advertising and promotion forum and, according to a report in the Guardian, it goes… Continue reading CAP Puts Forward Radical Plan For Food Ads

This week sees the start of Friday Night Lights on ITV4, the latest in a somewhat dwindling line of US television imports.Just as it’s getting harder for UK heavyweight channels BBC One and ITV1 to come up with fresh, new, audience-grabbing programmes, it’s even tougher in the harsh world of US network TV.For the current… Continue reading US Imports – The Hits & Misses

The US companies Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have agreed a merger, which will create a company valued at $13 billion. The deal will see Sirius acquire XM in a $4.6 billion deal, although the merger could face problems. It is believed that US terrestrial radio companies are likely to make objections and… Continue reading US Satellite Radio Companies To Merge