More Industry News articles

The BBC is to ask the Independent Television Commission to force BSkyB to guarantee it the top two slots on its electronic programming guide, following the breakdown of talks between the two broadcasters (see BBC And BSkyB Set To Take Digital Disagreement To ITC). The BBC’s decision not to renew its digital encryption deal with… Continue reading BBC Appeals To TV Regulator To Resolve BSkyB Dispute

Cinema-style classifications should be introduced for television programmes, according to Paul Bolt, director of the Broadcasting Standards Commission.Bolt wants viewers to receive the type of warnings that come with computer games, videos, DVDs and at the cinemas. His comments come amid concern about the type of programmes being shown before the 9pm watershed.In an interview… Continue reading TV Programmes Should Have Cinema-Style Ratings

NTL has admitted paying more than £100 million to employees and advisers as it sought to maintain stability during its recent refinancing operation. The UK cable firm yesterday reported a pre-tax loss of £1.65 billion for 2002, compared to a loss of £8 billion in 2001. Earnings were up by almost 50% (see NTL Sees… Continue reading NTL Counts The Cost Of Restructuring

Linda Genower, managing director of IPC’s women’s weeklies division is leaving the company less than a week after the appointment of Sylvia Auton as chief executive (see IPC Media Appoints Sylvia Auton As New Chief Executive).Genower will officially retire from her role at IPC Connect at Easter after a career spanning 20 years with the… Continue reading Genower Steps Down As Head Of Women’s Weeklies At IPC

The UK telecoms, media and technology (TMT) sector is being held back by a lack of funding, restrictive legislation and over-caution on the part of content owners. That is the verdict of city media analyst, Neil Blackley, who had some harsh words for industry executives at last night’s Royal Television Society Dinner in London. In… Continue reading Black Tidings For Advanced Television Sector

Worries of an extended campaign in Iraq took their toll on the media sector yesterday reviving concerns that advertising revenue could remain weak.DMGT, which recently warned that the political and economic climate was fostering uncertainty in some of its markets (see DMGT Sends Out Mixed Messages In Trading Update), saw shares slip 5.61% to close… Continue reading Sharewatch: War Worries Undermine Media Shares

AOL Time Warner has confirmed that it has devised a new service, akin to TiVo, that will enable subscribers to skip through TV programming without the need to install new hardware. It was first revealed last month that AOL was testing a digital recording service, called Mystro TV, that would be available to cable subscribers… Continue reading AOL To Enter PVR Market With Mystro TV

Mobile marketing group, Enpocket, is to launch a SMS promotional campaign to promote Fox’s new thriller Phone Booth.The promotion will use the Fox text club database, which will invite members to see the film at special preview screenings. They will also distribute 30,000 matchbooks across UK universities inviting consumers to enter a text draw for… Continue reading Enpocket Secures Fox For SMS Promotional Campaign

UK cable operator, NTL, has increased its earnings by 48.2% to £661 million in 2002, after finally emerging from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.Reporting the full year results, NTL says that churn – the proportion of people leaving the home cable service – declined from 21.3% in Q4 2001 to 15.9% in Q4 2002. The… Continue reading NTL Sees Earnings Up 48% In 2002

Maiden Outdoor has begun fitting 24-hour performance monitors to all of its electronic scrolling posters, in an attempt to improve accountability.The monitoring devices, which will also be fitted to Ultravision and Trivision posters, enable the outdoor contractor’s maintenance companies to immediately identify problems with power, illumination or the scrolling mechanism, meaning that faults can be… Continue reading Maiden To Improve Accountability For Clients