More Industry News articles

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) today announced that it plans to make a ruling the BSkyB has behaved in an anti-competitive way, infringing on UK competition law. The OFT launched its investigation into BSkyB a year ago (See BSkyB Faces OFT Investigation), now BSkyB has the opportunity to address the charges levied at it.… Continue reading OFT Proposes Ruling Against BSkyB

French media group Vivendi Universal (VU) today announced that it is to acquire the entertainment assets of USA Networks in a deal worth £10.3 billion. VU will have 93% control of the new company, Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUA), which will bring together Universal Studios Group and the USA business. Vivendi will pay USA Networks around… Continue reading Vivendi Consolidates US Position With New Acquisition

Week on week analysis of the media market reveals that the worst performance came from Telewest. Shares in the cable company, which recently rebranded as Telewest Broadband (see Telewest Announces Rebrand), dropped 20.95% week on week to finish at 58˝p, an loss of 15˝p on the week before.United Business Media, which announced on Friday that… Continue reading Sharewatch

RAJAR has outlined the new developments it expects to progress on in the New Year. Amongst these is the testing of meters which could see a shift from the current diary system to an electronic method of measuring radio audiences.RAJAR’s managing director, Jane O’Hara, explained “RAJAR has spent much of the past year exploring a… Continue reading RAJAR To Test Electronic Meters

Emap Elan is closing its men’s health and fitness title, FHM Bionic, just three months after increasing its circulation from biannual to monthly.Emap have confirmed that 11 jobs are to go at the magazine, which was relaunched as a monthly under former Men’s Health editor, Phil Hilton, in August (see FHM Bionic Goes Monthly). Only… Continue reading Emap To Close FHM Bionic

Trinity Mirror is launching a free weekly newspaper in the Midlands to target “active consumers”.The Birmingham Post & Mail will launch on 10 January and has been designed to appeal to those who are actively interested in local news and are considered receptive to advertising. The paper will be distributed to ethnic minorities and homes… Continue reading Trinity Mirror Unveils New Title

Viacom Outdoor is launching a series of interactive 6-sheet posters that “beam” adverts via infrared technology to WAP phones and PDA’s.The contractor is working with a New York-based firm called StreetBeam to develop the initiative, which will offer advertisers an illuminated 6-sheet format capable of transmitting marketing information direct to consumers.Viacom plans to launch the… Continue reading Viacom Beams With Interactive 6-Sheets

Excite UK is closing with the loss of all of its 48 staff after failing to find a buyer.The company, which has been looking for additional funding since being cut off by its shareholders, BT and Excite@Home, announced that it will cease normal trading at the end of this week.Announcing the closure, which comes at… Continue reading Excite UK Closes With 48 Redundancies

New research by Statistical Research has found that a relationship of parallel growth occurs in households with the internet, computers and television. Rather than increasing spending on one to the detriment of others, the 2001 Ownership Report, part of The Home Technology Monitor™, reveals that households with multiple PCs or internet access are more likely… Continue reading PC Households Spend More On Home Entertainment

Sunday Business is to relaunch as The Business in the New Year and is cutting its cover price by half to 50p.The troubled financial title, which recently secured its future by signing a re-financing deal with the Press Association (see Sunday Business Averts Closure), will close over Christmas and New Year but will relaunch on… Continue reading Sunday Business Set For Relaunch