Channel 5 has been cleared by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) of breaching taste and decency rules with its Naked Season programming, which included a game show hosted by Keith Chegwin, where all participants and the host appeared naked throughout (see Feature: Channel Five Stirs Up A Storm With Naked Programming).Two programmes from the season… Continue reading Channel 5’s Naked Season Ruled Not To Break ITC Code
Fears that personal video recorders could bring an end to television advertising as we know it could soon be abated. The companies that are revolutionising the way people watch television, letting them pre-record programmes and fast-forward past commercials at the push of a button (see BSkyB To Bring Personal TV Viewing To The UK), are… Continue reading Personal Video Recorders To Offer Tool For Advertisers
The two companies behind the History Channel, BSkyB and A&E Television Networks, are to introduce a new factual programming channel to the digital platform. The Biography Channel, which launches on the evening of Saturday, 1 October, will, as the name suggests, feature programming on the life stories of famous people. It will air from 6am… Continue reading Biography Channel To Boost Sky Digital’s Factual Output
French media group Publicis is thought to have reached a verbal agreement with Cordiant Communications to merge the stakes each company holds in Zenith Media.Publicis’ 50% stake in Zenith is the result of its recent acquisition of Saatchi & Saatchi (see Publicis Buys Saatchi & Saatchi For £1.24bn). Publicis also owns Optimedia and it is… Continue reading Publicis Set For Zenith Deal With Cordiant
AOL has announced plans to offer unmetered internet access in the UK. Guaranteeing the sustainability of the service after recent failures (see AltaVista MD Quits Over Free Internet Access Fiasco), the US-based group is offering its current members a flat-rate monthly fee of £14.99.After research earlier this year showed the unmetered model to be unsustainable… Continue reading AOL To Roll Out Unmetered Internet Access In The UK
Big Brother finished its run on Friday but has already begun to slip from the public consciousness. The TV phenomenon which dominated the nation over the summer months finished on a high for Channel 4 with the grand finale gaining a peak audience share of 56.5% and giving C4 its best-ever Friday night ratings.The programme… Continue reading Feature: Big Impact, Short Life-Span
ONnet, ONdigital’s TV internet service, has launched this week. Allowing full internet access through television sets (see ONdigital Unveils Interactive Television Launch Plans), 47 brand names have signed up to the ONnet portal which will act as a gateway and guide to the web.BBC and ITN will provide links to their news headlines at BBC… Continue reading ONdigital Launches TV Internet Service
Broadband cable internet access is expected to accelerate its growth following under-performance so far. In the US broadband is predicted to grow by six times to 32 million users by 2003, according to eMarketer. Full growth has been stalled so far in US after internet service providers (ISPs) struggled provide broadband services and the costs… Continue reading Broadband Net Access Set For Growth In US
GWR group’s new media arm, ecast ventures, is to offer new, highly targeted opportunities for advertisers on its internet-streamed radio stations. The technology, being introduced for the first time in the UK, will allow advertising to be inserted into the audio stream being broadcast via the internet, in order to target particular groups who are… Continue reading GWR Introduces Streamed Global Audio Advertising
Pearson is set to expand the US profile of its financial website ft.com thanks to the acquisition of a 20% stake in US business portal business.com (see Pearson Invests $30m In Business.com). News of the acquisition pushed Pearson shares up 68p to end at £19.19.The Wireless Group’s reported losses in its interim results (see Wireless… Continue reading Sharewatch
