BSkyB has confirmed that Rupert Murdoch is to takeover as chairman of the company with immediate effect. The confirmation comes in the wake of reports in yesterday’s Financial Times that Murdoch was to take up the role (see Newsline).Murdoch replaces Jérôme Seydoux, who will remain on the board as a non-executive director.BSkyB: 0171 705 3200
The Guardian has announced that it is to sponsor the Glastonbury Festival again this year, which takes place on 25-27 June. The paper will be providing a round-the-neck mini-guide to festival goers which will offer a full listing of events. The sponsorship will also involve a run of promotions and advertising.The Guardian will also be… Continue reading Guardian Continues To Sponsor Glastonbury Festival
Inflation for May stood at 2.1%, well below the Government’s target of 2.5%, according to data released by the Office of National Statistics this morning. The Retail Prices Index for May stood at 165.6; this is a 0.2% increase on April 1999 and a 1.3% increase on May last year.Subscribers can access RPI trends by… Continue reading Inflation At 2.1%
Arcadia Group, the UK’s second largest clothing retailer, has launched a new consumer website this week called zoom.co.uk. Associated New Media is one of the main content providers, and Zoom features news, football, weather, listings and finance pages, by means of links to the network of This Is sites, run by Associated, including thisislondon.com and… Continue reading Arcadia And Associated New Media Zoom Online
Arbitron, the company which has been developing a new measurement device for radio and television audiences, has announced that pilot tests of the device have ‘exceeded its expectations’, and achieved all of its objectives in evaluation.The pilot tests for the device, which is a person portable meter (PPM) the size of a pager, began towards… Continue reading New Audience Measurement Technology Testing Enters Next Phase
Both Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) and Telewest experienced increases in their share prices yesterday following reports linking NTL to the ongoing merger discussions between the two groups (see Newsline). CWC rose 22p to 582p, and Telewest was 1źp to 273˝p.BSkyB rose another 3˝p yesterday, from 595˝p to 599p, following speculation that it is to… Continue reading Sharewatch
The Radio Authority is advertising its eighth local digital licence, this time for the Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford area. The licence is designed to cover an adult population of around 1.1 million, and will initially run for a period of about 12 years. The Authority has already advertised licences for areas including London, Glasgow and… Continue reading RA Advertises Eighth Local Digital Radio Licence
The Board of satellite television broadcaster, BSkyB, is to meet tomorrow to discuss the replacement of its chairman Jérôme Seydoux, also chairman and majority shareholder of Pathé. Seydoux’s departure from BSkyB follows the acquisition of Pathé by French utilities group Vivendi (see BSkyB Shares Soar On Canal Plus Merger Speculation).When Vivendi took control of Pathé… Continue reading Murdoch May Become Chairman Of BSkyB
Golden Rose’s commercial radio station Jazz FM is currently in discussions about the possible launch of a television service. Although still in its very early stages, chief executive of Golden Rose, Richard Wheatly, said that the group is looking at the possibility of launching a 3 or 4 hour service, although there is nothing imminent… Continue reading Jazz FM Looks At Possible TV Venture
The great and the bad descended to Israel to take part in the annual cheesefest that is The Eurovision Song Contest. The event, which this year saw a great deal of political voting from participating countries, managed to pull in an average audience of 8.9 million and a peak of 12.0 million.The movie premiere of… Continue reading TV Viewing Summary W/E 30/05/99
