ITV2, ITV’s digital channel, is due to go on air in November. Today saw the release of the new programme portfolio, which includes new sports, entertainment and factual programmes.Sports-wise, Futbol Mondial is one of the new shows to hit the airwaves, a half-hour football magazine show with a world perspective. Gabby Yorath will be hosting… Continue reading ITV Gets Commissioned
BSkyB has unveiled the Sky Digital programming packages with which it will vie for digital subscribers when the service launches on 1 October (see Countdown To BSkyB Digital Launch Begins).The service is made up of almost 80 channels which are divided across six different subscription packages. The cheapest of these, the Sky Value Pack, will… Continue reading Sky Rolls Out Digital Offerings
Zone Publishing has promoted Justyn Barnes to editor of Manchester United Magazine, and she moves up from the position of deputy editor to replace Faith Mowbray, who has been appointed managing editor for all of Zone’s football publications.Zone recently launched La Roma, the new AS Roma magazine, and will also be handling the club’s commercial… Continue reading Appointments In The Publishing Zone
Scottish Media Group (SMG) has expanded its magazine interests through the £3.1 million takeover of trade journal publisher, TAS Publishing.Glasgow-based SMG owns Scottish Television and Grampian Television as well as newspapers such as The Herald and The Evening Times.TAS publishes Components in Electronics, aimed at design engineers and buyers in the electronics industry and with… Continue reading Scottish Media Expands With Magazine Buy
ITV is to re-launch its website, and is understood to have put Real Time Studios in charge of the task. The group has severed its ties with ITN, which jointly produced the original site with IPC Magazines.A spokesperson for ITV said that there was no negativity involved in its split from ITN, and that it… Continue reading ITV Website Revamp
From next month News International will increase the ad rates on both The Times and The Sunday Times, claiming increases in circulation as justification for the rises.On 6 September The Sunday Times‘ ratecard will increase by 5%; the following day ad prices at The Times go up by 10%. A spokesperson from News International’s advertising… Continue reading News International Hikes Ad Ratecards
ComedyIn a resurrection not seen since Lazarus returned from the grave, ITV’s Babes In The Wood rebounds from successive weeks of falling audience figures to capture an audience of 7.69 million. There is also a turn around in fortunes for ITV’s other new comedy series Duck Patrol, up from last week’s figure of 5.93 million… Continue reading TV Viewing Summary W/E 16/08/98
EMAP Metro’s latest venture – code name Project J – is being kept under lock and key by its creators. Its editor-to-be, Mark Frith, could confirm only one thing: “It will be a high frequency entertainment magazine.”The launch date towards the end of the year is speculative as well as vague, and EMAP is rumoured… Continue reading Emap’s Project J – Top Secret
Front Cover – FrontiersFollowing a pilot issue in March this year (see First Issue Review – Frontiers), Future Publishing has given the go-ahead to its science and technology magazine, Frontiers.The monthly will launch fully on 4 September with a £1 first issue along with a promotional campaign, something the pilot lacked. The second issue is… Continue reading Future Presses On With Frontiers
Irish media magnate Tony O’Reilly’s takeover of The Independent and the Independent on Sunday in April has already resulted in reduced losses at the newspapers, according to Independent Newspapers.The company said that despite its “significant” investment in costly redesigns of the two titles, losses had been reduced and advertisers were responding well.Independent Newspapers took control… Continue reading Takeover Cuts Losses At Independent
