Cordiant has just announced that its shareholders have agreed to the demerger plans which will see the Saatchi & Saatchi and Bates businesses split into separate companies (subscribers see Cordiant Confirms Demerger Plans).At the Extraordinary General Meeting held earlier today it was also confirmed that dealings in shares for the two companies will commence at… Continue reading Cordiant Demerger Approved
Richard Sunderland is leaving his post as associate director at Universal McCann to join the relatively young agency, Branded. Branded is led by Philip Ley, formerly BSkyB’s marketing director. Currently, there is no definite start date for Sunderland at Branded.…Saul Walkinshaw joined MediaVest on 20 October as TV buying manager, leaving his post as TV… Continue reading Appointment Briefs
Television’s leading drama, Heartbeat has increased its audience yet again this week, (16.33 million compared to last week’s 15.29 million). Despite dropping from its previously well worn position of second place to third, the drama shows no signs of losing the momentum already gained. At the other end of the scale, the new Catherine Cookson… Continue reading TV Viewing Summary W/E 12/10/97
Former Zenith Media chief executive, Christine Walker, is planning to set up a joint agency with M&C Saatchi, provisionally named Walker Media. Legal wrangles permitting, the agency will open in M&C Saatchi’s Golden Square offices on 1 January and will operate as a 50:50 joint venture.Walker is coming to the end of her year’s gardening… Continue reading Walker/M C Saatchi Venture Confirmed
Chairman of the Independent Television Commission (ITC), Sir Robin Biggam, told the European Cable Convention yesterday that cable companies must use digital television as an opportunity to develop their industry. Biggam stressed that new platforms are not only about new technology but also about programmes and that people will not buy technology for the sake… Continue reading ITC Asks Cable To Make The Most Of Digital
The Department of Trade and Industry has cleared the Mirror Group’s takeover of Midland Independent Newspapers after the Monopolies and Mergers Commission said that the move would not operate against the public interest.It was announced in July that the Mirror Group had made an agreed offer of £297 million for MIN (subscribers see Midland In… Continue reading MIN/Mirror Deal Gets Go Ahead
As the web weaves itself ever farther into our private and working lives it may begin to struggle to sustain the weight of its own traffic. The latest Internet User Profile Survey published by NOP Research Group shows that one in twenty-five UK households now has Internet access; the number has risen from 400,000 in… Continue reading Web Round-Up W/E 24/10/97
While there was an overall year on year drop of 1.7% in the number of people listening to radio, from 40.293 million to 39.603 million, commercial radio suffered less than the BBC in Quarter 3. The BBC’s total weekly reach slipped 4.4% to 26.3 million while all commercial fell 0.6% to 27.6 million.The BBC’s total… Continue reading Rajar Q3 1997 – National Stations
The telecommunications regulator Oftel warned at yesterday’s European Cable Communications conference that dominant operators, such as BSkyB, should not sell premium channels and events on “unreasonable” terms. Director General of Oftel Don Cruickshank, said that, “it is essential to a competitive market in television services that a dominant operator should not be able to leverage… Continue reading Oftel Warns Against BSkyB’s Digital Dominance
IKEA yesterday launched their new design and lifestyle title, Room. Published by John Brown Contract Publishing the 100-page magazine sales at £1.00 and will have a circulation of around 500,000, distributed mainly through IKEA’s eight UK stores.Room will feature articles which reflect IKEA’s philosophy on design, environmental and global issues as well as merchandise information… Continue reading IKEA Launches Room Magazine
