The Government decision on the future of ITV ownership rules is due to be announced imminently.Indications are that the ruling will be to allow large ITV companies to own two large licences and one small one. An advertising revenue ceiling is also likely, limiting one company to 25 per cent of all TV advertising. It… Continue reading ITV Ownership Rules Update
The Guardian and Manchester Evening News, publishers of The Guardian and the Observer, have announced a fall in pre-tax profits to £11.5m in the six months to October 2nd, from £14.7m.The company attributes the fall to the acquisition of the Observer but are forecasting better performance for the second half of the year as improvements… Continue reading Guardian And MEN Profits
The Henley Centre has published a report commissioned by the Radio Authority and the AIRC on the impact of transferring Radio 1 to the independent sector. The report suggests a commercialised Radio 1 would have a negative impact on the viability of existing commercial radio services, particularly Virgin and Atlantic.While the report says a privatised… Continue reading Report On Radio 1 Privatisation
The Bank of England has cut its minimum lending rate by 0.5%, the Treasury has announced; this means that the new base rate is now 5.5%.The Midland Bank has responded, by cutting its base lending rate to 5.5%, and the Nationwide mortgage rate is down to 7.74%. However, both the Halifax and the Woolwich have… Continue reading Interest Rate Cut By 0.5%
EMAP has announced interim results today, with pre-tax profits increasing 12% from £14.8m for the same period last year to £16.6m.The profit breakdown is:Magazines £11.1mBusiness Books £2.8mExhibitions £1.6mNewspapers £4.6mRadio £0.4m
Following the European relaunch on November 4 when the focus of the paper shifted to more analysis, from a European point of view, initial circulation figures look to have increased.Sales are reported to be up 12% to nearly 170,000, with London sales up 20% and Paris sales up 23%.
According to a report in the Sunday Times, the chairman of United Newspapers, Lord Stevens, is in the early stages of talks with Irish Independent Newspapers about the possibility of Independent Newspapers taking over United.United Newspapers, which owns Express Newspapers, is thought to be interested in the deal to strengthen the company in the current… Continue reading Express Newspapers To Be Taken Over?
Reed Regional Newspapers have acquired four titles; the Surrey Comet, the Kingston Star, the Richmond Herald, and Wimbledon News. These titles were originally Argus titles bought by Trinity which were then sold on to Southnews.In return for Reed obtaining the four titles, Southnews is to gain two frees, the Harrow and Barnet Independents. The value… Continue reading Reed And Southnews Swap Titles
ITV and Sony Pictures Entertainment have today announced the signing of a major film acquisition deal, which is ITV’s largest ever with a Hollywood distributor.The multi-million pound deal between ITV and Columbia TriStar International Television, a Sony company, covers major movies, classics as well as television films and mini-series.Among the titles acquired by ITV under… Continue reading ITV Signs Major Film Deal
Yesterday the Sunday People launched a new magazine, called Yes! The new magazine will join the existing TV First, which will no longer contain editorial, concentrating solely on listings.The first issue of Yes! is 40 pages, of which just over 20% is given over to advertising. Advertisers include BCA Book Clubs and Kays.The editorial includes… Continue reading People’s Yes! First Issue Review
