More Industry News articles

Of the ‘outside’ interested parties in bidding for ITV franchises, MAI (News 23/11), Virgin (19/11), Associated Newspapers, Carlton and The Really Useful Company, only Virgin has discounted a bid for the breakfast franchise.

More than 200 staff at the British Satellite Broadcasting customer services centre in Leeds are being made redundant. BSkyB will only require limited services from the centre, as a similar operation has also been inherited from Sky. The number of redundancies resulting from the merger is now thought to total around 650.

Hamfield Publications has confirmed the launch of a national paid-for listings title, TV Plus, next March. It will replace Plus,the free title distributed with regional newspapers. The final issue of Plus appears on December 5. The new title is to be a derivation of Plus and is to be edited by Gillian De Bono. Four… Continue reading TV Plus To Replace Plus

Following its closure, directors of the Sunday Correspondent have put the title up for sale and are attempting to refund the shareholders through voluntary liquidation. Finance director, Alan Thompson, confirmed there was some interest in the sale but would not say from where.

Speaking yesterday on C4’s Answering Back, Michael Checkland, director general of the BBC, dismissed suggestions that the licence fee should be replaced by subscription. However, he said he is worried that it may reach the £100 level.Checkland suggested that the licence fee for mono sets might be raised to that of the colour licence. He… Continue reading BBC Licence Fee And Audience Share

This week the Times and Sunday Times are to become the first newspapers to be available on CD, a single disc will hold the contents of more than 400 newspapers.

The Guardian and Manchester Evening News have been in talks with Liverpool producer Phil Redmond which are believed to have involved joining a consortium to bid against Granada for its ITV franchise. David Plowright, the Granada TV chairman, has admitted he knows that the Guardian are seeking partners to bid against them. The Guardian group… Continue reading Guardian Consortium

The Sunday Times (071-782 7000) yesterday delivered free copies of the newspaper to 50,000 Correspondent readers, in a one off promotion.

Before last November , satellite television was a diffused, disparate medium tottering on the fringes of the broadcasting industry.Whilst many consumers liked the idea of more choice and niche channels, confusion over whether to opt for Sky or BSB (a dish or a squarial) and the mixed messages coming from the broad- casters themselves, blurred… Continue reading BSkyB – One Year On

QUALITIES Among the quality newspapers The Independent on Sunday and The Observer continue to be the only titles to increase circulation year – on-year, when comparing both the monthly figures for October and the six monthly figures for May to October.The Times and The Independent once again experienced the greatest circulation falls in this group.… Continue reading National Press Round Up – October