Three applicants emerged in the bid for the second London digital multiplex licence as the closing date passed yesterday. The Radio Authority announced that MXR London, Score Now and Switch Digital are the contenders in the race to hold the licence.CE Digital, a consortium formed by Capital Radio and EMAP, won the first digital licence… Continue reading Three Applicants Line Up For Second London Digital Radio Licence
The Office of Fair Trading has until 7 February to make a decision about Granada’s submission for consent to merge with either Carlton Communications or United News & Media. As the media group sought initial permission from the regulator before making a bid, the OFT has to make a decision within a given deadline.Granada submitted… Continue reading Deadline Given For Granada Bid Approval
The latest readership figures, released by the National Readership Survey (NRS) this week, show a continuing overall decline in the national newspapers’ readership numbers. The whole sector dropped back slightly by 1.1% or 748,000 readers year on year for the six months to November 1999.Bucking the trend as usual were the Daily Mail (up 9.1%)… Continue reading National Newspaper NRS Round-Up – November 1999
Channel 5 has agreed to take stakes in internet companies in return for allowing them airtime to advertise their businesses. The deal, which has been expected for some time (see Channel 5 May Swap Airtime For New Media Equity), will allow C5 to give exposure to the growing number of dot.com advertisers while allowing them… Continue reading Channel 5 Exchanges Airtime For Internet Stakes
Magazine and internet publishing group Future Network has acquired four magazines and three websites from Dennis Publishing. The music and technology titles complement Future’s portfolio, which specialises in computing, music and other specialist titles.The magazine titles acquired are: Hi Fi Choice, Home Entertainment, Metal Hammer, and Classic Rock. The three former titles are well-established consumer… Continue reading Future Acquires Four New Titles From Dennis
The UK is to get its first sport radio station next week when Talk Radio becomes talkSPORT. The station, which suffered a 17% drop in its audience in the latest RAJAR figures (see National Radio Stations Shed Listeners During Summer), has been reinventing itself as a dedicated sports station since it was taken over by… Continue reading Talk To Launch UK’s First Sport Station
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to hold a review of BSkyB’s position in the pay-TV market as a broadcaster and channel provider, it announced today. The competition watchdog is to assess whether Sky’s position is too dominant and whether undertakings made by Sky in 1996 to ensure fair competition between the satellite broadcaster… Continue reading OFT To Review BSkyB’s Position In Pay-TV Market
Open, the interactive television service, announced yesterday that it had achieved sales exceeding £1 million per week in the pre-Christmas period. The service, which is co-owned by BSkyB, BT, HSBC and Matsushita, said that at least 8 million visits have been made and over 127,000 orders processed since it was launched on SkyDigital last year… Continue reading Open’s Sales Top £1m A Week
Digital terrestrial broadcaster, ONdigital, has broken the half million mark in its latest subscriber figures released today. The group – 50:50 owned by Granada and Carlton Communications – said that it had signed up 552,000 customers by 31 December 1999.The takeup represents a 34% increase on the September 1999 subscriber base, which stood at 411,000.… Continue reading ONdigital Takes Half A Million Subscribers
Media groups were amongst the highest movers on the FTSE 100 yesterday as news of the world’s biggest corporate deal, between America Online and Time Warner, affected shares in the sector (see AOL And Time Warner Confirm Mega-Merger). Pearson, once rumoured to be interested in a deal with AOL (see Sharewatch), was the highest climber… Continue reading Sharewatch
