British Digital Broadcasting (BDB) is to offer its customers a set-top box which will operate on a ‘plug-and-play’ basis.The digital terrestrial TV company believes that this feature will be a significant attraction for customers to its service, and a strong challenger to Sky’s digital satellite system.The box will cost customers about £200 and will be… Continue reading BDB Set-Top Technology To Be Portable
Cable group Telewest Communications has announced that merger discussions with rival cable group NTL are over.The announcement follows NTL’s acquisition earlier this week of two other smaller cable companies, Comtel and Diamond Cable in deals worth £1.2 billion (see NTL’s £1.2bn Acquisitions Further UK Cable Industry Consolidation).Telewest Communications: 01483 750900 NTL: 01252 402 000
The ITV Network makes an impressive start to June’s viewing figures, with a 3.6% increase on its overall viewing share from the previous week. ITV leads the way with a 34.8% share, chased by BBC1 which achieved a 26.6% share. Take a glance at this week’s top thirty programmes, and you can’t fail to notice… Continue reading TV Viewing Summary W/E 07/06/98
Predictions by Zenith Media show that ITV’s share of total commercial viewing is likely to fall to 50% by 2005; in 1997 it averaged 61%. The Network’s share of overall viewing is predicted to fall from 31% in 1997 to 27.5% by 2005.The report, UK Television Forecasts To 2005, also predicts that ITV’s ad revenue… Continue reading ITV Share Of Commercial Viewing Will Fall To 50% By 2005, According To Research
The consortium headed by Kelvin MacKenzie, which is to propose a takeover bid for Talk Radio with a 20% backing from Rupert Murdoch’s News International, has come under attack from Tory MP, Nicholas Winterton.Winterton is concerned that the consortium (see Murdoch Backs MacKenzie’s Talk Project), should it succeed in buying Talk, would take control of… Continue reading Conservative MP Asks Parliament To Examine MacKenzie’s Talk Bid
At the Annual General Meeting of Saatchi & Saatchi yesterday, chairman Charlie Scott said that ‘truly great ideas’ have lead the agency to winning ‘numerous accolades’.Scott went on to say that the company previously had a mediocre reputation in the US and that morale was low. This has been turned around, he says, and now… Continue reading ‘Truly Great Ideas’ Lead To US Success For Saatchi & Saatchi
IPC Magazines is closing its product development division of the Southbank Publishing Group after less than a year since its launch.The department was set up last year, headed by Maureen Rice, to handle new products and magazine launches. The first of these was Made Up!, which launched in October 1997 but was suspended after only… Continue reading IPC Appoints Editor For Woman’s Weekly And Closes SouthBank Publishing Development Division
Media Week today launches its own website, at http://www.mediaweek.co.uk. The site has been designed by MediaTel and becomes a member of MediaTel’s Media Village (http://www.mediavillage.mediatel.co.uk/). The village is also host to the websites of the IPA, NRS and RAJAR, amongst many others.The Media Week site will initially draw content from the printed publication and will… Continue reading Media Week Website Goes Live
Culture Secretary Chris Smith has announced his approval of the establishment of a BBC Resources unit which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC.The technicians’ union Bectu recently called a number of strikes protesting against this saying it was the thin end of the wedge of privatisation (see BBC Strikes Could Hit… Continue reading BBC Subsidiary Unit Created Despite Protest Strikes
IPC Magazines’ previous publishing director, Heather Love, is understood to be joining BBC Magazines to act as a consultant to a number of planned title launches.BBC Magazines is believed to be keen on expanding its portfolio into the women’s interest and lifestyle markets in which Love has a great deal of experience. At IPC she… Continue reading Love Goes To BBC Magazines
