More Uk articles

A merger of Channel 4 and Five would not be approved by competition authorities, according to a new report by Enders Analysis.The report says that if previous rulings are taken into account – such as those on the merger of Carlton and Granada, BSkyB’s 17.9% stake in ITV and Project Kangaroo – it is unlikely… Continue reading Channel4/Five merger “would not be approved”

The new minister for communications, technology and broadcasting is thought to be in the process of recommending the relaxation of local media ownership rules in a bid to help struggling newspaper groups.Lord Carter is expected to approve consolidation in local media markets in his interim Digital Britain report, which is due to be published later… Continue reading Local media ownership rules to be relaxed

Folder Media’s digital radio station Fun Radio has been rebranded Fun Kids and given a new schedule.The children’s station, previously owned by GCap Media, has relaunched its weekday morning preschool brand Giggle with a new character, Millie the Moosical Cow, who introduces stories and music and encourages young listeners to join in at home.Radio consultancy… Continue reading Fun Radio rebranded Fun Kids

The first evening of 2009 saw the BBC come out on top in the ratings war, with a new episode of spooky detective show Jonathan Creek picking up a peak of 9.4 million viewers for BBC One.On from 9pm to 11pm, the comedy-drama had an average audience of nine million people, or a 35.9% share… Continue reading 9.4m see return of Jonathan Creek

Internet users across the UK have an average of 17 friends who they first met online – rising to 25 friends for men under 25, according to new research from TNS.The Digital World, Digital Life study found that although younger age groups have more online friends it is the older web users who actually have… Continue reading Brits making new friends online

ITV and Channel 4 should pull out of Project Kangaroo, according to a new report from Enders Analysis.The report says that taking part in the video-on-demand project will cost the broadcasters up to £15 million each.It argues that instead of taking on new projects, they should concentrate on riding out the recession.Enders estimates that Kangaroo… Continue reading Broadcasters “should pull out of Project Kangaroo”

The government is launching a £275 million marketing campaign aimed at tackling the obesity crisis.Beginning with a TV ad which breaks tomorrow, the Department of Health’s Change4Life campaign includes £75 million of government marketing and a pledge of £200 million in services and marketing support from a coalition of companies.Dawn Primarolo, public health minister, said:… Continue reading Government launches anti-obesity ad campaign

Virgin Media has today unveiled its Samuel L Jackson fronted ad campaign for its 50Mb ultrafast broadband service.A 20 second TV ad will air from tomorrow with its first high profile slot on ITV1 during the FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Preston.The ad showcases the light running through Virgin Media’s fibre optic… Continue reading Virgin Media unveils ad campaign for 50mb broadband

Talks have broken down between Tiscali and BSkyB after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement about the satellite broadcaster’s takeover of the internet business. It is understood that Tiscali was holding out for a figure in the region of £600 million while Sky was considering an offer of around £450 million. In… Continue reading Talks break down between Sky and Tiscali

At the start of December, GroupM forecast that total UK advertising spend would fall by nearly 6% year on year in 2009, the worst of any developed country. GroupM said that UK national newspaper advertising would be down 12% year on year this year, regional titles down 13%, and the business-to-business magazine sector down 14%… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – December 2008