More Uk articles

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has passed the merger of NTL and Telewest, as well as BSkyB’s acquisition of telecoms firm, Easynet. Announcing its decision to the city, the OFT stated: “Both cases relate to the emergence of Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) as an alternative means to provide ‘triple-play’ (pay-TV, internet and telecommunications) services,”… Continue reading OFT Approves Media Mergers

US media owner, Viacom, has spilt itself into two companies, CBS Corp and Viacom, with investors getting one CBS share and one Viacom share for each two of Viacom they own. The division will see Viacom own the MTV cable business and the Paramount Pictures studio, while CBS owns Simon & Schuster, Showtime and Paramount… Continue reading Viacom Splits Into Two

Older internet users are using the internet more heavily compared to this time a year ago, with a new study from Burst Media! showing that 61% of users aged 55 and over have increased their online presence. The survey revealed that the majority of respondents, 65.5%, visited more websites than they did this time last… Continue reading Older Users Move Online

Channel 4 looks set to cause controversy this Thursday, with the latest series Celebrity Big Brother rumoured to have signed shamed TV presenter Michael Barrymore.Newspaper reports this morning claim the former TV presenter and comedian will join Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith and comedian Johnny Vegas in the show, just weeks after Ofcom dismissed criticism… Continue reading Barrymore Tipped For Celeb Big Brother

The new year got off to a positive start for some of Britain’s largest broadcasters, as the Office of Fair Trading gave the thumbs up to the merger of NTL and Telewest, as well as BSkyB’s acquisition of Easynet just days before 2006 began.Announcing its decision, the OFT stated that “Both cases relate to the… Continue reading OFT Gives Green Light To Media Mergers

Digital was the watchword of 2005’s TV industry, as media regulator Ofcom revealed almost 66% of the nation’s homes now receive TV in digital format (see Ofcom Estimates Show 65.9% Of Britain With Digital TV).The surge in growth was fuelled in part by the launch of several high profile digital channels, as ITV3, ITV4 and… Continue reading End Of Year Round-Up: Television

ITV’s drama Rebus performed well last night, attracting an average adult audience of 8.1 million to dominate prime time viewing.Going head to head with BBC One’s film Catch Me If You Can, with a comparable audience of 5.6 million, ITV’s crime drama secured a share of 33.94% compared with BBC One’s 23.73%.However, The BBC’s earlier… Continue reading Rebus Reaps Rewards For ITV

Cinema admissions in November received a massive boost from the latest film in the Harry Potter series, with the Goblet of Fire fuelling a 4.3% rise in admissions year on year, as well as becoming 2005’s biggest film to date.The movie quickly stormed Britain’s box offices, grossing £31.6 million during November and smashing numerous records… Continue reading Potter Enchants Moviegoers To Smash Cinema Records

BBC1’s premier of football film Bend It Like Beckham attracted a healthy average of 3.6 million adult viewers last night, rising slightly in the second part of the film showed after the news.ITV’s Doc Martin however, was the clear ratings winner last night, with an average of 7.3 million adults tuning in.Eastenders attracted an average… Continue reading ITV Wins With Doc Martin

Government watchdog, Ofcom, has announced plans to allocate three additional blocks of radio spectrum filling the gaps in local multiplex coverage, resulting in local DAB digital radio services being accessible to every part of the UK.The new proposals will also see a block added to national commercial multiplexes, offering additional choice to as many listeners… Continue reading Ofcom Announces New Spectrum Plans