Trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers, has blocked BSkyB’s takeover bid for Manchester United Football Club. BSkyB offered £623 million for the club and it was expected that the deal would be allowed to go ahead, with certain conditions in place.Over the last few weeks, since the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) handed its report… Continue reading BSkyB’s Man Utd Takeover Is Blocked
Media communications specialist, Tempus, has announced a 27% increase in turnover during 1998 to £1.23 million. Pre-tax profit increased by 40% over the year to £13.2 million, and basic earnings per share were up 15% to 10.8p.Tempus rebranded last May from CIA Group to avoid confusion between it and its core operational brand CIA Medianetwork… Continue reading Tempus Reports 40% Increase In Profit
Mollin Publishing this week launches Shape, a new health and fitness title for women which is based on the US magazine Health & Shape. In November last year, Mollin acquired the rights to produce UK versions of two Weider Publications titles: Health & Shape and Men’s Health (see US Titles Due For UK Launch).Shape, which… Continue reading Mollin’s Shape Launch Backed By Poster Campaign
The Guardian has announced an advertising campaign to accompany its spring changes (see Newsline).Changes have been made to the weekly listings title The Guide, including an expanded preview section and increased regional listings. The Editor, which is the weekly round-up of news, is now being distributed on Friday and the Guardian‘s property and design magazine… Continue reading Guardian Launches Ad Campaign For Spring Changes
Mike Soutar, creative director at EMAP On Air and former MD at Kiss FM, has been lured away from EMAP by Dennis Publishing to become editor-in-chief of the US version of its Maxim magazine.In the US, only Rodale Press’ Men’s Health has a higher circulation than Maxim in the men’s lifestyle market. Soutar is charged… Continue reading Soutar Leaves EMAP To Edit US Maxim
Confirmation of merger discussions between Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) and Telewest Communications (see Cable Giants Meet For Merger Talks) helped both companies perform strongly yesterday: CWC closed up 40˝p at 795p; Telewest closed up 23p at 319źp. CWC’s parent company, Cable & Wireless, also rose, up by 22p.Reed International’s failure to secure a new… Continue reading Sharewatch
The Bank of England has resumed its downward drive on interest rates cutting the cost of borrowing by a quarter point today. After last month’s pause for breath, the Bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voted to reduce its base rate from 5.5% to 5.25% – its lowest level for five years.
ONdigital announced at a press conference this morning that 110,000 households have subscribed to its digital terrestrial service since the launch in November last year (see Newsline). Stephen Grabiner, chief executive of ONdigital, commented: “We have built the world’s first digital terrestrial pay television business from scratch. Our early subscriber base is strong and we… Continue reading ONdigital And Bush Offer Digital TV Sets For £500
Last year the outdoor advertising industry was one of the fastest-growing media in terms of ad expenditure, with a year on year growth of 7.8%. This was beaten only by the massive growth of radio advertising and the 8.9% growth of business magazines. Radio expenditure was up by 15.9% between 1997 and 1998 according to… Continue reading TDI Expects To Buck Advertising Downturn
An episode of the BBC’s popular series Men Behaving Badly has come under attack from viewers, according to the latest report from the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC). The episode, which appeared during the Christmas season of last year, received 18 complaints about the level of sexual innuendo in the programme, particularly scenes suggesting masturbation in… Continue reading Men Behave Badly On The BBC
