The European Commission is believed to be investigating claims from BSkyB that the BBC’s News 24 cable and satellite channel is using licence payers’ money to create unfair competition. Sky News has been dropped by a number of cable companies mainly because News 24 is being distributed for free. The BBC says it is confident… Continue reading EC To Investigate BBC News Channel
In response to complaints from the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) about ITV’s airtime inflation, ITV chief executive Richard Eyre has written to 150 advertisers claiming that rival TV broadcasters are responsible for the rise in TV airtime price.Eyre is concerned that advertisers are placing too much weight on trading on discounts which are… Continue reading ITV Accuses Rival Stations Of Causing Price Inflation
IPC will be launching Country Life Gardens, a one-off “celebration of classic Country Life gardens”, on 18 May.The 148-page glossy will be themed around four seasons of “inspiration” and feature gardens from the Country Life library along with new material and in-depth features.Publisher Evelyn Webster says: “Country Life Gardens will reflect the style, vibrancy and… Continue reading IPC Launches One-Off Magazine
BBC director general John Birt has expressed concern that the advent of digital and pay-per-view television will cause a massive divide in the television viewing population, with the UK’s national identity and culture being harmed. Birt, speaking at the European Tele-Visual Conference in Birmingham, commented: “we will see the emergence of the information rich and… Continue reading Birt Claims Risk Of Digital ‘Underclass’
Saatchi & Saatchi has announced that it will be appointing Ian Irvine as a non-executive director with effect from 1 May 1998. He is currently chairman of Capital Radio.Cordiant Communications meanwhile has appointed Dr Rolf Stomberg as a non-executive director. He retired from the main board of BP at the end of last year and… Continue reading Saatchi and Cordiant Announce New Directors
Scottish Media Group and BSkyB today announced that their jointly-owned Sky Scottish cable and satellite channel will be closing on 31 May. This is due to the channel not meeting the financial targets set when it launched in November 1996 (subscribers see STV Announces New Channel).It is expected that the close-down of Sky Scottish will… Continue reading Sky Scottish To Close
The Newspaper Society has put foward James Evans, chairman of Bristol United Press, to be the Society’s next vice-president. Subject to formal approval at the May AGM, he will succeed Charles Brims as president in 1999.James Evans is a former chairman of the Press Association and member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.Newspaper Society: 0171… Continue reading NS Proposes Next Vice-President
M&C Saatchi has launched a website at http://www.mcsaatchi.com. The site, designed by web development company TW2, contains information about the company along with contacts and access to the M&C Saatchi Village. It is best viewed using Netscape 3.0.The site will be featured in a forthcoming Website of the Week.
Broker Merrill Lynch has predicted that Capital Radio’s interim results will show an 8% increase in profits to £18.3 million. Earnings per share are expected to be up 16.4%. Merrill Lynch also predicts that Capital’s gross annual profit will reach £110.9 million by the year 2000.Radio advertising is predicted to be up 10% in the… Continue reading Capital Radio Interim Profits Predicted To Be £18.3m
Cable company Telewest Communications has been issued a formal warning from the Independent Television Commission (ITC) due to repeated failures in its compliance responsibilities for local advertisements (local avails).Contracts between a cable operator and programme supplier permit the cable company to insert local advertisements into the supplier’s programme signal. According to the ITC, in December… Continue reading ITC Warns Telewest Over Compliance Failures
