The BBC has announced the launch date for its two new digital children’s channels. Monday 11 February will see both CBBC, aimed at six to thirteen year olds and CBeebies, aimed at pre-school audiences, go live on digital platforms.The channels, whose funding and development were given the go-ahead by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell last year… Continue reading BBC Announces Kids Channels Launch
AOL Time Warner, which owns UK magazine company IPC, offered a conservative outlook for 2002 as it revealed preliminary results for 2001 which failed to meet expectations. For the full year 2001, AOL Time Warner said it expects to post EBITDA growth of around 18% to just under $10 billion. Revenues for the full year… Continue reading AOL Time Warner Assumes No Recovery In 2002
IPC Connect has announced that former Woman’s Journal editor Elsa McAlonan is to take over from Terry Tavner as editor of Womans Own .Before editing the septagenarian women’s monthly title, which was axed along with five other titles following the takeover of IPC by AOL Time Warner (see IPC Closes Six Magazines), McAlonan had been… Continue reading New Editor For Veteran IPC Weekly
Week on week analysis of the media market reveals that Pearson started the year on a positive note. The company, which increased the cover price of the Financial Times from 90p to £1 last week after announcing that profits at the FT Group for 2001 are expected to be down 40% on 2000, saw shares… Continue reading Sharewatch
Three characters in ITV1’s key ratings winner Coronation Street have been sacked from the show and tabloid speculation today suggests that a further eight could be cut in an attempt to revive ratings.A spokeswoman for Granada, which produces the soap, today confirmed that Matt Ramsden, Clare McGinn and Naomi Russell were leaving the soap and… Continue reading Cut Backs At Coronation Street
According to a report in the Observer yesterday, Anglo-Dutch publishing giant Reed Elsevier is considering a merger with its closest rival Amsterdam-based Wolters Kluwer.Following Reed’s acquisition of Harcourt last year, a merger with Wolters would produce one of the largest publishing groups in the world with an estimated market value, according to the Observer, of… Continue reading Reed Elsevier Considers Merger With Wolters
Outdoor group Maiden has acquired bill posting company Checkmain, which trades as Felgate Billposting, in exchange for 300,000 shares. The acquisition is expected to enhance earnings within the first year of ownership.Felgate, which began trading in 1985, is the largest bill posting company in the UK. It is said to post around 130,000 poster sites… Continue reading Maiden Acquires Bill Posting Company
Sky is claiming that over 50% of its digital subscribers have used its interactive services over the last year.According to the satellite operator more than 7 million people have pressed the red button on their digital handset and have used interactive services since January 2001. Sky also claims that 86% of Sky Sports subscribers have… Continue reading 50% Of Sky Digital Subscribers Go Interactive
The ITC has ruled that WHSmiths’ ads featuring a family of overweight Geordies portrayed “exaggerated and fictitious” stereotypes which were unlikely to cause widespread offence.A total of 129 complaints were received by the TV watchdog with regard to the ads, in which all characters are played by Nicholas Lyndhurst. They showed a thin, “snobbish”, well… Continue reading WHSmith Given Fat Chance By ITC
BSkyB saw shares improve 4.5% yesterday with help from the latest broadcasting data, which showed that multi-channel viewing has grown dramatically over the past five years (see UK Viewing Trends Show Gains For Pay TV). Stock closed at £7.89, an increase of 34p on the previous day.The Shadow Media Secretary, Tim Yeo, said yesterday that… Continue reading Sharewatch
