The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has come down hard on ITV drama while declaring that Chris Evans in a loin cloth and female orgasm creams on ITV’s This Morning make suitable daytime viewing.An episode of Coronation Street , which featured Toya Battersby lying injured after being violently assaulted and raped, received complaints from viewers, who… Continue reading ITC Condemns Violence But Allows Evans In A Loin Cloth
BSkyB and Ladbrokes have agreed to form a joint 50:50 venture to offer a fixed-odds and pools betting service via the Sky Digital television platform.Ladbrokes’ Vernons pools business will be transferred to the joint venture and BSkyB will contribute its wholly-owned bookmaker Surrey Sports, which already operates on Sky Digital. The service will operate under… Continue reading BSkyB And Ladbrokes To Create Betting Service
Legislation to set up the new super regulator for the media and communications industries, Ofcom, will be put through during this parliamentary session, it was revealed today.The government today published the Office of Communications Bill, making it possible to set up the board for the new body, and for Ofcom to begin the preparatory work… Continue reading Government Goes Ahead With Ofcom
Future Network is to cut 140 jobs as a result of the final stages of a reorganisation of its UK business.The company has divided its UK business into three operating divisions: Games, Computing and Entertainment and through cuts in staffing levels and property overheads has reduced total fixed costs of its UK business by £8.5m… Continue reading Future Network To Cut 140 Jobs
Cinven have issued a statement that it and IPC Media are in discussions with Time Inc. about the possible sale of the company.The statement follows press speculation that AOL Time Warner is about to seal a takeover deal for UK magazine publishing group.This morning’s Financial Times claims that the two groups are now negotiating a… Continue reading Statement Confirms IPC Takeover Talks
AOL Time Warner is now very close to sealing a takeover deal for UK magazine publishing group, IPC Media, according to recent press reports. This morning’s Financial Times claims that the two groups are now negotiating a price for IPC; it is expected that it AOL Time Warner will pay around £1.2 billion for the… Continue reading IPC/Time Warner Deal May Be Back On
BSkyB, which is predicted to show profits when its full year results are released on 25 July (see Profits Expected In Sky Finals), saw shares rise 3.76% yesterday to close at £7.04˝, an increase of 25˝p on the day before.Emap, whose recruitment revenues have remained strong despite the technology and telecom adspend downturn (see EMAP… Continue reading Sharewatch
The magazine merry-go-round has come full circle, and as lad’s mags droop, women’s glossies, condemned a few years ago as a stagnant and overladen market, are on the up again. These were the sentiments expressed by three of the sector’s bright young things at a seminar at Total Publishing yesterday.Dawn Bebe, veteran of the teen… Continue reading Women On Top: The Glossies Fight Back
ITV has signed a new comedy duo to front the rebrand of its troubled pay-TV-platfrom, ONdigital, to ITV Digital.The comedy pair known as Al and monkey, whose job it will be to inform consumers about the benefits of ITV Digital, will feature in a nationwide TV, radio, press and poster campaign thought to be worth… Continue reading Comedy Duo Front ONdigital Rebrand
The bubble has burst for the men’s magazine market, but there will continue to be more launches, according to Andy Semple, publishing director of Maxim.Speaking at the Total Publishing show on Wednesday, Semple and other market figures agreed that the sector had suffered a slow down but dismissed claims that the market had reached saturation… Continue reading Has The Bubble Burst For Men’s Mags?
