The Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) and ITV have today submitted a letter to the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Chris Smith. Both are voicing a shared view as regards the future funding of the BBC.The two bodies feel that the BBC Funding Review Panel, which is asking for money for further… Continue reading Commercial Broadcasters Say BBC Should ‘Live Within Its Means’
The Scottish Media Group (SMG), owner of Scottish Television and the Sunday Herald, has announced that it has acquired the Scottish outdoor advertising companies Baillie Advertising and Baillie Lite.Baillie is based in Edinburgh and has a total of 357 larger 48-sheet sites and 367 smaller 6-sheet sites spread across Scotland. The acquistion adds to SMG’s… Continue reading Scottish Media Group Expands Outdoor Portfolio
EMAP fell sharply yesterday following an analysts’ briefing which caused profit forecasts to be downgraded. Shares closed down 61p at 1,220p. The TV campaigned for EMAP’s Heat magazine has this week been banned by the Independent Television Commission (see ITC Bans Hot Emap TV Advert)Adscene, the regional newspaper publisher, was boosted by the news that… Continue reading Sharewatch
The Mirror Group has announced that it is creating a new group division – Mirror New Media and Interactive Services. The branch, headed up by David Clarke as chief executive (formerly chief executive at Virgin Net), will launch a free Internet service, ic24.co.uk (see Newsline). These developments are a result of the review which the… Continue reading Mirror Group Announces New Media Division and Free ISP
Talk Radio has sealed a deal for the exclusive rights to broadcast cricket’s Coca-Cola Cup, which takes place in Sharjah, Dubai. The tournament, a warm up to the World Cup in May, takes places between 7 and 16 April and will see England face up to Pakistan and India.Talk will broadcast coverage of the matches… Continue reading Talk Radio Catches Coca-Cola Cricket Coverage
News International (NI) today unveiled its new free internet service, which is branded through the Sun and is dubbed CurrantBun.com. It has been expected for some time that NI, publisher of the Times, was to launch its own free internet service provider (ISP) (see News International Expected To Launch Free ISP Services); a Times-branded site… Continue reading The Sun Serves Up CurrantBun
The overall feeling at the Independent Television Commission’s Annual Review press conference this morning, was that whilst ITV is making efforts to redress any short-fallings it might have, the Network’s current output is not quite the Commission’s vision of ideal.On the one hand, the ITC report notes that: “ITV showed a determination to refresh and… Continue reading ITV Is Making The Effort, But Could Improve, Says ITC
Northcliffe Electronic Publishing (NEP), the new media division of Northcliffe Newspapers, has launched This Is Lincolnshire, the latest in its series of This Is… websites.The site is hosted by Northcliffe’s Lincolnshire Echo and provides the Lincolnshire community with ‘interactive entertainment and online business opportunities’.Northcliffe has been quick to augment its regional newspaper publishing business in… Continue reading Northcliffe Launches ‘This Is Lincolnshire’
NTL is preparing to launch the country’s first interactive TV (iTV) service tommorrow on schedule, offering a comprehensive selection of home shopping, news, sport, travel and local information sources to viewers across the nation. The iTV service is backed by a number of leading retail and online information providers, including Tesco, ITN, Flextech, Sporting Life,… Continue reading NTL Interactive Launch On Schedule
Shares in regional newspaper group Adscene have leapt after the group announced it had received a possible takeover approach. The Canterbury-based group did not name the prospective buyer but shares still pulled ahead by almost 24%, adding £8 million to the value of the group.The announcement of a potential takeover comes amid a flurry of… Continue reading Adscene Jumps On Takeover Approach
