Agency estimates for June 1998 put total terrestrial TV ad revenue at £182.09 million, a fall year on year for ITV, Channel 4 and GMTV, and a continuing rise for Channel 5.ITV’s total revenue was down 6.5%, C4’s fell 7.0% and C5’s was up 4.4%; GMTV lost 22.6% revenue year on year.Compared to May, June… Continue reading TV Revenue – June 1998
Capital Radio is taking Xfm airtime sales inhouse following its acquisition of the station last week (see Capital’s Xfm Takeover Cleared By DTI). Xfm sales will now be handled by Capital Advertising which is being restructured in order to incorporate the alternative London station.Chris Bennett will remain sales controller and Fiona Dixon will take on… Continue reading Capital Takes Control Of Xfm Sales
Tomorrow sees the publishing of Continental Research’s pre-launch report on the UK market for digital television, which shows that terrestrial TV operators will lead the way in the race to secure digital television customers.Continental’s research shows that digital terrestrial television (DTT) will command more subscribers in 2003 than either digital cable or digital satellite individually.… Continue reading Terrestrial To Lead Digital TV Uptake, Says Survey
Pearson TV has acquired a 12.3% stake in the Digital Broadcasting Company (DBC), a consortium which plans to launch a ‘distinctive’ digital TV film service early next year (see Digital Broadcasting Company Plans ‘Distinctive’ Movie Service).DBC was established in January this year by St James’ Investment Partnership and is lead by Richard Dunn, previously chief… Continue reading Pearson Television Joins Digital Broadcasting Company
John Madejski, the multi-millionaire chairman of Reading Football Club, and his partner Paul Gibbon have sold Hurst Publishing to BC Partners, an investment group specialising in company buy-outs, for £260 million.Madejski held a 67% stake in Hurst, publishers of Auto Trader, and was apparently hoping to get £300 million for the company. He shall remain… Continue reading Auto Trader Goes For £260m
Commercial radio group, GWR, has welcomed the Government’s Green Paper, Regulating Communications: Approaching Convergence In The Information Age, which was published yesterday (see Government ‘Green Paper’ Sets The Scene For The Fundamental Restructuring Of The Information Superhighway).GWR chief executive, Ralph Bernard, said: “The broadcast and communication industries are developing rapidly – it is essential that… Continue reading GWR Welcomes Government’s Communications Green Paper
The Radio Authority issued a new directive today in response to several complaints regarding wind-up calls. The new trend involves presenters making ‘hoax calls’ on air posing as someone else to unsuspecting victims.Complaints have revealed, however, that unwitting victims may suffer some distress. For example, an incident on Viking FM in Hull in which a… Continue reading Radio Watchdog Stands Guard Over Hoax Calls
Over the duration of the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, the ITV Formula One website (http://www.itvf1.com/) had over 500,000 visits. Sponsored by Ford, and produced in conjunction with Haymarket Publishing F1 magazine, the website proved itself to be an unprecedented success during the weekend according to ITV figures.Ian McCullough, operations director at ITV sales… Continue reading Silverstone Success For ITV Formula One Website
The media industry has offered mixed views regarding the new ITV Autumn schedule launch that was unveiled yesterday (see ‘Refreshment, Renewal And Reality,’ Says ITV).John Baylon, TV Buyer at Leo Burnett, summed up the general feeling when he told Newsline that the package of programmes “showed some encouraging signs, but the channel could do more.”… Continue reading Industry Reacts With Mixed Feelings To ITV Programme Schedule
Sky is to rename its movie channels for the second time in nine months (see Sky Channels To Be Rebranded) in an attempt to improve ‘audience satisfaction’.Sky’s general manager, Elizabeth Murdoch, said today: “After extensive customer research we have concluded that we can further improve our service by creating differentiated channels that have a clear… Continue reading Second Sky Rebranding In Nine Months
