The deadline for responses to the Department of Heritage’s review of cross- media ownership was Friday. The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers wrote to the Department calling for increased competition and also some controls in media ownership and media services. The ISBA says this would be preferable to a policy which encourages mergers and limits… Continue reading ISBA Urge Tighter Controls On Media Ownership
Gold, the music magazine launched with an initial print run of 87,000 hits the shops this week. The nostalgic monthly concentrates on the 50s, 60s and 70s; in an editorial letter to readers the editor, David Sandison says, “We are dedicated to bringing back the good times, nothing more or less”.The glossy title has fairly… Continue reading Gold – First Issue Review
The possible merger between Gold Greeenlees Trott and Young & Rubicam has been called off.Discussions have been continuing since January but they have broken down, with both agencies blaming the difficulty of arranging a deal that would suit both a public (GGT) and a private company (Young & Rubicam). Another reason for the breakdown was… Continue reading GGT/Y&R Merger Off
Mercury Asset Management, LWT’s biggest institutional shareholder with 14%, has accepted Granada’s cash and share offer. This means that Granada now has acceptances for 42.2% of LWT. MAM’s verdict was seen as particularly significant as it also holds 16% of Granada, and in effect had to choose between the two managements.The bid deadline is 3pm… Continue reading Mercury Accepts Granada Bid
Walkers Crisps are to sponsor Scottish Television’s new music show, Chart Bite. The deal makes full use of the relaxation in the ITC Sponsorship Code, giving the sponsor 15-second opening credits, five-second break bumper credits and 10-second end credits. Chrysalis is to sponsor the National Basketball cup finals in Sheffield on 5 March. APPOINTMENTS Henry… Continue reading Sport And Broadcast Sponsorship/Appointments
Media Watch has appointed the A Plus Media Group to handle its portfolio of titles, including the monthly Healthy Eating, which has just undergone a relaunch. Media Watch also publish First Down, an american football title. A Plus has been appointed to raise the titles’ profile with national advertisers.
The Granada/LWT takeover battle has finally ended today with Granada the victor.Granada has received valid acceptances for 40.33% of LWT’s issued share capital; this together with the 17.51% already owned gives Granada 57.84% of LWT’s share capital.Alex Bernstein, Chairman of Granada, said, “We are obviously delighted that our offer has been accepted. We have always… Continue reading Granada Wins Takeover Battle
Impact Magazines closed its entire portfolio of computer games magazines last week; titles included Amiga Force and Mega Machines. Impact will concentrate on its book publishing division.Europress Group has also closed its games title Mega Action, and Future Publishing is to sell its title Sega Zone to Maverick. This shake-up of the market was widely… Continue reading Computer Magazines Close
BT is planning to create “information superhighways”, which would be capable of delivering inter-active video, banking and shopping services into homes. The investment programme could involve replacing much of BT’s copper wire networks with fibre-optics, and could cost more than £10bn.The plan would enable services on demand to be supplied, not just video on demand;… Continue reading BT Plans Superhighways
