The Government’s plans to relax the media ownership regulations to allow major newspaper groups to buy Channel Five could face defeat in the House of Lords, according to influential Labour peer, David Puttnam.In an interview with the Financial Times, Lord Puttnam warned the Government that up to 60 Labour peers could rebel against the proposals… Continue reading Puttnam Warns Of Defeat Over Channel Five Ownership
ITV’s recently appointed director of programmes, Nigel Pickard, has axed the recently revived Crossroads after it consistently failed to attract viewers.Pickard told members of the cast and production team earlier today that the soap will be moved from its current 5pm slot to a new early afternoon slot, before ending its run in the summer.Commenting… Continue reading ITV’s Crossroads Comes To A Dead End
BSkyB is preparing to launch three new digital music channels into the increasingly crowded marketplace.The new channels, Flaunt, The Amp and Scuzz, follow new launches from Emap (see Emap Extends New Music Channel) and the increasing prevalence of specialised digital music channels such as Classic FM TV (see Classic FM Launches Round The Clock Music… Continue reading Sky Prepares To Launch New Digital Music Channels
Media Audits, the communications effectiveness consultancy, has unveiled its relaunched website.The new online presence, which has been developed by MediaTel Interactive, is intended to form a central part of the company’s communications strategy. It allows users to register for email newsletters and provides an all-important forum for clients to share their thoughts on the key… Continue reading Media Audits Unveils Re-Launched Website
The newly established Communications Agencies Federation (CAF) has appointed Matthew Hooper as its first ever chairman and Hamish Pringle as its secretary.The CAF was established last year to form a unified trade organisation to represent the communications industry. The appointments reflect the new group’s commitment to bringing trade associations together to exchange views and greater… Continue reading New Communications Trade Body Appoints First Chairman
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) has launched a new online resource dedicated to helping advertisers and agencies develop sponsorship and promotions activity.The move follows the rapid growth of radio sponsorship and promotions (S&P), which saw revenue increase by 14.7% year on year during 2002 to reach £71.2 million. This helped the commercial radio industry to… Continue reading RAB Launches Online S&P Resource For Advertisers
Carlton and Granada’s proposed £2.6 billion merger to form a single ITV company (see Carlton And Granada Enter Advanced Merger Talks) is due to be referred to the competition commission this week for a full enquiry.The decision by the Department of Trade And Industry, which has been expected for some time, will end hopes that… Continue reading Full Scrutiny Of ITV Merger Looks Inevitable
The latest ABC figures for national newspaper circulation reveal a less than impressive period for the sector, which saw circulation decline year on year during February.The threat of war with Iraq appears to have done little to boost circulation figures and readers appear to be tiring with the amount of coverage being devoted to the… Continue reading ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – February 2003
Despite heavy promotion by broadcasters and cable companies, interactive television (iTV) is yet to have the impact envisaged and will generate no more than €18 billion across Europe by 2007, according to a new report from Forrester Research.The UK currently leads the way with regard to interactive TV but consumers and advertisers remain unconvinced about… Continue reading Limited Growth Forecast For iDTV
ITV partners, Carlton and Granada, were both seen recovering after yesterday’s losses, market watchers cited continued rumours of Apax Partners putting in a bid for parts of the companies ahead of their planned merger (see Venture Capitalists Eye Carlton And Granada). The stocks were seen up 0.32% and 0.48% respectively.WPP was also seen in focus,… Continue reading Sharewatch: Carlton And Granada Rise On Apax Rumours
