Ruth Brownlee, director of the Association of Online Publishers, is leaving the group after just 10 months in the job (see Ruth Brownlee Appointed New Director Of AOP).According to a report on MediaGuardian.co.uk, Brownlee has decided to leave the job to look after her two pre-school children, saying that the role of coordinating events and… Continue reading AOP Director Steps Down

Royal Mail is launching a new advertising and communications solution to get advertisers’ products and services into the homes of their target customers.Matter is a box that fits the standard dimensions of a UK household letterbox and contains a range of physical brand representations.More than 30,000 people registered to receive a Matter box after a… Continue reading Royal Mail Launches New Advertising Solution

The Aegis board has written to shareholders calling on them to oppose Havas chairman Vincent Bollore’s fifth attempt to get two places on the company’s board. The Aegis board wrote that they unanimously recommend shareholders vote against Group Bollore’s request to appoint Philippe Germond and Roger Hatchuel as directors of Aegis at the annual general… Continue reading Aegis Urges Shareholders To Vote Against Bollore Again

BSkyB will this week launch its appeal against the Competition Commission’s ruling that forces it to sell most of its 17.9% stake in ITV.The appeal comes three weeks after the government accepted the commission’s findings and recommendations, telling Sky it had to sell within a confidential time limit to bring its stake down below 7.5%… Continue reading Sky To Launch Its ITV Stake Appeal This Week

Ofcom has announced new measures to strengthen viewer protection in participation TV, introducing new mandatory licence conditions for television broadcasters.The new measures come after a host of phone-in scandals rocked the industry, with the watchdog handing out massive fines to Channel 4 (see Ofcom Fines Channel 4 £1.5m Over Phone In Quizzes) and GMTV (see… Continue reading Ofcom Announces New Licence Conditions For TV Phone-Ins

This week will see Sky launch its appeal against the Competition Commission’s ruling forcing it to reduce its 17.9% stake in ITV to under 7.5%. The news comes three weeks after business secretary John Hutton followed the Competition Commission’s recommendation, leaving Sky until next Monday to lodge an appeal (see Sky Told To Reduce ITV… Continue reading Sky To Launch ITV Stake Appeal This Week

Havas chairman Vincent Bolloré is understood to be preparing a takeover bid of rival Aegis. According to a report in Campaign, Havas sources predict that Aegis, the parent company of Carat, Vizeum and the market research company Synovate, will be under Bolloré’s control by the end of the year. It is expected that if Bolloré… Continue reading Vincent Bolloré Could Make Aegis Bid

Last week was jam-packed with city news, as Microsoft announced that it was making a bid for Yahoo! and the government decided that Sky must reduce its stake in ITV.On Friday it was revealed that Microsoft had launched a $44.6 billion takeover bid to buy Yahoo!, saying that it is confident of delivering up to… Continue reading Media In The City: Microsoft Makes Move On Yahoo!

The takeover watchdog has given Global Radio five weeks to decide whether to make a second bid for GCap Media. The Takeover Panel has given Global until 5pm on March 5 to indicate a firm intention to make a bid for GCap or it will have to wait another six months. The panel said that… Continue reading Global Radio Gets Five Week Deadline For New GCap Bid

The Competition Commission has recommended that Sky be forced to sell down its 17.9% stake in ITV to under 7.5%.The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform today published the 163 page Competition Commission report, which found that the acquisition could be “expected to operate against the public interest”.The Competition Commission said that there are… Continue reading Competition Commission Recommends Sky Sell Down ITV Stake