Telegraph Group Boosts Cross-Platform Credentials
Newspaper publisher, the Telegraph Media Group, is set to expand beyond print and online, with reports suggesting the company is about to enter bidding for the second national digital multiplex.
According to reports in the trade press, the Telegraph Group is set to launch a format called Telegraph Talk, and is also looking at extending the Talk format across mobile and the internet.
The service is described by sources as “a 24/7 linear service to take on the BBC” and the Telegraph Group is said to have content and presenters already in place.
Earlier in the year, the Telegraph newspaper hired the former MD of national brands at Emap Radio, Shaun Gregory, as development director for the Group, overseeing new ventures in broadcasting, mobile and online (see Telegraph Could Expand To Linear TV Programming).
The move into radio will add to the Telegraph Group’s cross-platform credentials with its print titles already part of a news service that includes a partnership with ITN to create online video content.
In the summer, the newspaper announced a partnership with TV news service provider ITN to produce video content for telegraph.co.uk and other electronic media, with the arrangement expected to expand into linear TV programming.
It is understood that a new television channel, featuring Telegraph content, is likely to be broadcast online initially with a view to securing carriage on the Freeview and Sky digital platforms.
Since Ofcom advertised the second digital multiplex last week (see Second DAB Multiplex Licence Up For Grabs), it has emerged that Channel 4, UBC Media and UTV Radio are likely to form a consortium to bid (see C4 Radio Could Join With UBC And UTV For Multiplex Bid). The Telegraph Group is likely to open talks with the bidding consortia ahead of the March deadline for submissions.
“The national multiplex is, of course, on our radar and we are currently assessing the opportunity and what it could mean for our business,” said Gregory. “I wouldn’t rule out a move into radio.”
The Telegraph Group has been making early strides in implementing its cross-media strategy since moving to new offices in London’s Victoria (see Newspapers In Multi-Media Reshuffle).
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