Murdoch’s News UK ‘held talks’ over BT Sport tie-up June 22, 2021 Rupert Murdoch’s News UK is said to have eyed up a partnership with BT’s TV division as the mogul looks to secure the future of his media empire. News UK, which publishes The Sun and The Times titles, held talks with the telecoms giant over a potential tie-up with BT Sport. Bankers from Lazard were [...]
Audioboom hikes revenue forecasts as podcast ads boom June 22, 2021 Audioboom has hiked its revenue forecasts for the full year after cashing in on strong advertising sales across its podcasting platform. The London-listed company said signed advertising bookings had already hit 99 per cent of its overall expectations for the whole of 2021. As a result, the firm expects revenue to be “significantly” ahead of [...]
GB News boycott: ‘Small but vocal minority is undermining democracy’ June 20, 2021 Democracy in the UK is being undermined by a “small but vocal minority”, the Culture Secretary has said after multiple brands pulled advertising from GB News. Oliver Dowden has warned that basic democratic values can no longer be taken for granted after the upstart channel saw the withdrawal of advertising from companies such as Ikea, [...]
War of WAGs: The Sun shared revenues from leaked Coleen Rooney stories with Rebekah Vardy, court told June 18, 2021 Judges were told this morning that the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, Rebekah Vardy, received positive coverage from newspaper The Sun in return for leaked stories about Coleen Rooney. Rooney accuses Vardy of leaking “false stories” about her private life in late 2019 after carrying out a months-long “sting operation” which saw her [...]
Screenshot: Can GB News survive the ad boycott backlash? June 18, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Richard Madeley goes full Partridge **Can GB News survive the ad boycott backlash? **London’s bumper fintech float: a Wise move Media Moment of the Week: Richard Madeley goes full Partridge It’s always risky when producers attempt a comeback of an old show, so I was sceptical when I [...]
When Warner takes over: David Guetta sells back catalogue June 17, 2021 French DJ David Guetta has sold his back catalogue to Warner in a deal worth a reported $100m (£72m), it was announced today. The producer, who has 50m record sales and more than 14bn streams to his name to date, is the latest in a string of artists to sell off their songs. The label [...]
Government mulls privatisation of Channel 4 next year June 17, 2021 The government could sell Channel 4 as early as next year, as the UK culture secretary seeks the “best model” for the broadcaster. Ministers are planning to launch a consultation within weeks to explore what is next for the 39-year-old company, the Financial Times reports this evening. Youth-oriented Channel 4 is owned by the government [...]
ITV outlines Love Island duty of care measures amid safety fears June 17, 2021 ITV has outlined stringent duty of care protocols for the upcoming series of Love Island after media watchdog Ofcom tightened safety rules for reality TV. The hit dating show, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, will return to screens later this month for its seventh series. But producers have now introduced a [...]
Ofcom flooded with GB News complaints amid advertising boycott June 17, 2021 Ofcom has been hit with a flood of complaints over GB News’ opening night, piling pressure on the channel amid an advertising boycott. The media watchdog received 373 complaints about a programme hosted by Dan Wootton on Sunday night. During a monologue in his inaugural show, the former Sun executive editor railed against Covid lockdowns, [...]
Reality TV stars named and shamed in social media ads crackdown June 17, 2021 Four reality TV stars have been named and shamed by the advertising watchdog as part of a crackdown on influencers flouting ad rules on their social media profiles. Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry, X Factor reject-turned Playboy model Chloe Khan, bodybuilder Jodie Marsh and Towie’s Lucy Mecklenburgh are the first influencers to be named on [...]