Hollywood real estate firm expands £350m east London film studio project March 19, 2021 Plans for a major new film studio complex in east London have been given a further boost after the scheme’s Hollywood backer announced it was pumping a further £50m into the project. Hackman Capital Partners (HCP), which owns studios where classics such as Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind were filmed, last year took [...]
BBC to shift news jobs out of London in bid to win over regions March 18, 2021 The BBC will shift major parts of its news operation out of London as the broadcaster looks to stave off criticism of metropolitan bias. A number of major programmes and scores of journalists will be relocated from the capital to regional bases across the country over the next six years. “Our mission must be to [...]
Watchdog slams rule-breaking influencers over ‘unacceptable’ social media ads March 18, 2021 The UK advertising watchdog has ramped up the pressure on social media influencers over their continued failure to mark posts as adverts. Under the current rules online stars are required to clearly state when their posts are sponsored or when a brand has provided them with free products. But a three-week monitoring exercise carried out [...]
STV Group sets out digital growth plans after pandemic hits profit March 16, 2021 Scottish media firm STV Group saw its profit fall two-thirds in 2020 but said that it had achieved a record viewing performance amid the chaos of the pandemic. The firm, which runs the STV television channel north of the border, said that profit before tax had fallen from £19m to £6.7m in 2020. However, it [...]
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp inks Facebook deal in Australia after row March 16, 2021 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has signed a licensing deal with Facebook in Australia, marking an end to a dispute that saw the social media site instigate a news blackout in the country. The publishing group said it has reached a three-year agreement with Facebook to provide news and information to millions of users in the [...]
Shares in events firm Ascential slump as pandemic sparks hefty loss March 15, 2021 Shares in Ascential dropped this morning after the media and events firm revealed a hefty loss in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. The FTSE 250 company, which runs the Cannes Lions festival, reported a pre-tax loss of £166.5m last year, compared to a profit of £1.8m in the previous 12 months. The lacklustre [...]
UK HuffPost office next on Buzzfeed’s chopping block March 12, 2021 A total 16 full time journalists working at HuffPost in London are at risk of losing their job, as BuzzFeed begins consulting on plans to slim down Huffpost “operations” in the UK and in Australia. More than half of the 29 HuffPost journalists working in the London office have been informed they face redundancy, the [...]
Screenshot: Does the UK media have a racism problem? March 12, 2021 This week: **Media Moment of the Week: GMB gets a new frontman **Does the UK media have a racism problem? **Deliveroo’s IPO giveaway; BT gets in a bind Media Moment of the Week: GMB gets a new frontman What a week it’s been for ITV. In the space of 24 hours it racked up bumper [...]
WPP commits to London headquarters despite plans to slash office space March 11, 2021 Advertising giant WPP today committed to its London headquarters despite wider plans to slash office space amid a shift to home working. The media group, which owns ad agencies such as Ogilvy, Grey and Group M, has said it will look to reduce its office footprint by a fifth in the coming years. Chief executive [...]
WPP resumes £620m share buyback as it eyes return to growth March 11, 2021 WPP today said it would resume its £620m share buyback programme and restore its dividend as the advertising giant eyes a return to growth this year. The London-listed ad group halted the buyback, funded by its $4bn sale of Kantar in 2019, and the payout due to the pandemic. But it today said up to [...]