Ofcom revokes Chinese broadcaster CGTN’s UK licence February 4, 2021 The media regulator has withdrawn China’s state-owned broadcaster right to broadcast in the UK following an investigation. Ofcom said the owner of China Global Television Network (CGTN) does not have control over its day to day output and is a distributor rather than a provider. Star China Media Limited “did not have editorial responsibility for [...]
BBC to slash programme spend by £400m amid funding squeeze February 3, 2021 The BBC has warned it will have to make significant cuts to programmes and services due to a squeeze on its funding and growing pressure from streaming rivals. The public service broadcaster said it expects to make roughly £408m in content cuts in the upcoming financial year in a bid to shore up its finances. [...]
Time Out to open Abu Dhabi market as it banks on post-Covid recovery February 3, 2021 Time Out today unveiled plans to open a new food market in Abu Dhabi as the media group pins its hopes on a return to dining out after the pandemic. The market, which is set to open on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island in 2023, will be the company’s second location in the United Arab Emirates, [...]
Spotify paid subscribers hit 155m on lockdown listening boom February 3, 2021 Spotify today reported a sharp increase in subscribers in the fourth quarter as the pandemic drove demand for music and podcasts, but warned of uncertainty in the year ahead. The Swedish streaming giant said paid users hit 155m in the final three months of the year, while revenue grew 17 per cent to €2.2bn (£1.9bn). [...]
Sweden’s Embracer splurges up to $2.5bn on three gaming companies February 3, 2021 Swedish video game group Embracer has agreed to buy three gaming companies, including US-based Gearbox, the maker of first-person shooter game Borderlands, for up to $2.5bn in cash and stock. The company, known for games such as Darksiders and World War Z, will pay Gearbox $363m initially with a commitment to pay another $1bn in the next [...]
Film financier Great Point set for London IPO February 3, 2021 Great Point Entertainment Income Trust (GPEIT) today announced its intention to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The London-based group will offer a target issue of 200m shares at 1 penny each at an initial issue price of £1 per ordinary share. GPEIT is a newly established investment company which will [...]
Gimme belters: Music rights firm Round Hill snaps up Rolling Stones and Beatles tracks February 2, 2021 Round Hill has made its first acquisition since floating on the London Stock Exchange, snapping up a catalogue of songs from hit artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The music royalties group splashed out $282m (£206m) on the portfolio, representing 86 per cent of the capital it raised after floating in November. [...]
Forget the BBC, as Ofcom chair Paul Dacre would get his teeth into tech February 2, 2021 Almost a year after Priti Patel vowed to make Ofcom a regulator with teeth, the government looks poised to appoint Fleet Street Rottweiler Paul Dacre as its new chair. No one could accuse her of underdelivering. For many, Dacre’s political leanings (characterised by some as so far to the right as to be almost horizontal) [...]
Prince Harry wins ‘substantial damages’ and apology over Mail article February 1, 2021 Prince Harry has been awarded “substantial damages” and an apology over a Mail on Sunday article that claimed he had turned his back on the military after stepping down as a senior royal. The Duke of Sussex sued Associated Newspapers, part of DMGT, for libel over two articles published in October that said he had [...]
The New European bought by consortium of media veterans February 1, 2021 A consortium of media executives including former BBC director general Mark Thompson and ex-Financial Times editor Lionel Barber have led a buyout of weekly magazine the New European. The anti-Brexit title, founded in the aftermath of the referendum in 2016 on an initial four-week print run, was owned by regional publisher Archant. The takeover is [...]