Screenshot: Will the UK’s live music industry ever recover? October 23, 2020 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week: ** Media Moment of the Week: Sky History gets tattoo regret ** Can the live music sector survive this crisis? ** The tide turns against Google Media Moment of the Week This week we [...]
Exclusive: Portland financial PR chief Steffan Williams steps down October 22, 2020 The head of Portland Communications’ financial practice is stepping down to start his own venture after two years at the public relations giant. Steffan Williams was hired in 2018 to establish Portland’s new financial comms division, which now boasts a number of high-profile clients, including Astra, Robert Walters and Ince Group. But City A.M. has [...]
Relx sees revenue from exhibitions business plunge 70 per cent October 22, 2020 Relx (REL) today said annual revenue for its exhibitions business in the year-to-date had plunged 70 per cent as coronavirus restrictions prevented most events from taking place. The FTSE 100 company said total revenue for its exhibitions business, which account for 16 per cent of revenue last year, was down 70 per cent year-to-date given [...]
Startup community Supernode merges with VC fund to invest in media-tech October 21, 2020 Investor and startup community Supernode has absorbed media-tech VC fund Rooks Nest Ventures in what it claims is an industry first. The creation of Supernode Global comes out of the £28m Rooks Nest Ventures fund, launched in 2017 by film producer Michael Sackler, and the community platform Supernode. The new venture will offer access to [...]
Live music industry warns of 170,000 job losses by end of year October 21, 2020 The UK’s live music industry has warned it will suffer 170,000 job losses before the end of the year if the government fails to offer further support. LIVE, which represents the sector, said the country’s live music workforce was facing a “cliff edge” as the furlough scheme comes to an end at the end of [...]
Netflix earnings: Is the streamer’s pandemic party coming to an end? October 20, 2020 Netflix will be in the spotlight after the bell this evening as it publishes its earnings for the third quarter. The streaming giant has had a bumper 2020 so far as millions of people have turned to home entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic. But as competition from rivals heats up and the impact of halted [...]
ITV to launch streaming unit and cut London office space in restructuring plan October 20, 2020 ITV is set to launch a new business division focused on streaming and reduce its London office space as part of a restructuring plan aimed at overhauling its business for the on-demand age. The public service broadcaster will establish a new on-demand unit dedicated to ITV Hub and Britbox, its joint streaming service with the [...]
Kantar appoints former Heineken bigwig as new chief executive October 19, 2020 Market research giant Kantar has tapped a former Heineken boss as its new chief executive, marking the first major appointment by new owner Bain Capital. Alexis Nasard, who currently leads Swiss shoemaker Bata, will take over as chief executive on 30 December. He previously served as global chief marketing officer at Heineken and worked for [...]
Murdoch’s TV plans mature as News UK searches for more big names October 16, 2020 Rupert Murdoch’s plans to regain a footing in the British TV market have stepped up a gear as his media empire circles some of the biggest names in broadcasting to front its new channel. Alan Sugar and Piers Morgan are among the stars that have been approached by News UK over the new venture, the [...]
Learning the hard way: Why do things keep going wrong for Pearson? October 14, 2020 John Fallon, longstanding chief executive of Pearson, will step down next week after nearly eight years at the helm. The education boss today signed off with a mixed set of results for the first nine months of the year, as a surge in demand for online learning helped to offset sliding sales. The figures summed [...]