Johnny Depp blocked from appealing Sun libel case and must pay paper £630,000 November 26, 2020 Johnny Depp has been blocked from appealing against a High Court ruling which deemed that he had assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard. The Hollywood A-lister will also be forced to pay the Sun nearly £630,000 in legal costs for his failed libel action against the paper. The film star brought the case against the paper [...]
Fake news: How to fight the Covid infodemic November 26, 2020 With tensions on the rise towards the latest vaccine developments and the winter months looming large, remaining vigilant of fake news in relation to the virus is critical. As the country toils with life under lockdown for the second time this year, we are once again confined to spending more time indoors, looking at our [...]
Bertelsmann snaps up Simon & Schuster in $2.2bn deal November 25, 2020 The German media group behind Penguin Random House has acquired US publisher Simon & Schuster for $2.2bn (£1.6bn). Bertelsmann today confirmed it had secured the deal with owner Viacom CBS following a closely-fought bidding war. The takeover cements Bertelsmann’s position as the world’s largest book publisher, and strengthens its footprint in the US — its [...]
Selling like hot cakes: Bake Off final smashes Channel 4 ratings record November 25, 2020 Channel 4 last night smashed its ratings records after millions of Brits tuned in to the final of The Great British Bake Off. The final baked up a storm with a record-breaking average audience of 9.2m viewers, taking an almost 40 per cent slice of the audience pie. Viewing numbers for the baking bonanza peaked [...]
Sky beefs up content slate with Entertainment One film deal November 25, 2020 Sky today said it has inked a multi-million-pound film deal with Entertainment One as it looks to ramp up its content offering for the escalating streaming wars. The long-term deal covers almost 200 movies from eOne’s library, including the Twilight franchise and Dallas Buyers Club, which will now be available to Sky Cinema customers at [...]
Magazine publisher Future to buy Go Compare in £600m deal November 25, 2020 Publishing firm Future has agreed to buy Go Compare in a deal that values the price comparison website at almost £600m. The media group, which owns titles including Country Life, Four Four Two and Tech Radar, said the tie-up would allow it to tap into “growing consumer demand for informed and value driven purchasing decisions”. [...]
Labour’s bid to ban anti-vax content from the internet is well-meaning — but misguided November 24, 2020 How to combat anti-vaxxers spreading misinformation online and hampering the government’s efforts for UK-wide immunisation? The answer, according to the Labour party, is for an emergency law to be brought in introducing financial and criminal penalties for social media platforms who repeatedly fail to remove anti-vaccination content. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth suggested the law [...]
Cineworld secures $750m funding lifeline amid Covid-19 closures November 23, 2020 Cineworld has secured $750m (£561m) in additional cash to help bolster its balance sheet amid coronavirus closures. The FTSE 100 group, which is the world’s second largest cinema chain, said it has agreed a new $450m debt facility and a waiver on all banks covenants on its debt until June 2022. Other measures include an [...]
MPs to grill social media platforms over anti-vax conspiracies November 23, 2020 Social media firms are set to be hauled in front of MPs to answer questions about what they are doing to remove online misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. The DCMS sub-committee on online harms and disinformation will next month grill executives from Google, Facebook and Twitter amid concerns over the rise of so-called anti-vax conspiracy theories. [...]
Daily Mail publisher lifts dividend despite Covid-19 profit hit November 23, 2020 The publishing group behind the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday today said it will hike its full-year dividend, despite seeing its profit slashed in half due to the coronavirus pandemic. The figures Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) posted revenue of £1.2bn in the year to the end of September, down 14 per [...]