Discovery wades into streaming wars with ad-funded platform October 22, 2019 Discovery has set out its stall in the increasingly crowded streaming market, launching a free on-demand app in the UK and Ireland. The ad-funded platform, called Dplay, will provide programming from across the media group’s free-to-air channels, including Really, Quest and Home. Read more: Netflix shares rise as it beats profit expectations ahead of streaming [...]
Visual effects firm DNEG confirms plans for £150m London listing October 22, 2019 Oscar award-winning visual effects firm DNEG has confirmed plans to list on the London Stock Exchange, saying it will seek to raise £150m from the float. The London-headquartered company said it intends to sell at least 25 per cent of new and existing shares in a bid to fast track its growth plans. Read more: [...]
Buzzfeed and Gousto investors back London media AI startup October 22, 2019 A London artificial intelligence (AI) startup has today closed a $25m (£19.2m) funding round to help businesses better track their competition. Signal AI’s series C round was led by Redline Ventures, and supported by the venture arm of publishing giant Hearst. Other investors included Gousto backer MMC Ventures, and GMG Ventures which counts the owner [...]
Netflix to sell a further $2bn in bonds as it builds up war chest October 21, 2019 Netflix has announced plans to sell roughly $2bn (£1.5bn) worth of bonds as it launches a final push for cash before the onslaught of new streaming rivals. The on-demand video giant said it will issue the bonds in both euros and dollars and will negotiate terms such as interest rate and maturity date with buyers. [...]
Samira Ahmed takes BBC to court in row over unequal pay October 21, 2019 Top BBC presenter Samira Ahmed is taking the broadcaster to an employment tribunal over claims she was paid less than her male colleagues. Ahmed is due to appear at a central London tribunal on Monday next week over an alleged “failure to provide equal pay for equal work”, filings show. Read more: Government must reach [...]
Global launches 24-hour rolling news radio station LBC News October 21, 2019 Media group Global has launched a new 24-hour radio station to provide rolling news coverage as it looks to tap into growing listener appetite for round-the-clock updates. LBC News will provide UK and world news, as well as business, travel, sport and weather. The new station will replace LBC London News, which currently broadcasts in [...]
Thomson Reuters defends boss following reports of hunt for successor October 21, 2019 Thomson Reuters has thrown its support behind chief executive Jim Smith following reports the company has hired an executive search firm to pick his successor. The media conglomerate is said to have appointed search firm Spencer Stuart to draw up a shortlist of candidates, with co-chief operating officer Neil Materson slated as an internal contender. [...]
DEBATE: Could the BBC survive becoming a subscription service? October 21, 2019 Could the BBC survive becoming a subscription service? Nicholas Mazzei, a corporate social responsibility adviser, says YES. The BBC is a well-loved and historic British institution, but it needs to move with the times. Ending its guaranteed income and making it compete for its customers through a subscription model would drive it to become more [...]
That’s a rap: Hipgnosis lands Timbaland catalogue as it beefs up portfolio October 16, 2019 Music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis has bought the music catalogue of prolific US record producer Timbaland in its latest high-profile acquisition. Read more: Musical shares: Why Merck Mercuriadis believes the old ones are always the best The London-listed firm said it has secured the rights to 108 albums and songs belonging to Timothy Mosley, better [...]
Telegraph group suffers profit slump as ‘structural decline’ outweighs subscriber growth October 15, 2019 The Telegraph has suffered a huge decline in pre-tax profit for the year, as a rise in subscriber numbers failed to counteract a “structural decline” in print revenue. Telegraph Media Group (TMG) posted pre-tax profit of just £900,000 in 2018, a fall of 94 per cent on the previous year. Revenue also slipped three per [...]