Reddit users launch Winnie the Pooh protest against Tencent amid censorship fears February 11, 2019 Defiant images of Winnie the Pooh have sprung up across community news site Reddit as users hit back at a major investment by Chinese tech giant Tencent. Reddit confirmed today that the Chinese conglomerate has contributed a $150m (£116m) investment in the website, which describes itself as the ‘front page of the internet’, as part of a wider [...]
Premier League plots streaming service for live football matches February 10, 2019 The Premier League is planning to launch its own streaming service for live football matches in a bid to bypass broadcasters and boost revenues. The Netflix-style streaming service was due to be tested in Singapore, but the Premier League backed out of the project. Instead, the league sold rights to the next three seasons to Singapore [...]
Satirical website the Daily Mash sold in £1.2m deal February 8, 2019 Satirical news website the Daily Mash has been sold in a £1.2m deal. The website, which also has a TV offshoot the Mash Report on BBC2, is being taken over by Digitalbox. Digitalbox is a media business that is scheduled to flotation Aim on 28 February through the reverse takeover of an Aim shell called [...]
UKTV boss Darren Childs to step down ahead of £1bn BBC breakup February 7, 2019 UKTV chief executive Darren Childs is stepping down after eight years in the role ahead of a proposed £1bn breakup of the broadcaster. Childs, who has overseen a 66 per cent increase in revenues and nearly tripled profits during his time at the firm, will step down on 1 July. He has been tipped as [...]
British commercial radio revenue breaks record for third consecutive year February 7, 2019 Advertising revenue on commercial radio in the UK hit £713.3m last year, as corporate investment in the media stream continued to rise. Ad sales topped the previous record of £679.2m set in 2017, according to figures released today by industry body Radiocentre. The news marked the third consecutive year of record growth in the sector. [...]
Snap shares rise almost 30 per cent as strong results convince investors February 6, 2019 Shares in Snap have risen almost 30 per cent today, after a bumper set of results acted as a boon to investors looking for signs the tech firm could be revived. The parent of photo-sharing app Snapchat trounced consensus estimates in its fourth quarter, reporting a revenue rise of 36 per cent to $389.8m (£300.9m), [...]
Spotify posts its first quarterly profit as paid subscriptions near 100m February 6, 2019 Spotify has made its first ever quarterly profit, it said today, as it revealed results for the three months to the end of December. The figures The Stockholm-based firm posted an operating profit of €94m (£82.5m), as well as a 29 per cent rise in revenue in the fourth quarter thanks to an increased number of paid [...]
Fine social media sites that fail to protect children, Labour says February 6, 2019 Social media companies could face hefty fines if they fail to protect children and young people on their platforms under strict new rules proposed by Labour. The party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, will today give a speech saying the digital market has been “distorted” and outlining plans to ensure sites have a legal duty of [...]
Sir Nick Clegg summoned in front of MPs over social media abuse February 5, 2019 Sir Nick Clegg has been asked to appear in front of a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the harassment of MPs on social media. The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has written to Clegg, who is head of global affairs and communications at Facebook, asking him to give evidence as part of its inquiry [...]
Facebook must face the same regulation as other media outlets, says former Tory digital minister February 4, 2019 Facebook is not capable of regulating itself and should be subjected to strict government oversight, the former minister for digital and culture has said. Tory MP Ed Vaizey today waded into the debate around regulation of big tech companies, saying Facebook must take responsibility for the content published on its platform. Read more: Social media sites should [...]