Accio investors: Bloomsbury shares up as Harry Potter enchantment continues October 27, 2016 Harry Potter continues to be the boy who lives (up to expectations) for Bloomsbury Publishing. Nearly 20 years after the company first published JK Rowling’s Philosopher’s Stone, the series continues to do the business for Bloomsbury. Total revenues in the six months to 31 August were up 19 per cent year-on-year, from £52.7m to £62.7m. [...]
Government launches hunt for new BBC board chair… and cuts salary by £10,000 October 26, 2016 The government has officially begun its hunt for a new chair of the BBC board – offering a £10,000 pay cut on the previous salary. BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead was expected to take on the position on the newly-created BBC board automatically. Read more: Diversity pressure on BBC from incoming watchdog But she announced [...]
Britain has a new official press regulator – but the press are refusing to be regulated by it October 25, 2016 The UK has a new, officially-recognised press regulator, but the majority of the press have refused to join it. The Press Recognition Panel (PRP) has officially recognised Impress as a regulator that meets the requirements set out by Lord Justice Leveson, who conducted an inquiry into press ethics. It is unclear at this stage how [...]
ITV announces 120 job cuts as part of £25m savings push after Brexit vote October 24, 2016 ITV is cutting 120 jobs, with the broadcaster blaming “political and economic uncertainty”. The company’s chief executive, Adam Crozier, announced he would be seeking £25m of cuts when reporting its half-year results. Read more: ITV inks new deal to screen Britain's Got Talent and X Factor until 2019 ITV said the cost savings were part [...]
Press regulation: Newspapers warn government against move that “could destroy our free press” October 24, 2016 Tomorrow could mark a significant day for British newspapers. Or, in the words of today’s Sun editorial: “Tomorrow the government faces a decision that could destroy our free press and fundamentally undermine the principle of natural justice in Britain.” What is going on? Around four years ago, after conducting a High Court inquiry into the [...]
Activist eyes change at Scottish TV channel October 23, 2016 Scottish television channel STV has become the target of activist investor Crystal Amber. The investor, which recently made headlines by pushing for a sale of Pinewood film studios, has built up an 11 per cent stake in the TV producer. It’s understood Crystal Amber is aiming to buy up to a fifth of STV after [...]
More BuzzFeed news that will make you say WTF October 21, 2016 US company NBCUniversal is reportedly set to increase its investment in news and entertainment website BuzzFeed. Comcast’s TV and movie arm is finalising a deal to put around $200m (£164m) into the company, giving it a total value of $1.7bn, Recode reports. Read more: 560,000 reasons why BuzzFeed won in 2015 In the UK, BuzzFeed [...]
560,000 reasons why BuzzFeed won in 2015 October 19, 2016 The UK arm of US media company BuzzFeed quadrupled its profits last year, making around £560,000, alongside some huge investments. Accounts filed at Companies House show BuzzFeed grew its profits from £140,772 in 2014 to £558,408 last year. The filings don’t show revenue as firms bringing in less than £6.5m are not required to disclose [...]
Twitter fires its new head of VR… in the same week it hired him October 19, 2016 Twitter is ploughing on into the world of virtual reality, though it faced a small setback today after announcing it had fired its new head of VR (roughly 48 hours after he started his new job). A Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Gregory Gopman, had joined the struggling social network to work on a nascent team charged with [...]
Independent profitable for first time in 23 years after print closure, says owner October 19, 2016 The Independent is profitable for the first time in more than 20 years after it went online-only earlier this year, its owner has revealed. The Independent and Independent on Sunday print newspapers were closed earlier this year after owner ESI Media, which also publishes the Evening Standard, sold the i newspaper, their cut-price sister title. Read [...]