TalkSport owner reports falling profits ahead of takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp August 22, 2016 Wireless Group, which has agreed a deal to be sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has reported falling profits in the first half of 2016. The figures The owner of TalkSport, which sold its TV business to ITV for £100m in February, reported group revenue from continuing operations of £38.2m in the six months to [...]
The psychology of gaming: Woobi founder Chaya Soggot reveals the secrets to in-game mobile advertising August 22, 2016 The penetration of mobile gaming shows no sign of letting up. In 2014, 46 per cent of mobile phone users in the US were gaming on their devices, according to Statista. Last year, that figure surpassed the 50 per cent mark, and is expected to hit 63.7 per cent by 2020. But mobile game publishers have [...]
Digital disruption comes to TV production with new online “stock market” August 21, 2016 Watch out, TV production industry: digital disruption is coming. At least it will be if David Frank, the founder of independent TV production company RDF Media and former chief executive of international company Zodiak Media, is successful in his new venture. Three years after stepping down from his position at Zodiak, Frank along with his brother, [...]
Martin Sorrell’s WPP – dubbed the bellwether of the global economy – set to report soaring sales and profits August 21, 2016 Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP, known as the bellwether of the global economy, is set to report soaring profits and sales in the first half of 2016 this week. City analysts expect the advertising giant to report headline profits before tax and interest of around £755m – up nearly 13 per cent on the first half [...]
ITV’s takeover offer for EOne not nearly pig enough for investors August 21, 2016 ITV is likely to have to raise its bid for Entertainment One (EOne) by at least 20 per cent if it is to tempt the owner of Peppa Pig, reports suggest. The broadcaster had a 236p-per-share – equal to around £1bn – offer turned down by EOne, a Canadian company listed in London, earlier this month. It has [...]
As Pinterest announces a new video advert format, its success in mobile will hinge on bringing its communities together August 19, 2016 Pinterest announced the launch of a new promoted video format last week which is click-to-play and mobile only. It operates differently to the auto-play formats popularised by the likes of Facebook and Twitter, instead offering a glimpse of the video content and encouraging users to click to see the full content. Pinterest’s in-house creative team, The [...]
Gawker website to close after company’s sale to Univision August 18, 2016 US website Gawker.com is to close next week after Univision successfully bid for the company earlier this week. The closure, after nearly 14 years in operation, comes after the publication lost a court battle with wrestler Hulk Hogan. In May, Gawker Media was ordered to pay out $140m to Hogan. Read more: Gawker said to be [...]
ITV is switching off for the first time to encourage the UK to get sporty August 18, 2016 ITV is switching off for the first time in more than 30 years to encourage Britons to get sporty. At 9.30am on 27 August ITV's seven channels will be off for one hour, as part of an I Am Team GB scheme with the National Lottery. Read more: There's only three days of Olympics left, so don't [...]
Newspapers still benefiting from Brexit bounce despite July circulation dip August 18, 2016 National newspapers appear to have maintained some momentum from their Brexit bounce. The circulations of several paid-for newspapers jumped up in June, the month of the EU referendum. The total circulations of the UK’s 19 paid-for national newspapers jumped 1.5 per cent from 12.34m in May to 12.52m in June, according to figures from ABC. Read [...]
TalkSport owner shareholders accept takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp August 18, 2016 The takeover of TalkSport owner Wireless by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has become “unconditional”, the companies have announced. Wireless has received 92.17 per cent backing from shareholders for the takeover, which will lead to the company being delisted from the Irish Stock Exchange. Read more: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to buy TalkSport owner for £220m [...]