Channel 4 condemns government for “prolonged uncertainty” over privatisation May 10, 2016 Channel 4's chairman has described the “prolonged uncertainty” around the potential privatisation of the broadcaster as “not helpful”. The government has been considering whether to sell off the channel since last summer. Reports today suggested a partial privatisation is now on the cards along with the channel being moved outside of London. Read more: Channel 4 posts record [...]
Amazon just launched its own version of YouTube May 10, 2016 Amazon has upped the ante again when it comes to video with a new service which sounds a lot like YouTube. Users will be able to upload their own content through Amazon Video Direct (AVD) and it will be available to the millions of members of its Prime Video streaming service alongside movies and original TV shows, such [...]
Marketing in the age of Instagram: Olapic’s Jose de Cabo talks visual marketing, the future of earned content and what’s so special about the colour blue May 9, 2016 "Brands are not what marketers say they are anymore. They’re what consumers say they are,” says Jose de Cabo, co-founder of visual marketing platform Olapic. “User-generated content performs better than brand assets because it is more authentic.” Launched just as Instagram was starting out, Olapic uses software to root out hashtagged photos and videos from [...]
News Corp posts third quarter revenue fall as profits were hit by one-off charge and continuing lower advertising sales May 5, 2016 Global media behemoth News Corp posted a revenue fall in its third quarter results on Thursday, as profits were hit by a one-off charge and low print advertising sales continued to decline. The figures The owner of The Sun, The Times and the Wall Street Journal said its revenues had declined 7.3 per cent to $1.89bn (£1.3bn) in [...]
Read all about it: More blows traded as USA Today publisher Gannett tries to take over its rival May 5, 2016 Numerous blows have been traded between two US newspaper publishers as one seeks to take over the other. USA Today publisher Gannett today reiterated its call for shareholders of Tribune to pressure its board into considering an $815m (£556m) offer. Gannett, which also owns UK regional newspaper publisher Newsquest, made the takeover bid for Tribune, publisher [...]
As sun sets on New Day, online-only Independent offers some more positive media news – a doubled digital operation size May 5, 2016 It's not all bad news for the media today. Trinity Mirror confirmed the closure of its New Day newspaper after just over two months this morning. The publisher also revealed its group revenue fell by 9.3 per cent in a "volatile" market for print advertising. But the Independent, which closed its print edition earlier this [...]
Why the government should sell off Channel 4 into the nasty and horrible world of private sector competition May 5, 2016 Channel 4 tells us, for some reason, that they don't want to be sold off into that nasty and horrible world of private sector competition. They've commissioned a report which tells us all that it wouldn't be a good idea and perhaps, for those currently running it, it wouldn't be. The rather more important question [...]
Good night, New Day: Trinity Mirror confirms closure of title after nine weeks May 5, 2016 Trinity Mirror has today confirmed that it is closing its fledgling title New Day, less than three months after it first launched. In a statement released ahead of its AGM, the publisher remarked that the title's circulation had been "below expectations", despite having built a strong following on Facebook, and it will therefore close on Friday 6 May. [...]
Trinity Mirror to close New Day as circulation drops below 40,000 and share price hits three-year low ahead of AGM May 4, 2016 Trinity Mirror is set to close its most recent venture, New Day, by the end of this week. City A.M. understands its circulation has fallen below 40,000 and insiders have suggested that the newspaper's last issue will come out on Friday. The firm's share price has dropped to a three-year low ahead of its annual [...]
Report commissioned by Channel 4 argues privatising broadcaster would be “overwhelmingly negative” May 4, 2016 Privatising Channel 4 would be “overwhelmingly negative” and could attract a maximum £500m, according to a new report commissioned by the broadcaster. The government is currently considering whether to sell off the channel, which is publicly owned but privately funded. Culture secretary John Whittingdale recently talked up the prospect of selling Channel 4, saying it [...]