ITV continues buying spree with £55m acquisition of Educating Yorkshire producer Twofour June 24, 2015 ITV has bought Boom Supervisory Limited, the holding group of production company Twofour for £55m, as part of its ongoing strategy to build its original content business. Read more: ITV buys Poldark producer Mammoth Screen to bolster original drama assets Plymouth-based Twofour has produced a number of hit shows for Channel 4 including Educating Yorkshire, The Jump [...]
BT Sport and Ericsson team up for new Champions League channels June 23, 2015 BT Sport has selected Ericsson to design, build and run the technology behind a variety of new products, as it ups its game in live sports, having won the Champions Leagues broadcasting rights. Ericsson will work on BT's three new sports channels, BT Sport Europe, BT Sport Showcase, and BT Sport ultra high definition, which [...]
TFI Friday to return with Chris Evans in hot seat after anniversary show scored blockbusting ratings for Channel 4 June 23, 2015 Channel 4 is bringing back iconic 1990s music TV show TFI Friday with host Chris Evans at the helm once again. The eight-part series will begin this autumn, although an exact transmission date has not been set. Channel 4 gained one of its best ratings for the 20th anniversary show (officially its 19th, [...]
Truffle Pig: WPP, Daily Mail and Snapchat just formed an ad agency to create social content June 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising group, WPP, the world's biggest online publisher, the Daily Mail, and startup sweetheart Snapchat have formed the media equivalent of a musical supergroup to get adverts in front of eyeballs. The trio have launched an ambitious new venture forging together the world of technology, advertising and publishing with the creation of [...]
Media giant Vivendi set to announce Telecom Italia deal June 21, 2015 French media giant Vivendi is expected to announce next week it is raising its stake in Telecom Italia to 14.9 per cent and will likely get two board seats, according to a source close to the situation. The announcement could be made as early as tomorrow, the source said. A Vivendi spokesman declined to comment [...]
BBC boss Tony Hall says licence fee has 10 more years left June 21, 2015 BBC boss Lord Hall has fired his opening salvo in what is likely to be a tense debate over the future of the BBC. The BBC's director general said that he agreed with the argument put forward by the culture, media and sport select committee in the last parliament that the licence fee would be [...]
The future of the Top Gear brand lies in its content not the presenters June 19, 2015 Even after the removal of Jeremy Clarkson, it was obvious that the BBC were not going to let go of the Top Gear brand altogether. Not only is it one of the most-watched programmes in the world, with an estimated global audience of more than 350m, it is the corporation’s most lucrative money spinner [...]
James Murdoch confirmed as new 21st Century Fox chief exec June 16, 2015 James Murdoch will succeed his father Rupert as chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Company founder Rupert Murdoch will hand over duties on July 1 when he will become executive co-chairman alongside elder son Lachlan. Read more: Rupert Murdoch steps down – here's every company he owns In a statement [...]
Top Gear: BBC picks Chris Evans to replace Jeremy Clarkson as presenter June 16, 2015 The BBC has chosen Chris Evans to replace Jeremy Clarkson as presenter of its flagship car show Top Gear. Evans, who has fronted shows such as The Big Breakfast and The One Show, has signed a three-year contract with the broadcaster to lead a new Top Gear line-up. Read more: Chris Evans is making a [...]
Alibaba wants to create China’s HBO and Netflix equivalent June 14, 2015 Alibaba is releasing a Netflix-style streaming service in two months, the firm's head of digital entertainment revealed today. The service will be called Tmall Box Office – "TBO" for short – and will feature Alibaba-produced content as well as programming acquired from China and other territories. Read more: Alibaba Pictures share price tumbles following $1.6bn placement [...]