Game of Thrones torrent leak won’t stop HBO profiting off fantasy phenomenon April 13, 2015 The majority of "Game of Thrones" fans in the UK are gearing up for the return of their favourite fantasy programme to TV screens tonight, but thousands will have already seen the first episodes of the series’ fifth season following a massive leak. The first four episodes have been illegally downloaded well over a million [...]
Daredevil: Netflix’s Marvel adaptation receives rave reviews following Friday’s release April 11, 2015 Just like the binge-watchers who gorge on its endless trove of TV shows, Netflix never stops. Fresh off the back of phenomenally popular shows such as the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul and season three of House of Cards, Netflix has teamed up with comic book studio Marvel for the first time to bring a [...]
Furious 7’s stunning box office sends Universal roaring towards a record year April 10, 2015 After Furious 7 roared to a record box office last weekend, its distributor Universal is on track to enjoy its best-ever year in 2015. So far, the five films put out by the iconic Hollywood studio have made almost $410m (£280.5m) thanks to the runaway success of both Furious 7 and Fifty Shades of Grey, [...]
Bafta TV awards 2015: Benedict Cumberbatch wins third leading actor nomination for Sherlock April 8, 2015 Benedict Cumberbatch received his sixth Leading Actor nomination at the Bafta Television Awards today, the third for his starring role in Sherlock. Other BBC dramas Happy Valley and The Missing also featured prominently in Bafta's nominations, with both receiving nods in the best drama series and leading actress and actor categories for Sarah Lancashire and [...]
ITV eyes new $950m deal with television arm of The Weinstein Company April 7, 2015 After buying Talpa in March, ITV is looking to the US again to expand its content creation arm. It has been less than a month since ITV’s acquisition of Talpa Media, the production company of BBC1’s The Voice. But already the broadcaster is back in the limelight – this time over talks to buy the [...]
Tidal wave as Jay Z’s debut album disappears from Spotify April 7, 2015 Is this the beginning of a Tidal wave of artists pulling out from Spotify? Jay Z fans this morning woke up to discover his classic debut album Reasonable Doubt was no longer available in the US and Canada. It's still available in the UK, however. So far, the rest of his back catalogue, including [...]
Vivendi confirms bid for YouTube rival Dailymotion April 7, 2015 Vivendi has confirmed a bid for Orange-owned YouTube rival Dailymotion. The French media group, which owns Universal Music and Canal+, confirmed reports it was in talks to buy a majority stake in the video site, in a deal thought to be worth €250m (£182.6m) for a 75 to 80 per cent share. Earlier, Hong Kong telecoms [...]
MTV owner Viacom takes $758m hit from write-down as pay-TV falters April 7, 2015 US media giant Viacom – which owns Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon – will take a $758m (£509m) pre-tax charge as part of a strategic realignment. Much of the charge is due to “write-downs of underperforming programming, including the abandonment of select acquired titles”, as well as costs associated with workforce reductions. “This strategic realignment, [...]
Jason Seiken quits as editor-in-chief of Telegraph Media Group after just 18 months April 2, 2015 Telegraph's editor-in-chief Jason Seiken has quit the newspaper after just 18 months at the helm. Seiken joined in October 2013 and was responsible for driving the group's digital aspirations – although not without courting controversy. He said in a statement: “I’m proud of how the Telegraph has become a digital leader, and I’m gratified [...]
Four things people really think about native advertising (hint… it’s all about making money) April 1, 2015 Branded content is the buzzword du jour in the media world. Also known as native content, native advertising or advertorials – call it what you will – this is content that is paid for by brand advertisers but resembles editorial content is becoming increasingly familiar to readers after being popularised by the likes of Vice [...]