Ofcom review of UK digital communications market will look to maintain competition March 12, 2015 Media regulator Ofcom will review the UK’s digital communications market for the first time in a decade in order to ensure competition remains in a sector increasingly dominated by telecom giants. Ofcom said its review will look to identify if there is scope for deregulation in “some areas” of the market and find [...]
ITV buys The Voice production company Talpa Media with John de Mol on board March 12, 2015 ITV has turned its chair for the production company behind BBC talent show The Voice, buying up Talpa Media. The broadcaster has acquired the Dutch production company founded by Big Brother creator John de Mol, in a deal worth up to £781m. The deal includes keeping on de Mol and Talpa’s management team who will [...]
Jeremy Clarkson fracas: One chart showing the decline of Top Gear’s UK television audience in the last five years March 11, 2015 To his fans, he's a hero; to his detractors, he's everything wrong with television today. But fracas or no fracas, suspending Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson can't have been an easy choice for the BBC. He does, after all, preside over the world's most-watched factual TV programme, according to the Guinness Book of Records. More than [...]
This is why losing Jeremy Clarkson would cost the BBC dearly March 10, 2015 Top Gear has proved to be one of the BBC's most popular TV shows ever, bringing in millions of viewers and huge profits in recent years. Presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been key to its success, but a “fracas” with a producer at the organisation has put his position on the line. The BBC announced this [...]
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson suspended by the BBC after “fracas” March 10, 2015 Controversial Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended from the BBC after a "fracas" with a producer. In a statement today, the BBC said Clarkson had been suspended "pending investigation", and that "no one else has been suspended". It added that Top Gear would not be broadcast this Sunday. Top Gear is one of the BBC's most [...]
Coronation Street, BBC Breakfast get new landlord as Legal & General Capital takes 50pc stake in £503m MediaCityUK March 10, 2015 MediaCityUK – the new home of Coronation Street and the northern hub of the BBC – has just got a new landlord in the form of Legal & General Capital. LGC is now a 50 per cent shareholder in the Salford Quays-based media centre, alongside long-standing owner The Peel Group as part of a [...]
Moguldom IPO: US media group taps the London market for cash March 9, 2015 The head of US digital media group Moguldom yesterday unveiled plans to float on the London stock market in a bid to raise the profile of the business around the world. Jamarlin Martin, founder, chairman and chief executive of the group, said listing on the junior stock market would provide a strong platform to help [...]
Premier League TV deal: An economics professor on why lowering ticket prices and redistributing the wealth could backfire February 12, 2015 With £5.14bn heading the Premier League’s way thanks to Sky and BT’s record domestic TV rights deal, public pressure is being placed on the organisation to share the wealth and relinquish the financial burden on match-going fans. The Football Supporters’ Federation has called upon the league to implement a £20 limit on away [...]
Premier League comes under further fire for TV rights auction February 11, 2015 The auction process used by the Premier League to sell TV rights to Sky and BT for a whopping £5.1bn came under criticism yesterday for the second time in a matter of days. The deal was reached under a blind auction, with an unknown number of rounds and bidders. Virgin Media chief executive Tom Mockridge [...]
Five things you could buy for the same price as the Premier League TV rights: 325 Balotellis, 2.2m travelcards, 65m Apple shares and more February 11, 2015 Buying up the rights to broadcast Premier League matches to avid football fans across the UK doesn't come cheap. At a total of £5.2bn, a record price paid by Sky and BT, that’s some serious spending power. Here’s what else that sort of cash could be splashed on. 1. 2.2m travelcards How about buying [...]