Exclusive: ASA chief on how to regulate adland in a world of greenwashing and crypto November 2, 2022 The UK’s advertising body made headlines last month when it banned a series of HSBC green ads for being misleading about their environmental credentials, and said any future campaigns must disclose the bank’s contribution to the climate crisis. Guy Parker, head of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), told City A.M. that this decision was “groundbreaking” [...]
BBC’s local radio cuts slammed as ‘unwarranted’ and ‘misguided’ November 1, 2022 Leading journalist trade body has slammed the BBC’s ambitions to invest more into its local digital news. Chief exec of The News Media Association Owen Meredith criticised the broadcaster’s plans to cut back its late-night local radio, which will see 139 audio roles axed. All local shows after 10pm are set to be replaced with [...]
Harry Styles saves the day for Sony’s music arm November 1, 2022 Sony was buoyed by its music division this quarter, with the group’s profitability countervailing the Japanese giant’s reduced gaming success. Music revenues climbed from JPY 217 billion (£1.2bn) to JPY 359 billion (£2.1bn), with higher sales across recorded music and publishing thanks to new music from big hitters like Harry Styles. Although gaming revenue also [...]
Another player in the market? Viaplay launches its own UK sports and film streaming service November 1, 2022 Nordic producer Viaplay has launched its own streaming service in the UK today, piling in on the crowded video on demand market. The direct-to-consumer packages are priced between £3.99 and £14.99 a month, with content focusing on Nordic storytelling. There are more than 1,000 hours of Viaplay original content, as well as curated third-party series and films. [...]
US judge blocks Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster’s £1.9bn merger November 1, 2022 A US judge has blocked Penguin Random House’s planned $2.18bn (£1.89bn) purchase of Simon & Schuster, after finding the move would hurt competition for anticipated best sellers. Judge Florence Pan of the US district court for the District of Columbia said that the combination of Bertelsmann owned Penguin and Paramount Global owned Simon & Schuster would “substantially” [...]
Starmer says Tories are ‘dragging feet’ in making platforms pay for news November 1, 2022 Sir Keir Starmer has backed calls to make social media platforms pay for news content, accusing the government of dragging its feet on the matter. Writing for campaign group Journalism Matters, the leader of the opposition said that big tech’s dominance of the online advertising space is to the detriment of consumers, other rivals and [...]
‘Royal Mail have just declared war on your postie’: Union snubs yet another pay offer October 31, 2022 Postal workers have warned the public that “Royal Mail have just declared war on your postie”, batting away yet another pay offer from the firm. Royal Mail today proposed a new conditional pay-for-change offer to the Communication Workers Union (CWU) worth nine per cent for CWU-grade colleagues. The offer includes a seven per cent salary [...]
M&C Saatchi dodges hostile takeover as offers lapse October 31, 2022 M&C Saatchi has dodged its hostile takeover, with offers from both Next 15 and AdvancedAdvT lapsing. The advertising titan confirmed that directors were unable to back the conditions outlined in Next 15’s “Scheme Document”, and the offer had now expired. Although Next 15 cleared its final regulatory hurdle earlier this month, the offer needed some 75 [...]
Warner Bros Discovery said scrapping content could cost over £2bn October 25, 2022 Warner Bros Discovery said that charges associated with cutting content could reach $2.5bn (£2.2bn), as the media giant continues down its cost-saving path. According to a security filing posted on Monday, the merged firm said restructuring costs could total up to $4.3bn through 2024, including between $2bn and $2.5bn in “strategic content programming assessments”. It [...]
Adidas terminates Kanye West’s Yeezy brand over antisemitic comments October 25, 2022 Adidas has terminated a multi-billion pound deal with music superstar Kanye West over antisemitic comments he made. The iconic German sports and fashion brand issued a statement today ending his ‘Yeezy’ brand, after the artist said he couldn’t be dropped. This comes after West, who officially changed his name to ‘Ye’, had his Twitter account [...]