Gaming giant Embracer snaps up Lord of the Rings rights in bargain deal August 18, 2022 In a clear defiance to the slowing M&A landscape, Embracer Group has snapped up the intellectual property rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit literary works, as well as five other firms in a £645.7m deal.
‘Vast shoes to fill’: Amol Rajan to replace Jeremy Paxman as new University Challenge host August 18, 2022 Amol Rajan is set to become the new host of BBC Two’s University Challenge.
Going old school: why new media’s rise is far from inevitable August 18, 2022 Ian Whittaker is twice winner of the City A.M. Analyst of the Year, a long-standing Square Mile media analyst and founder of advisory firm Liberty Sky Advisors The last 12 months has been a brutal one for many of the most high-profile names in the Media space. According to a recent FT piece, nearly $400bn [...]
Royal Mail posties back strike action in ballot August 17, 2022 Royal Mail workers have voted overwhelmingly to back further strikes. Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have voted in a second ballot to enter into a formal dispute with management over pay and conditions. Members voted by 98.7 per cent on a 72.2 per cent turnout. An earlier vote in July had seen some [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain fined record £17m over social responsibility and money laundering failures August 17, 2022 The gambling watchdog whacked the betting shop owner Entain with record £17m this morning over “completely unacceptable” anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures. The Gambling Commission said the Ladbrokes and Coral owner repeatedly failed to protect problematic gamblers from betting huge sums in their shops and online casinos. The commission said the firm let blocked [...]
Young watching seven times less broadcast TV than over 65s August 17, 2022 Young adults are watching seven times less broadcast TV than those aged 65+, according to new figures published today, as they continue to bypass traditional broadcasters and enjoy streaming services. While those aged 65 and over spend almost six hours a day enjoying broadcast TV, the average for people aged 16-24 is less than an [...]
BBC could face journalist walkout as channel merger plans face backlash August 16, 2022 BBC journalists are weighing up strike action as the broadcaster plans to merge channels, including BBC News and BBC World News.
Sotheby’s launches bumper auction of Bond memorabilia as Dr. No turns sixty August 14, 2022 AUCTION house Sotheby’s is set to mark sixty years of James Bond on screen with a collection of over 100 pieces of sought-after memorabilia. The ‘Bond on Bond Street’ collection includes a replica of Scaramanga’s pistol from The Man with the Golden Gun as well as a series of so-called transparencies, high-resolution movie images used [...]
Eurovision will not be hosted in London as seven UK cities in the running for song contest August 12, 2022 London is not in the running to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest when it comes to the UK. A shortlist of seven cities has been announced, including Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. Hower, London and Belfast are among those that will not be considered for the event, which is to be [...]
The over-hyped madness of the metaverse and the forgotten value of video August 11, 2022 The metaverse and Virtual Reality have had the weight of a number of large big technology companies behind it in the last year, spearheaded by the likes of Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. Not only did the industry see its proliferation increase substantially over the pandemic, but the hype has yet to deter, particularly with speculation [...]