IT’S A NEW CHANNEL, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
WITH viewers of Virgin Media unable to watch Sky’s new flagship channel Sky Atlantic because of a failure of the two groups to agree on price, chief executive Neil Berkett and his team were keen to downplay its attractions yesterday.
Berkett described the channel as “completely unproven” while a colleague somewhat contemptuously chipped in to say its schedule contained a good few Star Trek shows as well as the newer blockbusters.
The Capitalist was curious. All the Sky ads highlight new shows such as Boardwalk Empire or the new series of Mad Men featuring Donald Draper (pictured bottom right), with not a sniff of Star Trek Voyager in sight. Even Sky’s press office tried to put us off the case, initially denying a Star Trek presence.
But a look at the schedules, helpfully provided by a rather apologetic Sky press office, shows Star Trek showing three times a day, seven days a week – at seven in the morning, 12 o’clock and five in the afternoon.
And with the Voyager’s journey home from 1 Delta Quadrant set to take around 75 years, Sky may well be able to furnish its daytime schedule with further episodes for years to come.
AUTOGRAPH HUNTING
With all the interest in the new financial watchdog team revealed yesterday, one rather important move has been rather overlooked.
After six years in the role, the Bank of England’s chief cashier, Andrew Bailey, is moving to the Financial Services Authority to become deputy head of its prudential business unit.
If you’re thinking so what, then open your wallet, dig out a bank note and look very carefully at the signature printed on it – Bailey has been the man faithfully promising to “pay the bearer on demand the sum of…” since 2004.
Stepping into the role as of 1 April will be Chris Salmon, who has been head of the sterling markets division since 2009.
Though The Capitalist was desperate to bring you a preview of the brand new seal, the Bank of England press office had to decline – though goodness knows what it thought we might attempt to do with it.
But those concerned about the change needn’t worry – The Capitalist has been assured that Mr Salmon is busy practising an artistic scrawl in preparation for his crucial new role.
A CITY EXODUS?
The administrators of London website escapethecity.org made an interesting discovery last week. Analytics for the site – which helps City executives find exciting opportunities outside the Square Mile – have revealed which company intranet was registering the most hits on its site. And apparently accountants working in the City are the least fulfilled by their jobs, with the Big Four firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KMPG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young taking the one to four spots in the top 10.
Of the remaining six places, five were taken by banks, with just one law firm filling in the blank – the Magic Circle’s Allen & Overy.
But firms needn’t worry that their high-fliers are deserting them for competitors. Testimonials from satisfied customers show they’ve ended up in Nepal, the Gobi desert, and even the wilds of Hammersmith – working for Innocent Smoothies.