Ebooks lead to growth at Bloomsbury January 16, 2012 THE CHRISTMAS boost in e-reader sales led to a strong quarter for Bloomsbury, the London-based publisher, which reported significant growth in its digital department. For the September to December period inclusive, Bloomsbury saw a 38 per cent increase in ebook sales compared to the same quarter the previous year. Over a million electronic reading devices [...]
A trite portrayal of war, and a horse that (gasp!) can’t act January 12, 2012 Film WAR HORSE Cert: 12A ** WAR Horse, Stephen Spielberg’s latest, shouldn’t be a film about horses, but it is. As a film, in which a boy’s beloved horse is sold to war and passes through the hands of a series of owners all caught up in war, it did nothing for me. Horses cannot [...]
Blockbusters boost Cineworld January 5, 2012 Movie giants such as The King’s Speech, the latest Harry Potter instalment and Twilight helped UK cinema chain Cineworld post a revenue increase of 1.5 per cent last year. While suffering sales of 3D glasses and a fall in screen advertising will bring other income down, Cineworld is looking at a rise of 2.7 per [...]
Paramount at peak of world film industry January 3, 2012 MOVIE maker Paramount Pictures has been crowned the world’s number one film studio as it enters the year of its 100th anniversary, beating old favourite Warner Bros to the coveted top spot. America’s oldest existing film studio amassed a record $5.17bn (£3.3bn) in 2011, $1.96bn of which was in North America, with a further $3.21bn [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES Evraz raises prospect of Severstal merger Evraz has raised the possibility of a merger with Severstal in a deal that would unite Russia’s two biggest steelmakers to create the world’s eighth-largest producer by output, with a combined market capitalisation of £12bn. Alexander Abramov, Evraz’s chairman and founder, said in an interview with the [...]
Tesco makes new push into online movies December 1, 2011 CUSTOMERS who buy a DVD from Tesco will also be able to watch the film online in a new venture launched by video-on-demand website Blinkbox and the supermarket giant. This is the first time a major retailer has bundled a material product with its digital version, in a sign that DVDs are becoming increasingly obsolete. [...]
Great deals meet a good cause in the Red Cross Christmas Market November 24, 2011 WHAT better way to get your Christmas shopping done than tying it in with a good cause – and a nice dose of history. Next week, the Red Cross Christmas Market at London’s Guildhall provides a fabulous, multi-dimensional chance to get the best out of the season, whether it’s art, craft or other goodies – [...]
Episode 36: Money, Money, Money November 14, 2011 Emma: You’ve given Nick £50,000. David: Lent. Not given. Emma: His business is going bust. David: It’s not going bust. It’s a cash flow issue. Emma: “Cash flow issue”? Don’t you people ever learn anything? David: What do you mean, “you people”? Emma: Masters of the Universe. Financial Harry Potters. Bankers, David. Isn’t this the [...]
HARRY POTTER HELPS TIME WARNER PROFITS November 2, 2011 TIME Warner’s film division has had its best quarter ever, with revenues growing by 19 per cent and profits improving by a whopping 153 per cent, largely due to the success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Overall, Time Warner reported $822m (£515m) in profits, up from $522m last year, and $7.1bn [...]
Harry Potter publisher sees profits surge October 27, 2011 HARRY Potter publisher Bloomsbury posted a 52 per cent rise in its first-half profits after sales of ebooks went through the roof. The firm saw digital sales increase by almost six-fold to £2.5m, jumping to 5.5 per cent of the group’s overall sales. Pre-tax profit beat expectations to hit £2.2m for the half, compared with [...]