Garden furniture prices spike ahead of another summer of garden-crawling June 21, 2021 With Covid-19 hammering hospitality spaces, garden furniture has soared in popularity in the last year, while the UK braces for another summer of garden-crawling instead of the typical pub routes. While there are still restrictions on visiting pubs and homes, many will be opting for garden gatherings over pub crawls this summer, much like the [...]
Lina Khan: How America’s answer to Margrethe Vestager plans to take on Big Tech June 16, 2021 Since taking over as European Commissioner for Competition in 2014, Margrethe Vestager has made her mission clear: to crack down on the ballooning power of Big Tech. The ruthless competition czar has undoubtedly delivered on those ambitions, handing down high-profile fines running into the tens of billions of euros against the likes of Facebook, Apple, [...]
UK to roll out new TV streaming rules in boost for broadcasters June 14, 2021 The government is said to be preparing new rules that would force tech firms such as Amazon and Samsung to give greater prominence to public broadcasters. Legislation being finalised by Whitehall officials will guarantee that public service broadcasters (PSB) such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are easy to access on smart TVs, the [...]
Peak times: Ticket for space trip with Jeff Bezos sells for $28m June 14, 2021 A mystery bidder has splashed out $28m (£20m) for a ticket to travel to space with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. The sky-high bid was made at a live phone auction on Saturday, concluding a lengthy bidding process for a seat on the maiden voyage of the billionaire’s Blue Origin company. Bids reached $20m within four [...]
Screenshot: How did a software glitch break the internet? June 11, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Motty goes off the rails **How did a software glitch break the internet? **BT’s bolt from the blue Media Moment of the Week: Motty goes off the rails Look, everyone loves John Motson. He’s a juggernaut of football broadcasting and I don’t have a bad word to say [...]
UK competition watchdog ‘to probe Amazon buy box’ June 10, 2021 The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is planning to formally investigate competition at Amazon, according to reports this morning. The investigation comes amid a similar ongoing one by the EU into Amazon. The UK competition watchdog, which has been analysing the online retailer for months, has focused on how Amazon uses data collected on its [...]
A third of gig economy couriers and delivery drivers have no savings June 9, 2021 Around 30 per cent of gig economy drivers, riders and couriers across Europe had no savings in the first half of 2021. Almost half of the 10,000 workers surveyed had experienced a claimable event such as an accident. Of these, only 12 per cent had actually made a claim and 69 per cent had a [...]
Screenshot: Is Channel 4 facing a Great British Sell-Off? June 4, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Baby Musk (Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo) **Is Channel 4 facing a Great British Sell-Off? **Etsy dials into Gen Z fashion Media Moment of the Week: Baby Musk (Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo) It’s fair to say Elon Musk has a bit of a reputation for [...]
New tech regulation mustn’t be allowed to stifle innovation June 3, 2021 There is scarcely any market that could not be described as digital in 2021. In ten years time, the phrase ‘digital market’ will be, effectively, redundant. We should be concerned, then, by the creation of a powerful new regulator with a remit to cover all ‘digital markets’. Read more: UK says any global tax deal [...]
Amazon to dethrone both Tesco and Sainsbury as UK’s largest retailers within four years June 3, 2021 Amazon is to overtake Tesco as the UK’s largest retailer within the next four years, with sales expected to hit more than £77bn by 2025, according to new research, shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning. Last year, Amazon UK’s total sales were £36.3bn while Tesco’s sales were almost double at £64bn. However, by 2025, [...]