The Independent claims $1bn valuation as it hails ‘unicorn’ status March 5, 2020 The Independent today posted its third consecutive year of profit thanks to a successful shift to digital, prompting its chairman to hail its “unicorn” status. The newspaper’s turnover grew nine per cent to £27m in the last financial year, while advertising revenue grew 10 per cent. Operating profit for the year was £2.3m, down from [...]
WPP snaps up data science firm Sandtable as it doubles down on tech March 5, 2020 WPP today said it has acquired data science company Sandtable as the ailing advertising giant looks to shift its focus to tech. The holding group said it had acquired the London-based firm through its Group M media division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sandtable, which was founded in 2009, specialises in behavioural analytics, [...]
BBC must avoid ‘narrow urban outlook’, warns new culture secretary March 5, 2020 The BBC must avoid a “narrow urban outlook” if it is to survive in the modern media landscape, the new culture secretary has warned. In his first major attack on the broadcaster, Oliver Dowden took aim at the BBC’s perceived bias and its failure to reflect the whole of the UK. “If we’re all honest, [...]
Coronavirus: ITV shares fall as travel firms pull advertising March 5, 2020 Coronavirus has hurt 2020 demand for ITV advertising as travel operators stopped booking ads with the broadcaster, but it has posted better than expected earnings for 2019. MGM and Universal’s decision yesterday to delay the release of the next James Bond movie, No Time To Die, from April to November due to the coronavirus outbreak, [...]
A Flu to a Kill: James Bond film No Time To Die delayed over coronavirus March 4, 2020 The release date of the eagerly-anticipated new James Bond film has been pushed back seven months due to the coronavirus. No Time To Die, which will feature Daniel Craig in his final appearance as 007, was due to be released in the UK on 2 April. But a statement released today on the dapper spy’s [...]
Global signs outdoor advertising deal with BT March 4, 2020 Media group Global today said it has inked a deal with BT to operate outdoor advertising on the telecoms giant’s street furniture across the UK. The new three-year deal covers print and digital advertising across the network, which includes 17,500 traditional telephone boxed, 500 payphone and 500 digital street units. The agreement will also cover [...]
Cathay Pacific fined £500,000 over data protection breach March 4, 2020 Cathay Pacific has been fined £500,000 by the data watchdog for failing to secure its customers’ personal information. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) today said the airline’s computer systems lacked appropriate security measures to protect customers’ personal details. As a result, roughly 9.4m passengers’ data was exposed between 2014 and 2018, 111,578 of whom were [...]
Spitting Image to return after 24 years following Britbox commission March 4, 2020 Spitting Image will return to UK screens 24 years after it was taken off air, as streaming service Britbox named the hit puppet show as its first original commission. The Bafta award-winning TV show, which first appeared in 1984, has earmarked a string of contemporary targets for its satire, including the Duke and Duchess of [...]
US senators urge MPs to rethink Huawei 5G decision March 4, 2020 A group of senior US senators has written to MPs urging them to rethink the UK’s decision to allow Huawei to help build its 5G networks. Twenty senators, including both Democrats and Republicans, expressed “significant” concern with the decision, citing “significant security, privacy and economic threats”. In January the government gave Huawei the green light [...]
Watchdog bans face mask ads over coronavirus ‘scaremongering’ March 4, 2020 The advertising watchdog has launched a crackdown against two face mask manufacturers for using “scaremongering” to promote their products amid the coronavirus outbreak. Novads OU advertised its Oxybreath Pro mask on the Scottish Sun website, while Easy Shopping 4 Home used Amazon to promote its disposable face mask. The Oxybreath advert, which was littered with [...]
