Global signs Love Island podcast deal with ITV June 4, 2019 Media giant Global has secured a two-year deal to host ITV podcasts on its Global Player app and promote them across its radio stations. Global, which is the UK’s largest commercial radio company, will acquire a string of hit podcasts including Love Island: The Morning After, which coincides with the return of ITV’s wildly-popular reality [...]
Shares in car manual publisher Haynes soar as it eyes sharp profit growth June 4, 2019 Shares in Haynes Publishing Group jumped as much as 11 per cent this morning after it forecast a sharp rise in full-year profit. Read more: Haynes shares soar as growing digital business boosts half-year results Haynes, the publisher behind the famous car repair manuals, said it expected pre-tax profit to rise roughly 24 per cent [...]
First Group launches searing attack on ‘opportunistic’ activist investor June 4, 2019 Transport giant First Group has hit back at an activist investor trying to oust six of its board members, describing it as an “opportunistic, self-interested player that is only focused on short-term gains”. In a searing attack First Group has slammed US hedge fund Coast Capital for its “scatter-gun, inconsistent and unusual proposals” and warned [...]
Shares in Kcom jump as it backs £563m Macquarie takeover bid June 3, 2019 Shares in Hull-based broadband firm Kcom have jumped more than 12 per cent after it unveiled a £563m takeover bid from investment bank Macquarie. Kcom’s board had last month said it backed an offer of 97p per share from the trustees of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension fund. Read more: Shares in telecoms firm Kcom [...]
Crackdown on junk food adverts ‘will damage’ broadcasters and advertisers June 3, 2019 The government’s plan to crack down on junk food TV advertising is an “irrelevant symbolic gesture” that will damage business for broadcasters and advertisers, a damning new report has warned. Media research firm Enders Analysis said plans to ban TV adverts for unhealthy food will not tackle the issue of childhood obesity and will cause [...]
Global video-on-demand subscriptions set to near 1bn by 2024 June 3, 2019 Global subscriptions of on-demand video platforms are set to surge towards 1bn over the next five years, new figures have revealed. The total number of subscriptions will soar 86 per cent from 439m last year to 947m in 2024, according to London-based firm Digital TV Research. Read more: Live TV still holds top spot despite [...]
Huawei to sell undersea cable business amid trade feud with US June 3, 2019 Huawei is set to sell its undersea telecoms cable business to a Chinese fibre optic cable manufacturer in the troubled tech firm’s first major deal since the escalation in its feud with the US. In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, cable giant Hengtong Optic-Electric said it had signed a letter of intent with [...]
Firms to make it easier for mobile and broadband customers to switch June 3, 2019 Broadband, phone and pay TV companies have signed up to a string of new measures that will ensure customers are treated fairly, as regulator Ofcom continues its crackdown on poor customer service. BT, Vodafone, O2 and Sky are among the companies that have committed to helping customers get a good deal and switch providers easily [...]
German chipmaker Infineon buys rival Cypress for €9bn June 3, 2019 German chipmaker Infineon has signed a deal to snap up US rival Cypress Semiconductor for €9bn (£8bn) as it looks to fight back against a slowdown in the chip industry. Infineon said it will pay $23.85 per share for the company, marking a 46 per cent premium on Cypress’s 30-day average share price. Read more: [...]
Rise in customers with multiple current accounts as fintech boom hits high street banks June 3, 2019 An increasing number of Britons now have products from a range of different financial providers, as the rise in fintech has shifted the focus away from traditional high street banks. Research by peer-to-peer lending firm Zopa revealed one in three Brits holds two or more current accounts, an increase of 36 per cent on the [...]
