South Korea set to crack down on Apple and Google over app charges August 24, 2021 South Korea is poised to block Apple and Google from charging commission on in-app purchases in what could be the first such move by regulators around the world. The parliament’s legislation and judiciary committee is today expected to approve legal changes that will ban app store operators with dominant market positions from forcing certain payment [...]
Anti-vaccine protesters storm ITN headquarters August 23, 2021 Anti-vaccine protesters have stormed the London headquarters of ITN, the production giant that produces news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Footage posted on social media showed dozens of anti-vaxxers in the reception of ITN’s offices on Grays Inn Road. An image shared by ITV journalist Dan Rivers also showed large numbers of [...]
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit to go public through $3.2bn Spac deal August 23, 2021 Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit will go public through a blank-cheque deal that values the company at $3.2bn (£2.3bn), it confirmed today. The small satellite launch firm will merge with special purpose acquisition company (Spac) NextGen Acquisition Corp. The deal also includes $100m of so-called Pipe (private investment in public equity) funding from backers including [...]
JD.com revenue jumps as pandemic boosts online shopping August 23, 2021 Chinese retailer JD.com has beaten expectations for second-quarter sales as the pandemic continues to drive up demand for online shopping. The tech giant reported a 26 per cent rise in net revenue to 253.8bn yuan (£28.6bn) in the three months to the end of June, beating analyst consensus of 249.27bn yuan. Sales in its product [...]
Currys PC World launches flexible mobile plan amid brand overhaul August 23, 2021 Currys PC World is looking to win over customers with a focus on flexibility as it launches a new mobile offering amid a major brand overhaul by owner Dixons Carphone. The retailer today unveiled a new mobile offer allowing customers to build their own package of handsets, data and minutes, as well as bundling together [...]
BBC set to tap Jess Brammar as news chief despite ‘bias’ row August 23, 2021 The BBC is poised to appoint Jess Brammar as its new head of news despite an online backlash against so-called ‘left-wing’ views. Brammar, former editor-in-chief of Huffpost UK and previously deputy editor of Newsnight, is expected to be appointed to a new role overseeing the broadcaster’s news output. It comes despite criticisms that the news [...]
Channel 4 launches real-time digital ad bidding amid privatisation threat August 23, 2021 Channel 4 is rolling out technology that will allow advertisers to bid for ad space on its streaming service in real time as the state-owned broadcaster battles the threat of privatisation. The Gogglebox broadcaster has launched a new platform that enables ad space to be auctioned in milliseconds across All 4’s 14,500 hours of programming. [...]
Ocean Outdoor lands £30m Canary Wharf advertising contract August 23, 2021 Advertising group Ocean Outdoor has secured a lucrative contract to operate out-of-home media services for Canary Wharf Group. London-listed Ocean has renewed its deal to run digital screens and billboards in the financial hub, landing a new long-term contract worth £30m. The agreement means the company will retain exclusive rights to sell 40 full-motion digital [...]
Mitie offloads document management business in £40m deal August 23, 2021 Mitie today said it has agreed to sell its document management business to Swiss Post Solutions (SPS) for £40m. Mitie Document Management pulled in revenue of £48m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £4.2m in the year to the end of March. The FTSE outsourcing group, which operates cleaning and security for [...]
WPP snaps up delivery tech firm Satalia in AI push August 23, 2021 WPP has snapped up a London-based tech firm specialising in home delivery services in a move that will boost the ad giant’s artificial intelligence offering. The FTSE media group today said it had acquired Satalia, which is one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies and serves major clients such as BT, Tesco and Unilever. Following [...]
