Desmond’s Channel Five revolution August 11, 2010 THE inevitable bloodbath occurred at Richard Desmond’s newly acquired Channel Five yesterday as seven directors and more than a quarter of the 300 employees were given their marching orders. The Northern & Shell and Express Group owner has promised further cost savings at the loss-making broadcaster but also an expansion of the programming budget to [...]
GUARDIAN DRAGS ITS HEELS OVER RENEWING HAY SPONSORSHIP DEAL August 11, 2010 WHAT with an enthusiastic push into online investment, a string of ill-advised private equity deals and a move to swanky new offices at Kings Cross, it appears more traditional stalwarts of the Guardian’s extra-curricular programme could be coming under threat. A little bird tells The Capitalist that the newspaper’s long-standing sponsorship of the Hay literary [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 10, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HIGH COURT RULES INVESTOR BROKE BUY-OUT FUND CONTRACT An important precedent for the private equity industry has been set by a High Court ruling that Robert Adair, chairman of oil group Melrose Resources, breached a contract by refusing to put more money into Advantage Capital’s buy-out fund. Adair, who owns more than half [...]
Taking on Sky is a risky Vision for BT August 9, 2010 INthe run up to the new football season there is a fascinating encounter taking place off the field as BT Vision tries to take on the might of BSkyB in the showing of live football. BT Vision, boosted by a ruling from the regulator on the price that Sky can sell its sports channels to [...]
BT says sports package has a good take-up August 9, 2010 FIRST blood was drawn by Manchester United against bitter rivals Chelsea in the new football season last weekend. But a battle of equally epic proportions is heating up off the pitch, with BT claiming its new sports package, which is significantly undercutting Sky, is building momentum. BT Vision chief executive Marc Watson told City A.M. [...]
Sky has already seen off challenges from rivals Setanta and ITV Digital August 9, 2010 BT SAYS its sports offering is the first step in an aggressive expansion into pay-TV it hopes will eat away at Sky’s dominance of the market (at last count Sky was tantalisingly close to 10m subscribers, while BT is languishing with less than 500,000). But BT would do well to bear in mind the cautionary [...]
FIT IN THE CITY August 9, 2010 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT Make sure you use those all-important minutes at the gym as efficiently as possible to get the most out of that lunchtime workout. Forget endless reps Research has shown that doing any more than 15-20 reps is a waste of time – you need to be failing at your 20th rep [...]
Virgin Media set to sell its stake in UKTV August 8, 2010 VIRGIN Media is poised to sell its stake in UKTV, the digital broadcaster it jointly owns with BBC Worldwide. Chief executive Neil Berkett expects to net at least £350m from the sale of the firm’s 50 per cent share, as he seeks to offload non-core assets and focus on Virgin Media’s cable business. Berkett is [...]
Get shirty with the tailor August 5, 2010 THE difference between an off-the-peg suit and one that’s been properly tailored is usually pretty easy to spot – the latter will have a better fit, smarter hang and finer structure at the very least. It’ll also be more comfortable for the wearer, and should contribute to their confidence and poise – a tailor would [...]
Rain is England’s main worry for second Test August 5, 2010 ENGLAND vs PAKISTAN TODAY, 11.00AM SKY SPORTS 1 FINISHING early is not always the sign of a job well done. England can argue, though, that they put in a marvellous shift before ending the first Test against Pakistan prior to lunch on day four of five at Trent Bridge. In a fine Three Lions performance, [...]