ITV execs in the frame for C4’s top job September 16, 2009 TWO ITV executives were yesterday being hotly tipped to succeed Andy Duncan as chief executive of Channel 4 (C4) when he steps down later this year. Peter Fincham, ITV’s director of television, and John Cresswell, the commercial broadcaster’s chief operating officer, are both believed to be favourites for the high-profile role. C4’s Duncan ended months [...]
Ofcom lifts rules on BT sales September 15, 2009 OFCOM said yesterday that it will remove the last piece of regulation that has prevented BT from selling discounted fixed-line voice, broadband and TV packages. Other network providers – such as Virgin Media, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse’s TalkTalk – are already able to offer reduced rates to customers who take more than one of their [...]
BBC iPlayer to be regulated September 14, 2009 Ofcom said yesterday that video on demand (VOD) programming, such as the BBC’s iPlayer, will be regulated from December. The regulation would be handled by the Association for Television on Demand, and the Advertising Standards Authority would be responsible for commercial issues.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES DELANCEY EYES CINEMASDelancey, the property fund backed by George Soros, is in exclusive talks to buy the UK property assets of National Amusements, the cinema chain owned by Sumner Redstone, the US media magnate. This is expected to be the first big acquisition for the fund. MYER’S A$3BN IPO SET TO BE AUSTRALIA’S [...]
At last: some competition for the BBC’s iPlayer September 3, 2009 WHEN the BBC released its iPlayer at the tail-end of 2007, few expected it to be such a runaway success. But according to Ofcom, a staggering 15 per cent of consumers with a broadband connection – or some 5.2m people – now regularly use the iPlayer to catch up with BBC shows. To put these [...]
Ofcom hunts for C4 chairman August 19, 2009 Ofcom has appointed headhunter Zygos Partnership to search for a successor to Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson, whose tenure ends in January 2010 after six years. An ad for the job will be placed next month, and the watchdog hopes to have someone in place in time for Johnson’s departure. State-owned Channel 4 is still [...]
The big kick-off is a blackout for some August 13, 2009 WITH the football season starting in earnest tomorrow, ESPN, the Disney-owned broadcaster, is proudly trumpeting its coverage on all four pay television platforms, BSkyB, Virgin Media, BT Vision and Top-Up TV. ESPN, which has taken over the rights to 46 live Premier League matches from the now defunct Setanta, agreed deals with all the main [...]
Top Up TV signs deal with ESPN to broadcast Premier League football August 4, 2009 TOP UP TV, the media group that offers premium content to Freeview, yesterday signed a carriage deal with ESPN to show top football this season and signalled that it hoped to offer subscribers Sky Sports 1 & 2 by the end of the first half of next year. Top Up founder and former BSkyB stalwart [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UK ATTORNEY GENERAL VOWS FRAUD CRACKDOWNBritain aims to become the most hostile country in the world to fraudsters, the government’s top law officer has pledged, in an eye-catching riposte to growing criticism about the lack of big financial crime cases being mounted. Baroness Scotland, attorney-general, said domestic investigation agencies would soon be giving [...]
High definition lifts earnings at BSkyB July 30, 2009 SHARES in BSkyB rose yesterday after the broadcaster posted a surge in full-year pre-tax profit, driven by record levels of new subscriptions as cash-strapped customers stayed at home. The dominant pay-TV firm said that its customer base had grown at its fastest rate for five years – with the addition of 462,000 subscribers over the [...]