Ofcom flooded with GB News complaints amid advertising boycott June 17, 2021 Ofcom has been hit with a flood of complaints over GB News’ opening night, piling pressure on the channel amid an advertising boycott. The media watchdog received 373 complaints about a programme hosted by Dan Wootton on Sunday night. During a monologue in his inaugural show, the former Sun executive editor railed against Covid lockdowns, [...]
UK to roll out new TV streaming rules in boost for broadcasters June 14, 2021 The government is said to be preparing new rules that would force tech firms such as Amazon and Samsung to give greater prominence to public broadcasters. Legislation being finalised by Whitehall officials will guarantee that public service broadcasters (PSB) such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are easy to access on smart TVs, the [...]
GB News launch tops ratings despite technical glitches June 14, 2021 GB News raked in bumper viewer numbers for its eagerly-awaited launch last night, eclipsing its news rivals despite a string of technical glitches. The channel, which went live last night with a special welcome programme, pulled in average viewing figures of 164,400 between 7pm and 11pm, equivalent to a 1.1 per cent share. This beat [...]
Will rapid delivery apps maintain post-pandemic momentum? June 12, 2021 Since the pandemic began, a slurry of quick delivery apps have emerged with the same promise to deliver food within 30 minutes, while the pandemic made supermarkets an even more costly chore. The pandemic pushed the pedal on rapid delivery apps like Weezy, Dija, Getir and Gorillas – a sector where a huge amount of [...]
John Lewis exclusive: ’40 per cent of our profits will come from non-retail by 2030′ June 11, 2021 High Street giant John Lewis looks back on a difficult year. In March, the 157-year old partnership announced it would not reopen eight stores after lockdown restrictions eased, putting almost 1,500 jobs at risk. The value of John Lewis stores dropped to almost half the value they were before this year’s and last year’s writedowns, due [...]
Ofcom: Pandemic pushes UK to spend over £110bn online for the first time June 9, 2021 The UK’s adults, after spending more time online than other European countries, have racked up a digital shopping bill of more than £110bn for the first time since records began. With more time spent in front of desktops, smartphones or tablets in 2020 than in other European countries, more than 3.5 hours a day Ofcom [...]
Ofcom boss recruitment to be rerun as Paul Dacre runs afoul of big tech May 27, 2021 The process to select the next chair of the UK’s media regulator will be rerun amid big tech complaints about the potential appointment of former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has written to the Public Appointments Commissioner to restart the process to decide who should take OfCom’s top chair, according to [...]
EU set to open antitrust probe into Facebook’s classified ads business May 26, 2021 The EU is said to be on the brink of opening a formal antitrust investigation into Facebook following complaints from rivals about the platform’s classified ads business. Regulators have already sent questions to Facebook and its competitors asking whether the social media site distorted the classified ads market by promoting its Marketplace services for free [...]
Instagram for kids: Boss defends plans for new under-13s app May 26, 2021 The boss of Instagram has defended his company’s plans to develop a new version of the app for under-13s, saying it could help protect children from online harms. Earlier this year it emerged Facebook was working on a spin-off version of the popular photo-sharing app targeting a younger demographic. Currently the platform does not allow [...]
Facebook and Google lobby UK to block Paul Dacre as Ofcom chair May 25, 2021 Facebook and Google are said to have ramped up their lobbying of the UK government amid fears Paul Dacre could be appointed as the next chair of Ofcom. Dacre, the former editor of Daily Mail, has been tipped as the frontrunner to lead the UK’s media watchdog. He is one of four final candidates set [...]