Culture secretary denies attack on BBC as she hints at wider broadcaster review February 5, 2020 Culture secretary Nicky Morgan has denied the government is launching an attack on the BBC as she hinted at a wider review of public service broadcasters. Morgan today launched a public consultation on whether to decriminalise non-payment of the TV licence fee amid a shift in viewing habits fuelled by the rise of streaming services [...]
New John Lewis boss makes first key hire February 4, 2020 Former Ofcom boss Sharon White has made her first key hire as she takes over as chairman of struggling department store John Lewis. Nina Bhatia has been appointed executive director of strategy and commercial development following a reshuffle of the partnership’s structure. Bhatia, who was most recently managing director at home energy management company Hive [...]
Sky urges Ofcom to take action against public service broadcasters February 2, 2020 Sky has urged the broadcasting regulator to take action against ITV and Channel 5, saying the channels benefit from too much “government support”. Ofcom, the communications regulator, allows public service broadcasters – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – certain benefits in return for them making programmes that benefit the public. However, paid-for [...]
Government’s Huawei 5G cap will cost BT £500m January 30, 2020 BT today warned the government’s decision to cap Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G network will cost the telecoms giant £500m over the next five years. BT welcomed the “clarity” provided by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to enforce a 35 per cent cap on Huawei’s 5G involvement. But CEO Philip Jansen today warned of [...]
City Moves for 29 January – Who’s switching jobs at TalkTalk, Countryside and SDL? January 29, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes TalkTalk, Countryside and SDL TalkTalk TalkTalk has hired the former BBC journalist and campaign strategist, Lucy Thomas, as director of corporate affairs. Lucy joins from the communications agency, Edelman, where she was senior director, leading campaigns and advising major brands like Uber, Sainsbury’s and Coca Cola on corporate reputation, PR, political [...]
Vodafone ranked ‘worst’ UK mobile and broadband provider January 24, 2020 Vodafone is the UK’s most complained about provider for broadband, landline and mobile, according to regulator Ofcom. The firm topped the broadband complaint charts for the second quarter in a row, between July and September last year. The Ofcom report said thousands of customers had complained to them regarding the supplier’s poor customer service, faulty [...]
Government confirms probe into Daily Mail takeover of i newspaper January 22, 2020 The government today confirmed that it will launch an investigation into the Daily Mail’s £50m takeover of the i newspaper amid public interest concerns. Culture secretary Nicky Morgan has issued a public interest intervention notice over fears the tie-up will impact the “sufficient plurality of viewpoints” in UK newspapers. The notice will spark a report [...]
Former BBC boss warns licence fee overhaul would ‘delegitimise’ service January 19, 2020 The former director general of the BBC has warned that any move to overhaul the licence fee would “delegitimise” the broadcaster. Mark Thompson, who left the BBC in 2012 to take over as chief executive of the New York Times, said proposals to decriminalise no-payment of the licence fee would have a “pretty negative” impact [...]
Sky boss calls for ‘urgency’ over social media regulation January 16, 2020 The UK should “inject some urgency” into its plans for a new internet regulator due to the societal damage caused by unchecked internet platforms, the boss of Sky has said. Jeremy Darroch called for ministers to tackle so-called online harms, warning that the “promise of self-regulation hasn’t worked”. “We only need to look back to [...]
Outgoing John Lewis boss Paula Nickolds in line for £750,000 payoff January 12, 2020 The outgoing managing director of John Lewis Partnership is in line for a £750,000 payoff. Paula Nickolds announced her departure last week following the company’s profit warning, just three months after being appointed as the partnership’s head of brand. The Sunday Times reported that Nickolds was offered a payoff at the time of the restructuring, [...]