If television is dying, British advertisers have yet to hear the message. Spending on TV advertising in the UK will surge 9 per cent this year to £4.2bn, according to forecasts by GroupM
BT has made its most serious foray into television drama, signing an exclusive deal to carry the British channel of US network AMC
The fast growth of streaming services and pay-TV are “challenging the very premise of mandatory fees”, according to a study by PwC.
BSkyB, now (again) re-named Sky, has had a remarkable quarter-century – and not only with its pioneering and innovative coverage of British football. It owns and operates the UK’s largest portfolio of pay TV channels across entertainment, sports, movies – and also news. For the full blog read Flashes&Flames
Those visiting other European countries may not have to worry about missing television from UK-only services such as BBC iPlayer if the EU has its way. The European Commission is proposing a new ‘digital single market’ in a bid to loosen all catch-up provider restrictions when someone ventures off home turf.
WPP chief says the on-demand service needs other sources of revenue to help fund its $4bn-plus content budget For the full story read the Guardian
Sky’s UK operation added 127,000 new customers in the company’s third quarter, a 41% increase year on year and the best rate of growth in 11 years for that three month period. For the full story read The Guardian
According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), Netflix streaming has increased 350% during the last 10 quarters
The UK commercial broadcaster said that net advertising revenues would grow 11 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015 — slightly above analysts’ estimates, boosted by spending being brought forward due to the UK general election. In 2014, ad revenues rose 6 per cent to £1.6bn
Premier League clubs are celebrating another huge windfall after competition between BT and Sky drove the overall value of the live TV rights to more than £5.14bn over three seasons.
That deal would give BT the ability to offer customers a “quad play” package of home phone, broadband, TV and mobile
Sky is facing the strongest competition in its 25-year history — with telecoms groups BT and Liberty Global on one flank, and online challengers such as Netflix and Google, on the other. In the past three years, its shares have underperformed all of those rivals
In the US online video services would be guaranteed access to the most popular television shows under new rules proposed by the head of the US communications watchdog which risk undermining the business models of cable companies and broadcasters. And perhaps the UK next! For the full story read FT.Com
According to the FT today ITV has intensified its calls for BSkyB and Virgin Media to pay millions of pounds to carry its channels, saying that this type of payment model had helped to create a “golden age” of US television. For the full story read FT.com
TalkSport owner UTV Media’s pre-tax profits jumped more than 60% to £10m in the first half, thanks to a World Cup ad spend boost and an improving economy. For the full story read The Guardian
According to the Financial Times Australia is planning its most radical shake-up of media ownership laws in two decades in a move that could lead to billions of dollars of mergers and reshape an industry in financial distress. For the full story read The FT
Broadcasters aim to secure future of free-to-air service on smart-TVs in move that could challenge YouView platform
Entertainment One will pay its first dividend, after the Peppa Pig distributor sharply increased profits in the wake of a North American acquisition
TV and film-streaming company plans expansion as operations outside key US market make loss of $35m in first quarter
Fifty years ago this week, a 35-year-old former passenger ferry was being equipped with a 165-foot radio mast in the tiny Irish port of Greenore, while its crew bought up the entire stock of a small record shop in nearby Dundalk
