NEWSLETTER

The Total Media weekly newsletter brought to you by Pedro's Team

PRESS

The Sun on Sunday has lost a quarter of its sales since launch, according to ABC figures, with the tabloid newspaper averaging a circulation of 2.43 million in March. News International made the announcement on 19^th February that it was going to launch a Sunday edition of The Sun, and the one edition that was sold during the ABC's February audit had a circulation of 3,213,613. Although the Daily Star Sunday recorded the biggest year-on-year rise in circulation in March, the launch of The Sun in February appears to have hit the paper’s circulation. Both the Sunday Mirror and The People have also lost around a third of their circulation between February and March. (Source: Media Week) 

The Independent is to raise its cover price by 20p to £1.20 next Monday, stating that the pressures of increasing costs for transportation, production and newsprint are the cause of the increase. The change will bring The Independent in line with The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, which recently raised their cover prices to £1.20. The cover price of the Independent's Saturday edition will remain at £1.60. (Source: Media Week)

Amuse, a free monthly fashion lifestyle targeting affluent women readers in London, is launching on 30^th April with a print run of 120,000. The magazine will be distributed to commuters at 75 central London tube stations, and 20,000 copies will be available for self-selection in a variety of health clubs, city offices and first class airport lounges. Amuse will offer a mixture of arts and culture, fashion and beauty, shopping and lifestyle, all with a focus on what's happening in the heart of the city. Alongside print, the offering will include digital and social media, as well as an app due to launch in September. (Source: Media Week)

TELEVISION

GMG Radio closed its Manchester-based local TV station Channel M this week, blaming the Government's plans for local TV for failing to provide a structure that would have enabled it to provide a "commercially viable" service. GMG Radio said in a statement that it had closed Channel M after 12 years of broadcasting, after concluding it "could not provide a commercially viable quality service within the new Government structure for local television within the UK". There has been no new content on Channel M since GMG Radio took over the channel in March 2010, following the sale of the bulk of GMG Regional Media, including the Manchester Evening News, to Trinity Mirror. Instead, the channel has been broadcasting archive material, content supplied by the Community Channel, material supplied by local academic institutions, and video and audio feeds from GMG Radio's Real Radio, along with text news, travel and weather. (Source: Media Week)

BBC talent show 'The Voice' had a bigger average audience than ITV and Simon Cowell's 'Britain's Got Talent' for the second week running on Saturday, although 'Britain's Got Talent' had a larger peak audience. The Voice’ attracted an average audience of 10.68 million viewers, a massive 45.5% share of the TV-watching public, between 7pm and 8.20pm on BBC One and BBC One HD on Saturday night. The programme is gaining momentum, having attracted an audience of 9.54 million last week and 8.43 million on its launch on 26 March. A new take on the talent-show format, ‘The Voice’ judges Tom Jones, Jessie J, Will.i.am and Danny O'Donoghue decide whether to take the contestants through to the next round without seeing what they look like. (Source: Brand Ocean)

DIGITAL

Google Currents, the internet giant's social reader application, has launched in the UK. Google Currents can be downloaded through Google Play (previously known as the Android Market) and the Apple App Store. Users then subscribe to receive updates from a range of publishers. New content is only downloaded when a user opens Google Currents, saving battery and storage, and users can also choose titles to read offline. Popular magazines Google Currents’ will include breaking news and style advice, videos and picture galleries, reviews and event updates. (Source: Media Week)

RADIO

TalkSport has won the international rights to broadcast commentary on the 380 games in the Barclays Premier League season to countries outside Europe. Previously, the only way people outside Europe could listen to the audio commentary was via the BBC World Service, which broadcast from two games a week. The deal means TalkSport will be the audio partner of the league outside of the European Economic Area and will provide commentary on 380 games a season in a range of languages, including English, Spanish and Mandarin. People outside Europe will be able to listen to the commentary over the internet and through mobile apps as well as on the network of global radio. (Source: Media Week)

OUTDOOR

ECNlive, the digital outdoor network, has launched a new pure-play digital media network for corporate office environments in the UK. The network aims to deliver a mix of live content and digital full-motion display advertising. Content is updated in real-time and includes global and national news, financial and sports up-dates, weather and travel information, in addition to localised information relevant to audiences within individual buildings. ECNlive claims that its displays are located within the receptions and lobbies of more than 100 of the largest corporate buildings in London, and reach more than 300,000 business people. In London, ECNlive is situated within landmark buildings such as, Tower 42, CityPoint, The Broadgate Tower and Tower Bridge House. (Source: Media Week)

EDITED BY Pedro's Team