Week commencing 18th August 2008
 Commercial broadcast TV had a record breaking first six months in 2008 with total commercial impacts up 6% on the same period last year and 15% growth over the last five years according to industry research body BARB. The UK watched 2.4 billion broadcast TV ads in the January -June 2008 period, an average of 42 ads per person. The figures, published by TV marketing body Thinkbox, also show that the much reported popularity of watching of TV via broadcaster's web services - such as itv.com,Sky Player,iPlayer, 4OD and Demand Five - seems to be incremental to the broadcast TV that people have always watched. Source: Mediatel.
ITV2 has unveiled the first overhaul of ITV2's on screen look in almost 3 years, backed by a new range of idents and an on-air and cinema campaign featuring stars such as Peter Andre and Katie Price. Paris Hilton has also been signed up to appear in a new UK produced show. Source Mediatel.
The BBC is launching a new Gaelic digital television channel on 19th September called BBC ALBA. Source Mediatel.
Sky has announced that it is doubling its output of arts content by creating a new Sky Arts Channel which is set to launch on 20th October. This channel will focus on more classical arts content such as opera, classical music and fine art programming. SKy is also set to re-brand Sky Arts 1 to broadcast more contemporary and cult programming, including live rock concerts and documentaries, while Sky Arts HD features content from both channels. Source Mediatel.
The Competition Commission has received mixed submissions to its inquiry into the proposed video-on-demand venture by BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, Project Kangaroo. Google has supported the project whilst Joost has complained that Kangaroo's partners will unfairly benefit from the service.
The OFT referred the project to the Competition Commission in June, forcing the launch to be put back until next year. Source Mediatel.
According to unofficial overnight figures, BBC1 drama New Tricks drew over 9 million viewers on 18th August , an average 36% audience share between 9pm and 10pm. The audience level even eclipsed Coronation Street. Source Media Guardian.
 Reader's Digest is to undertake its first major relaunch in more than 20 years. New editor in chief Sarah Sands, ex Sunday Telegraph editor and more recently ex Daily Mail plans to introduce several changes to the 70 year old UK edition of the magazine - including a new logo, more originally sourced editorial, plus new high-profile columnists such as Stephen Fry. The fresh look will be unveilled in the October edition. Source: Media Week
Sky is to bring the publication of Skymag in-house next month from News Magazines. Sky will take on up to 30 Skymag staff currently employed by News Magazines. The move follows news of the planned closure of Chelsea-based News Magazines, which has published Skymag since November 2006. Source: Media Week
The latest set of magazine ABCs have been overshadowed by the challenging economic climate, as the credit crunch began to hit home over the first six months of the year. The figures speak for themselves - Total actively purchased sales for January-June 2008 are down 3.4% year on year to £39.8m (source: PPA) and, of the top 50 paid-for magazines, just 11 recorded a circulation increase on the previous period. Business and current affairs titles such as The Economist and The Week are booming, as are the intelligent and luxury areas of the lifestyle market, such as Psychologies, Men's Health and men's science and technology monthly BBC Focus. The womens glossy magazine market's overall circulations are up 12.1% yr on yr and 7% period on period. The older end of the market have been the winners over the younger celebrity obsessed mags. The performance of free weeklies Sport and ShortList buoyed the men's lifestyle sector, which rose nearly 20% year on year. ShortList, the free weekly, has the highest average circulation across the sector, following its push into cities outside London. Loaded, Maxim & FHM suffred double digit declines. The entertainment and listings sector posted a 29.1% increase period on period. Time Out decreased by 12.2%. The Big Issue also wasn't safe from people opting for nights in - it posted a 22.9% decrease period on period.The holiday and travel magazine sector posted an overall decrease of 9.4% period on period. But following the trend for specialist success, the monthly Sunday Times Travel magazine recorded a 17.6% yr on yr increase. Conde Nast Traveller also posted an increase of 0.3%. Customer engagement with giveaway titles is growing as sector bucks general magazine market decline. Sky Mag up 2.9% period on period and 6.2% yr on yr. Source: Media Week
 4DigitalGroup, the planned digital radio operator, is set to sign a deal to launch the first of its planned nine radio stations next April via established digital operator Digital One. Source MediaWeek
Global Radio has appointed Steve Miron, former MD of the Mail on Sunday as chief executive of the combined Global And GCap radio business. The move comes after the OFT gave Global's £375million GCap takeover the all clear, following initial competition issues in the Midlands which were resolved by the company offering to sell off a number of stations in the area. Bauer Media is in talks with Global and GCap about the acquisition of BRMB in the Midlands . Guardian Media Group has also expressed interest in Heart 106 in the east Midlands. Source Mediatel
 The BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, is launching a YouTube channel for its hit show Top Gear. The channel, which can be found at youtube.com/topgear, will feature clips from the show as well as interviews with celebrities. The new channel marks the first time the programme has been given a dedicated presence on the site, although BBC Worldwide has previously shown Top Gear clips on its own channel in the past. Source: Mediatel
Entertainment, games and video sites are the most popular websites with people under the age of 23 in the UK, according to new data released by Nielsen Online. The study shows that entertainment sites have the greatest affinity with under 12 year-olds, while gaming sites are the most popular with 12-17 year-olds and finally, student and video sites came out on top with 18-22 year-olds. Source: Mediatel
Web users in the UK are shunning generic internet searches such as 'cheap flights' or 'broadband', choosing instead the names of popular brands. Experian identified that searching via branded keywords now accounted for 88% of all web searches, a 20% increase from 2005. Source: Media Week
 The Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) has announced that outdoor ad spend has slipped 1.6% year on year, falling for the third consecutive quarter. Outdoor ad spend fell by 6.9% in Q1 compared with the same period in 2007, which was the biggest decrease in the sector in the last six years. Alan James, chief executive of the OAA, said: "Given the uncertain times all industries are currently experiencing, a decrease of 1.6% in Q2 should be seen as a very acceptable result." He added: "Within the Q2 2008 figure, digital outdoor screens revenue increased by a whopping 62% - outdoor's new format is now generating substantial revenues and looks set to keep growing at a market beating rate." Source: Mediatel
 UK Box Office Chart
1. The Dark Knight
2. Mamma Mia!
3. You Don't Mess With The Zohan
4. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
5. Wild Child
6. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
7. Wall-e
8. Space Chimps
9. Kung Fu Panda
10. Singh is Kinng
Source: Pearl and Dean
Newsletter edited by Kirsty Hutton, Jenna Morton & Becca Wilson |
