Week commencing 22nd September 2008
 Channel
4 is to make approximately 150 staff redundant and scale back
its programme budget as part of a cost-cutting drive aimed at saving
up to £100m over the next two years. The cuts will reduce
Channel 4's 1,000 strong workforce to 850. Affected staff members
were informed of the measures earlier today (Tuesday). Channel 4
aims to cut its programme budget this year by £25m and save
a further £25m with adjustments to marketing, new business
investment, new media and general overheads. The broadcaster is
planning a further £50m reduction in its cost base in 2009,
in what it calls its response to "the most challenging economic
circumstances in its history". The deteriorating economic climate
could cut advertising revenues by £50m this year, the broadcaster
said. Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan said: "Our objective
is as a public organization to operate at break even, while maximizing
creative investment. With revenues falling we have no alternative
but to cut costs." Duncan has consistently claimed over the
past year that Channel 4 will face a funding deficit of as much
as £150m by the end of digital switchover in 2012. However,
rivals claim that Channel 4 has sufficient budget to reduce any
funding gap. Today's announcement comes just two days before Ofcom
is due to publish its second review of public service broadcasting
provision in the UK. Source: MediaWeek
 ShortList,
the free men's weekly magazine, reaches its first year anniversary
this week, publishing its 50th edition today (Thursday). Source:
MediaWeek
Bauer Media's weekly women's magazine
More relaunches for the second time within a year this week in an
attempt to reverse its plummeting sales. The redesign aims to attract
a more sophisticated readership, though it will still target its
core demographic of 18-24 year olds. New features include a 30 page
high street fashion section, while comedian Alan Carr will write
a celebrity interview column. Source: MediaWeek
German publisher Axel Springer is
launching a Polish weekly newspaper covering the UK called Fakt
for Great Britain in a bid to cash in on the burgeoning UK Polish
population. Fakt, which translates as Fact in English, is an offshoot
of Fakt, the Polish daily newspaper, which has a circulation of
more than 500,000. Source: MediaWeek
 Trafficlink
UK and UBC Media have signed a three year
deal to supply traffic and travel news to Jazz FM, the soon-to-relaunch
radio station. Jazz FM was set up in 1990 and sold in 2002 to GMG
Radio for more than £40m. After the demise of GCap Media's
theJazz, GMG made a licensing deal with The Local Radio Company
to manage a new version of Jazz FM which launches next month. Source:
MediaWeek
 Clear
Channel is to convert its backlit
formats from fluorescent tubes to an LED lighting system as part
of its commitment to energy efficiency. The company said its new
Luminaire lights will reduce electricity consumption by 75% and
have a longer life expectancy than traditional fluorescent tubes.
According to Clear Channel, the lights will also provide a clearer,
crisper display to improve the presentation of the advertising creative.
After a successful pilot in Chiswick, west London, Clear Channel
is to transfer a quarter of its backlights and scrollers to the
LED system by the first quarter of 2009. Mark Webb, operations director
at Clear Channel Outdoor UK, said the new technology would save
energy and reduce the need for recycling, while also improving reliability.
The new technology will be rolled out to all backlit billboards
in the UK by 2010. Source: MediaWeek
 Discovery
Communications is launching nine video channels on YouTube,
based on its nine global TV brands such as Discovery Channel and
Animal Planet, as part of a wider tie-up between the two companies.
As well as the nine TV channels, Discovery will launch local YouTube
channels featuring content from Discovery's various local channels,
such as its German channel DMAX. In October, Discovery will launch
Ink, a YouTube channel aimed at the tattoo enthusiast community,
featuring content from the UK. The channel will highlight video
clips from Discovery's Ink programming franchise, including Miami
Ink. The partnership also includes several programme promotion initiatives
aimed at tapping into YouTube's community and driving viewers to
Discovery's networks. The first of these initiatives will provide
Discovery Channel viewers and YouTube users with the opportunity
to contribute to a special Mythbusters "Viral Myths" episode.
Josh Freeman, executive vice-president, digital media, Discovery
Communications, said the partnership with YouTube "is a significant
step" in the company's strategy of expaning the digital reach
of its programming. Source: MediaWeek
Adconion Media Group,
the online ad network, has launched an online video service that
offers advertisers ads that play before, during or after video content,
as well as inventory that runs alongside the video content. The
move by Adconion, which claims to be the world's largest independent
online audience network according to comScore data, builds on its
standard online video advertising formats such as banners and MPUs,
without the need of additional technology add-ons. Adconion's publishing
partners are in the process of being offered video players that
can be integrated into their existing site to run the advertising
content. As Adconion owns the technology to play the ads and controls
the ad serving platform, advertisers receive more information on
how potential and existing customers are using online video and
how they prefer to receive information. The launch follows last
week's appointment of Mark Connolly, former commercial development
team at Yahoo, as Adconion's new commercial director. Source: MediaWeek
Platform A, the AOL
division formed in June to bring together the media conglomerate's
various advertising businesses under one roof, is to launch an ad
exchange next year, taking it into competition with Yahoo's Right
Media. BidPlace will be a self-service marketplace exchange that
will give advertisers control when managing display campaigns. It
will let advertisers bid on AOL sites, its partner sites, and third-party
sites that use Platform-A's ad network. BidPlace's interface will
let advertisers create and manage their campaigns, define budgets,
pricing, targeting and the frequency of their ad placements. Advertisers
will receive detailed reporting on campaign and creative performance.
The technology is based on AdLearn, which AOL acquired when it purchased
Advertising.com for $435m in 2004. Lynda Clarizio, president of
Platform-A, said: "This is the next step in Platform-A's efforts
to provide marketers a unified solution for brand advertising at
scale and performance advertising across multiple media." The
launch marks the latest phase in Platform-A's aggressive launch
efforts. In recent months, Platform-A has launched, among others;
Spot Marketplace, which lets advertisers buy content-specific media
across Platform-A; Behavioral Targeting across Platform-A; an iPhone
ad solution that detects and delivers ads on iPhones browsing the
web; and an affiliate marketing solution that links Platform-A's
Buy.at affiliate network to the widget-based marketing tools of
Goowy Media. Source: MediaWeek
 Pearl
& Dean has scooped a deal to handle the advertising for Showcase
Cinemas from Digital Cinema Media, the sales house formerly known
as Carlton Screen Advertising, who handled the account for the last
six years. Pearl & Dean, which won back the business after losing
it in 2002 to CSA, has signed a contract for the next three years.
Pearl & Dean said that the six-figure deal takes its UK market
share to 33.3% and that Pearl & Dean titles will now appear
in 48% of UK cinema sites. Source: MediaWeek
UK Top Ten for w/e 19th-21st September
1. Tropic Thunder
2. Mamma Mia
3. The Women
4. Pineapple Express
5. The Duchess
6. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
7. RocknRolla
8. Disaster Movie
9. Step Brothers
10. The Strangers
Newsletter edited by Mark Dix, Andy Travis, Fiona Mansfield
& Tony Oakley |
