Week commencing 23rd July 2007
 IPC
men's magazine Nuts is to launch a digital TV channel on
Freeview later this year. Nuts TV will start as a four-hour programme
block between 9pm and 1am on Freeview later in the year, with cable
and satellite services planned in due course, depending on distribution
deals with BSkyB and Virgin Media. The new channel's programming
will feature a live format reflecting Nuts' brand of "unique
and fast-paced humour". Nuts TV is being launched by the magazine's
owner IPC and Turner Broadcasting, which are both parts of the Time
Warner media empire. The service will be produced by digital media
company ETV, with advertising sales handled by Turner. "Nuts
TV will take the magazine into the TV arena with exclusive original
content within a live studio setting," Turner and IPC said
in a joint statement. "The programming will be live, five nights
a week, with hosted highlights for the remaining two. Source: Media
Guardian
ITV1's Peter Jones business show Tycoon attracted a series
low of 1.3 million viewers for its live final on Monday night. The
final show, which saw salesman Iain Morgan emerge victorious, drew
just a 6% share between 10pm and 10.30pm, according to unofficial
overnights. Tycoon was moved from its Tuesday 9pm slot by ITV during
its run and cut down to half an hour for the new Monday 10pm berth.
But it has continued to lose viewers and trailed in fourth out of
the five terrestrial channels last night in its slot. Tycoon was
beaten by a BBC2 repeat, with Have I Got Old News For You attracting
1.8 million viewers and a 9% share. Source: Media Guardian
Sparrowhawk Media, the company behind the Hallmark Channel,
has renewed its ad sales contract with Sky Media as it prepares
to launch a new channel, Diva TV, to be aimed at women aged 25 and
over. The broadcaster extended its contract with Sky Media until
2010, choosing the sales house from a shortlist of five. The contract
also covers Diva TV, which launches on Sky in October, and two further
launches. Source: Mediaweek
Sky will continue to sell ads on Emap's music stations despite
the announcement this week of a joint venture agreement between
Emap and Channel 4 to create a music TV service. Emap has agreed
to sell 50% of its music TV business, Box Television, to Channel
4 for £28m, subject to adjustments. The deal will focus on
developing the seven established digital stations, which includes
The Hits and The Box, as well as expanding the digital opportunities.
It is hoped that the combination of Channel 4's premium music-based
content and Emap's TV brands will lead to increased cross-promotional
opportunities across both companies' portfolios. Source: Mediaweek
Setanta Sports has signed up Bet365 as sponsor of its 2007/08
Barclays Premier League coverage in a seven-figure deal. It is also
set to announce that it will produce a sports news service for Virgin
Media to replace Sky Sports News on its cable platform.Virgin Media
lost Sky Sports News from its schedule earlier this year when it
dropped Sky's basic channels from its line-up following a row with
Sky over carriage costs. Virgin Media has announced a replacement
for Sky One with a new channel, Virgin 1, and there have been reports
that it was keen to plug the sports news void. The launch of a Setanta-
produced sports news service is expected to be announced by Virgin
Media on Thursday. Source: Mediaweek
 Condé
Nast has cut the cover price of its mid-market women's title,
Glamour to £2, to defend its position against cut-price celebrity
weeklies. Nicholas Coleridge, the managing director of Condé
Nast, said: "Having raised the cover price of Glamour twice
in a year, by a total of 40p, it was starting to look expensive
against the influx of cheaper and often discounted weeklies. So
it is being sold at £2 into the autumn. There is no decision
beyond that." Source: Media Week
Ad sales for The Wall Street Journal have
plunged by 6.8% in three months following the announcement that
Rupert Murdoch is close to acquiring the title. A board member of
the journal's parent company Dow Jones, has already resigned, believing
that the paper's unique journalistic values may be compromised by
the acquisition. Source: Mediaweek
 The
London Underground's busking spots are to be sponsored by thelondonpaper
and GCap's Capital 95.8 in a deal brokered by CBS Outdoor.
Both companies hope the deal, which is worth in excess of £1m,
will raise awareness of their brands among travellers, targeting
their usual audience of 15-35-year-olds. The companies will sponsor
30 co-branded busking pitches on the Tube as well as carrying out
additional campaigns on CBS Outdoor sites and shared editorial coverage
across each other's platforms. Source: Mediaweek
 IPC today unveiled a new website portal for its shooting magazines including
the Field and Sporting Gun. The portal, ShootingUK.co.uk, combines
content from IPC's shooting magazines, which also include Shooting
Times and the Shooting Gazette. ShootingUK.co.uk will feature shooting
news and information, results on gun dog events, advice on the health
and training of breeds, as well as an extensive database of expert
gun reviews online. The site will also contain searchable content
from IPC magazines, user forums for the UK shooting community, a
market place and a searchable source on tips and advice. Source:
Media Guardian
Dennis Publishing has redesigned its digital men's magazine, Monkey,
to give it greater "clarity, coolness and community".
The online magazine, which launched in October, has new features
and applications including a readers' video box and a travel section,
as well as more frequent editorial updates. The title, has been
updated in response to reader feedback. Apart from NatMags' Jellyfish,
which recently repositioned itself to aim for 20-something women,
it is the sole digital-only magazine. Publisher James Mallinson
said that after nearly a year of publication, it was "definitely
time for a change. Source: Mediaweek
ITV is embarking on a major push to persuade media agencies to
advertise on its recently launched website, ITV.com, amid
industry criticism of its rates, which some buyers believe are too
high for an entrant into the digital space. The broadcaster begins
a two-week tour of the major agencies this week with details of
ITV.com, to coincide with the site's completion on 31 July. The
theme of the digital roadshow is "Connecting Customers with
Connected Content across Connected Platforms" and will be headed
by ITV brand partnership director Gary Knight. He will present ITV's
plans to extend its content and advertising franchises across the
next generation of platforms. Knight will also talk agencies through
ITV's entire digital portfolio, which includes ITV Local (due to
be rolled out in all regions by the end of this year), ITV Interactive,
ITV Mobile and ITV Play. Source: Mediaweek
 The
Local Radio Company (TLRC) has announced plans to form a joint
venture with Portsmouth Football Club (PFC), which will see three
of its southern-most radio stations link in with the club for advertising
and coverage. The deal, which was signed on Friday, will see PFC
purchase a 26% stake in the joint venture company - which has yet
to be named - for £1million cash, with the right to increase
its shareholding to 50% during the next 12 months for a further
payment of £950,000. Source: Mediaweek
Guardian Media Group Radio has created a
£1 million fund to invest in new programming initiatives for
its range of brands across the UK. In what is believed to be the
biggest single investment in content in commercial radio, the newly
created budget will be aimed at anyone who has a great programming
idea. In particular, the fund will be aimed at a range of independent
producers and internet programme providers who wish to submit proposals
for commission, in a bid to stimulate new creativity in the sector.
The investment by GMG Radio will see the group become the biggest
commercial supporter of independent radio productions across its
Smooth, Real, Century and Rock Radio brands and as such will be
able to compete against broadcasters like BBC Radio 2 for new commissions
and programming ideas. Source: Mediaweek
 The
Cartoon Network has launched a new six month cinema advertising
campaign to run before key family movies including Shrek the Third,
Harry Potter and The Golden Compass. The 90 second spots showcasing
popular current and upcoming Cartoon Network shows will be aired
in all 59 Vue cinemas nationwide. Source: Mediaweek
UK Box Office Chart
1. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (12A)
2. Shrek The Third (U)
3. Die Hard 4.0 (15)
4. Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (Pg)
5. Ocean's Thirteen (PG)
6. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (12A)
7. Hostel: Part II (18)
8. Moliere (12A)
9. Naqaab (12A)
10. La Vie En Rose (12A)
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