Week commencing 30th April 2007
 ITV1's coverage of Liverpool's tense Champions League semi-final win over Chelsea attracted a biggest peak audience for a knockout match in the broadcaster's 15 years of covering the competition. The network's coverage of the game peaked during penalties, with 11.7 million viewers watching Liverpool win the shoot-out 4-1 between 10pm and 10.15pm, according to unofficial overnights. Source: Media Guardian
The BBC has begun making plans to fill Neighbours' two daytime slots as fears grow that it will lose the rights to the Australian soap. It is understood the BBC would schedule a mix of new acquisitions and original programming in the Neighbours slots if it loses the soap, which is broadcast at 1.40pm and 5.35pm each weekday. American teen drama Falcon Beach, which the BBC last year bought from Fremantle, the Neighbours distributor, could be used - although it was originally earmarked for another daytime slot. The 26-part series is billed as a coming-of-age drama focusing on the lives and loves of a group of twenty-somethings living in a lakeside resort. Source: Media Guardian
Freeview has finally eclipsed Sky in terms of household penetration, with its service now available in more than 8.2 million UK homes. The service, which has added 500,000 homes to the 7.7m total published by Ofcom last month, claims it is now ahead of Sky', which reackes 7.9m UK homes excluding the Republic of Ireland. The latest figures came as Freeview launched Playback, the digital terrestrial operator's answer to Sky+, which allows viewers to record shows and pause live TV. An option to record entire series will be available from July. Source: Media Guardian
 H Bauer's In The Know magazine has closed with immediate effect after less than a year on the newsstand. The women's weekly title, which entered an already volatile market, launched last August, with the publisher having invested £10 million in the magazine The magazine was created as a "topical and relevant" women's weekly that combined issues affecting women's lives and practical entertainment values to enrich their knowledge. The aim of In The know was to provide a new direction in the women's weekly market and generate new readers to the sector by providing an alternative to traditional celebrity, true-life and classic lifestyle weeklies. However, this concept failed to capture the interest shown during extensive research, which translated into a poorer than expected sales level, with the title's only recorded ABC coming in at 107,660 for July to December 2006. In February, it was clear the title was in trouble with reports suggesting its circulation was well below its targets Source: Mediatel
 Proximity marketing specialist Hypertag is launching a tag that it claims will take the user-generated content phenomenon outdoors, piggybacking on the success of websites such as MySpace and YouTube. With its first use by advertisers scheduled for the summer festival season, the tag will enable users to upload content from their mobile phones via Bluetooth. Brands will be able to capture UGC for marketing campaigns - for example, visitors to a gig or to a festival could be encouraged to upload their pictures or videos to be fed onto a big screen display or enter competitions. Source: Mediaweek.co.uk
Streetbroadcast, the lamp-post six-sheet advertising company, has signed
a 15-year deal with the London Borough of Enfield to provide advertising
sites in the area, which will include a number of digital screens. Source: Mediaweek.co.uk
 UCAS Media has launched a student social networking site that it hopes will help students further their careers. The site, www.yougofurther.co.uk, is designed for higher education students and will include forums and user-generated content. The site draws on the UCAS database and aims to attract advertising from brands looking to target students. Source: Media Guardian
The BBC today unveiled a web 2.0 prototype offering Radio 1 listeners a broadband package of video, audio and text information about a band or event. Users can customise the content by choosing from BBC video, audio and text material to create their own interactive "badge" - a link to the package of content - that they can share with friends through the Windows Messenger tool. For the Radio 1 prototype, users would be able to text message their Messenger ID to a dedicated number to receive the badge. The link to the Radio 1 badge would then be sent to the user's PC the next time they log in to Messenger. Users can also share streams of audio and video with friends through Messenger, the first time the BBC has used an instant messenger tool to stream content. Source: Media Guardian
Social networking phenomenon Bebo is set to launch a new site, Bebo Be One, which will put users in touch with campaigners, educational bodies and support organisations. The company is already in discussions with organisations including Channel 4 Education, which is looking to add content to the site. Bebo claims to have a UK user base of more than eight million since its launch two years ago. It is also in talks with several charities, trade organisations and advisory bodies. Dr Rachel O'Connell, chief safety officer for Bebo, said: "There are so many people and organisations on Bebo, but finding these networks has not been as easy as it could have been. The aim of Bebo Be One is to make it easier to connect with inspiring people, groups and organisations." Source: Media Guardian
 UK commercial radio companies are to join forces for a second week of cross-network, national music shows featuring stars such as Amy Winehouse, Mika, Paolo Nutini and Travis. The second national UK Music Week will feature live sessions, classic song documentaries and a listener poll to find the "greatest UK guitar band". All of the major radio groups are taking part, with more than 250 stations including Emap's Kiss and Magic, GCap's Capital and Classic FM, Virgin Radio and Chrysalis stations Heart and Galaxy. Smaller stations taking part include Buckinghamshire's Mix 107 and North Norfolk Radio. The week of syndicated shows begins on May 21 and is an attempt by commercial radio to fight back against the BBC, which had a 54.4% share of the audience in the latest Rajar figures. Source: Media Guardian
Alex Zane will replace Lauren Laverne as the presenter of the Xfm London breakfast show. Zane, a presenter of Popworld on Channel 4, started presenting Friday's breakfast show on Xfm in January and will present the programme five mornings a week from May 29. He joined Xfm in 2003 to host a weekend show and, after a brief spell away, took over the Friday breakfast hosting duties. The Xfm London programme director, Adam Uytman, said Zane was the first choice for the job. Source: Media Guardian
 Top Ten Films
27th Apr - 29th Apr
1 Next (12A)
2 Wild Hogs (12A)
3 Fracture (15)
4 Mr Bean's Holiday (PG)
5 Blades Of Glory (12A)
6 Alpha Dog (15)
7 The Painted Veil (12A)
8 Shooter (15)
9 Ta Ra Rum Pum (PG)
10 The Lives of Others (15)
Source : Nielsen EDI
Edited by Becca Wilson and Lizzie Thomas
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