UFC owner Endeavor hits $11.6bn valuation on stock market debut April 29, 2021 Talent agency group and UFC owner Endeavor has secured a valuation of $11.6bn (£8.3bn) after taking its second shot at floating on the stock market today. The company, which was founded by Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel, opened at $27 on the New York Stock Exchange, 12.5 per cent its offer price of $24. Emanuel founded [...]
Sky owner Comcast beats forecasts on pandemic broadband boost April 29, 2021 Comcast today posted better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter after cashing in on higher demand for its broadband services during the pandemic. The US media giant booked a two per cent rise in revenue to $27.2bn (£19.5bn) in the first three months of the year, ahead of analyst forecasts of $26.7bn. The upbeat figures came [...]
Jon Snow to leave Channel 4 News after 32 years April 29, 2021 Jon Snow is stepping down as a Channel 4 News presenter after more than three decades at the helm. The veteran broadcaster, who is the longest-serving presenter on the channel’s flagship news programme, will leave his role at the end of the year. Snow will continue to work with Channel 4 in 2022, fronting long-form [...]
UK advertising sector on track for strongest global recovery April 29, 2021 The UK advertising sector is on track to achieve the strongest recovery of any major global market this year as the vaccine rollout fuels improved confidence among brands. Ad spend is forecast to grow 15.2 per cent this year to £27bn, clawing back the £1.8bn decline suffered during the pandemic in 2020. Further improvement is [...]
Spotify hits subscriber targets as pandemic party continues April 28, 2021 Spotify today reported subscriber growth at the top end of its targets for the first quarter as strong momentum from a pandemic-induced boom in trading continued into 2021. The music streaming giant posted 21 per cent year on year growth in premium subscribers to 158m after it added 4m in the first three months of [...]
WPP returns to revenue growth as UK ad market bounces back April 28, 2021 WPP today reported a surprise return to revenue growth in the first quarter as clients began to increase their marketing spend after a frugal pandemic year. The London-listed ad giant posted a 3.1 per cent rise in revenue less pass-through costs — its key metric — to £2.3bn for the first three months of the [...]
Spotify earnings: Is the music streaming giant facing a subscriber lag? April 28, 2021 Spotify will be in the spotlight this afternoon as it reports its first-quarter figures, with all eyes on the streaming giant’s subscriber numbers. The Swedish music platform enjoyed a bumper year in 2020, with paid subscribers hitting 155m thanks to higher demand for music and podcasts during the pandemic. But Spotify warned that pace of [...]
Covid connections: Pandemic narrows digital divide as more Brits go online April 28, 2021 While it may be hard to find silver linings in lockdown, it appears the rapid shift to online services has had its benefits. A surge in demand for internet services over the last year means the UK’s digital divide has narrowed even further, with more and more Brits getting connected. The proportion of homes without [...]
Spotify launches podcast subscriptions as Apple rivalry heats up April 27, 2021 Spotify today revealed plans to launch a paid subscription platform for podcasters as the streaming service’s rivalry with Apple continues to heat up. The feature, which will initially launch in the US, means podcast creators can mark certain episodes as subscriber-only and publish them on Spotify, as well as on other podcast services. It comes [...]
Rupert Murdoch ditches plans for ‘commercially unviable’ TV channel April 27, 2021 Rupert Murdoch’s News UK empire has scrapped plans to launch a TV news channel after a review found the project was “not commercially viable”. News UK, which owns the Times and Sun newspapers, had been developing plans to regain a footing in the TV market with a new channel focused on delivering news programming via [...]