Media firm Entertainment One on track as it shifts focus to film production April 4, 2019 Peppa Pig producer Entertainment One today said it is on track to hit its full-year targets, thanks to strong growth in its portfolio of children's TV shows. In a trading update the Canadian firm said it has enjoyed strong underlying earnings performance, growing by more than 25 per cent in its family and brands division. [...]
Facebook hit by major data breach that left millions of user records on Amazon public software April 3, 2019 Millions of Facebook users have been affected in a major data oversight that left a trove of records publicly available on Amazon cloud-computing servers. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Upguard found that in one example, media firm Cultura Colectiva had posted 540m user records in a public database that included information such as account names, Facebook [...]
Audioboom posts record quarterly revenues as it cashes in on podcast boom April 3, 2019 Podcast platform Audioboom has posted a surge in quarterly profits as appetite for on-demand listening continues to grow. The London-listed firm saw its revenue rise 180 per cent year-on-year to $4.6m (£3.5m) in the three months to the end of March. Read more: BBC removes podcasts from rival Google service Audioboom said it has boosted [...]
Cinema websites crash amid rush for Avengers: Endgame tickets April 2, 2019 Cinema websites have ground to a halt after a rush of customers hoping to buy tickets for the new Avengers film brought servers to their knees. Odeon, Cineworld and Imax all suffered website outages due to the surge in demand, while Vue established a virtual queueing system that cited wait times of more than an [...]
Global music industry revenue grows 10 per cent as streaming booms April 2, 2019 Global music industry revenues grew almost 10 per cent last year as the rise in streaming services offset a decline in physical formats. Revenues grew 9.7 per cent in 2018 to hit $19.1bn (£14.7bn), according to the latest figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Read more: Music streaming revenues overtake ownership [...]
DCMS Committee launches new body to fight fake news as pressure on tech giants builds April 2, 2019 The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee today said it has launched a dedicated division to tackle the ongoing threat of disinformation to democracy. The new sub-committee follows the DCMS Committee’s report into disinformation and fake news, which called for a new regulator to monitor tech giants such as Facebook and Google. Read more: [...]
Channel 4 set to move into former nightclub building Majestic in Leeds April 2, 2019 Channel 4 is in advanced talks to move its national headquarters into the Majestic building in Leeds city centre. The broadcaster said it is in negotiations with real estate firm Rushbond to lease 25,000 square feet of office space over three floors in the former cinema and nightclub. Read more: Editor's Notes: Brexit: An Uncivil War [...]
Gaming changers: how marketing messages have had to change for gambling companies April 1, 2019 Where do you know Ray Winstone from? If you’re of a certain vintage, you’ll probably recall his early work. Carlin in Scum, Kevin the rocker in Quadrophenia. More of a millennial? Then perhaps it’s his turn opposite Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast or as Frenchy in The Departed. Or maybe it’s simply him yelling “put [...]
BBC takes control of UKTV channels as Discovery lines up new streaming service April 1, 2019 The BBC will take control of UKTV channels as part of a deal with Discovery that will also see the launch of a new on-demand video service for BBC nature programmes. BBC Studios – the broadcaster’s commercial arm – jointly owns UKTV with US media giant Discovery. Read more: BBC removes podcasts from rival Google [...]
Time Out looks to markets as audience reach hit by Facebook algorithm change March 28, 2019 Media company Time Out saw its audience numbers slashed by a third last year after a change to Facebook’s algorithm pushed its content further down users’ newsfeeds. The company reported an average global monthly audience reach of 144m, down 33 per cent on the year before, which it said was “primarily the result of a [...]