BBC loses Olympic broadcast rights as Eurosport signs £922m deal June 29, 2015 The BBC has lost the rights to televise the Olympic Games after US broadcasting firm Discovery Communications signed an exclusive £920m deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Read more: Paris and Budapest to bid for 2024 Olympic Games Discovery, the parent company of Eurosport, has won pan-European broadcast rights for the Olympics in the 2018-2024 [...]
Taylor Swift confirms album 1989 will be on Apple Music June 25, 2015 Taylor Swift has announced that her album "1989" is going to be available on Apple's new Apple Music service. The popstar had a high-profile battle with the Silicon Valley giant to get it to pay artists during the product's three-month trial period, when the streaming service will be offered for free. She won – and Apple [...]
ITV continues buying spree with £55m acquisition of Educating Yorkshire producer Twofour June 24, 2015 ITV has bought Boom Supervisory Limited, the holding group of production company Twofour for £55m, as part of its ongoing strategy to build its original content business. Read more: ITV buys Poldark producer Mammoth Screen to bolster original drama assets Plymouth-based Twofour has produced a number of hit shows for Channel 4 including Educating Yorkshire, The Jump [...]
BT Sport and Ericsson team up for new Champions League channels June 23, 2015 BT Sport has selected Ericsson to design, build and run the technology behind a variety of new products, as it ups its game in live sports, having won the Champions Leagues broadcasting rights. Ericsson will work on BT's three new sports channels, BT Sport Europe, BT Sport Showcase, and BT Sport ultra high definition, which [...]
TFI Friday to return with Chris Evans in hot seat after anniversary show scored blockbusting ratings for Channel 4 June 23, 2015 Channel 4 is bringing back iconic 1990s music TV show TFI Friday with host Chris Evans at the helm once again. The eight-part series will begin this autumn, although an exact transmission date has not been set. Channel 4 gained one of its best ratings for the 20th anniversary show (officially its 19th, [...]
Truffle Pig: WPP, Daily Mail and Snapchat just formed an ad agency to create social content June 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising group, WPP, the world's biggest online publisher, the Daily Mail, and startup sweetheart Snapchat have formed the media equivalent of a musical supergroup to get adverts in front of eyeballs. The trio have launched an ambitious new venture forging together the world of technology, advertising and publishing with the creation of [...]
Media giant Vivendi set to announce Telecom Italia deal June 21, 2015 French media giant Vivendi is expected to announce next week it is raising its stake in Telecom Italia to 14.9 per cent and will likely get two board seats, according to a source close to the situation. The announcement could be made as early as tomorrow, the source said. A Vivendi spokesman declined to comment [...]
BBC boss Tony Hall says licence fee has 10 more years left June 21, 2015 BBC boss Lord Hall has fired his opening salvo in what is likely to be a tense debate over the future of the BBC. The BBC's director general said that he agreed with the argument put forward by the culture, media and sport select committee in the last parliament that the licence fee would be [...]
The future of the Top Gear brand lies in its content not the presenters June 19, 2015 Even after the removal of Jeremy Clarkson, it was obvious that the BBC were not going to let go of the Top Gear brand altogether. Not only is it one of the most-watched programmes in the world, with an estimated global audience of more than 350m, it is the corporation’s most lucrative money spinner [...]
James Murdoch confirmed as new 21st Century Fox chief exec June 16, 2015 James Murdoch will succeed his father Rupert as chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Company founder Rupert Murdoch will hand over duties on July 1 when he will become executive co-chairman alongside elder son Lachlan. Read more: Rupert Murdoch steps down – here's every company he owns In a statement [...]