Does the BBC’s Gary Lineker row show that the government has a problem with football? March 12, 2023 The weather forecast finished and then suddenly there it was: the BBC’s hurried replacement for Match of the Day following its spectacular bungling of the Gary Lineker row. Shorn of its theme tune, opening title, studio, presenter, pundits, commentators and about an hour of running time, this was bleak and surreal; a sort of post-apocalyptic [...]
Musk says sorry to sacked Twitter worker after exchange claiming he does ‘no actual work’ went viral March 8, 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk has apologised to a sacked worker after their exchange on the social media platform went viral. Icelandic entrepreneur Halli Thorleifsson had sent a direct public tweet to the billionaire after he was locked out of his work’s computer system, telling Musk he could not get HR to respond to him. Musk [...]
Reach: Mirror, Star and Express publisher suffers heavy losses as costs up 40 per cent and ads dry up March 7, 2023 The publisher of the Daily Mirror and Express newspapers has revealed that annual profits tumbled by more than a quarter as it saw costs surge by 40 per cent and a drop in advertising demand. Reach, which also owns the Daily Star and a raft of regional titles across the UK, posted underlying pre-tax profits [...]
Twitter: Trolling, disinformation and exploitation rife since Musk takeover, BBC Panorama claims March 6, 2023 An explosive BBC Panorama documentary this evening will claim Twitter is failing to protect users from trolling, state-co-ordinated disinformation and child sexual exploitation. The deep-dive programme at 8pm on Monday features a raft of insiders at the social media company, building on academic researched shared with the broadcaster. This comes after billionaire Tesla owner Elon [...]
Sir Frederick Barclay facing next round of High Court divorce fight with ex wife March 6, 2023 Retired businessman Sir Frederick Barclay is to face the next round of a High Court fight over money with his ex-wife. A judge ordered Sir Frederick, 88, to hand Lady Hiroko Barclay, 80, lump sums totalling £100 million in May 2021 following the breakdown of their 34-year marriage. Sir Jonathan Cohen said at the time [...]
Daily Mail and MoS publisher proposing ‘some reduction’ in staff amid restructuring March 2, 2023 The publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday has confirmed some roles at the newspapers are set to be cut amid a restructuring. In an email to staff, Ted Verity, editor of Mail Newspapers, said that parent firm DMGT was proposing “some reduction” in headcount at its print titles. The two papers will [...]
ITV’s revenue up and profit down as I’m a Celeb broadcaster invests heavily in streaming and on-demand TV March 2, 2023 ITV had a mixed 2022 thanks to “deliberate strategic actions”, as revenue went up almost seven per cent while profit dipped due to lower advertising intake. The TV channel and on-demand service reported studio revenue of more than £2bn, a 19 per cent rise on 2021 by more than £300m. Its total group revenue was [...]
Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Call of Duty: The perfect storm that drove UK broadband traffic to record levels February 22, 2023 The top-of-the-table Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City pushed UK broadband traffic to record levels last week, City A.M can reveal. The eagerly anticipated fixture, which was only available to stream, helped traffic on the country’s biggest broadband network to reach a new peak of 29.1 terabits per second (Tb/s). BT and EE [...]
Future’s bright: Digital media giant behind Marie Claire and GoCompare names new CEO February 22, 2023 Future, the media company which owns brands including Marie Claire and GoCompare, has unveiled its new chief executive. Jon Steinberg will join Future on 3 April, following the resignation Zillah Byng-Thorne last September, following a decade at the helm. The company was founded in 1985 and has more than 220 companies, ranging from magazines and [...]
BT Sport to become TNT Sports: Here’s what it means for price, programming and existing customers February 21, 2023 BT Sport is to be rebranded as TNT Sports in the first major development of the joint venture between BT Group and Warner Bros Discovery. Under the rebrand, which will take place in July, programming will stay largely the same, with TNT Sports remaining centred around live Premier League and Champions League football, domestic and [...]