8th April
Telewest has announced it is considering the sale of Flextech.
MediaCom View: Any potential deal would include sales house IDS and the announcement has interested various
potential buyers, including BSkyB, ITV and RTL - part owners of Five. Any takeover would have to be approved by the Office
of Fair Trading, and subsequently some media agencies and Ofcom would then be asked for their views.
Doctor Who beats Ant and Decs Saturday Night Takeaway for the second time in a row.
MediaCom View: The return of Doctor Who to BBC1 has seen Ant and Dec's Saturday Night
Takeaway lose its grip on the viewers. Saturday saw the new face of the Timelord beat Ant and Dec for the second time in a
row by 1.2 million viewers, with an audience of 7.2m. Last Saturday, Ant and Dec struggled despite being on at the earlier
time of 6.45pm. Overall, viewing numbers were down during early evening last Saturday compared to the week before.
Bidding War begins for new London freesheet.
MediaCom View: Ken Livingstone invited publishers to submit bids for a new free
evening paper - a move some believe would suggest a ruling from the OFT on distribution is imminent. Express Newspapers
have declared their interest, with a bid also possible from News International.
Happy, the new womens magazine goes on sale this week.
MediaCom View: Launched by Northern & Shell, Happy is essentially a shopping guide with
the emphasis on high-street and designer, but with very few longer features. Given the volume of new launches in the womens
market, a USP is essential for a new launch to differentiate it from other titles.
The Guardians new Berliner format may run ahead of the previously announced Spring 2006 launch date.
MediaCom View: Meetings between agency heads and the Guardian sales teams to discuss
the impact of the new format on rates, have prompted speculation that the launch date may be brought forward. If a change in
format brings about similar increases in circulation to those currently enjoyed by the Independent and the Times, then this
may well be a wise move for the Guardian.
The commercial radio industry is to share programming across more than 150 stations for a political
special on the Sunday before election day.
MediaCom View: Following the success of the Tsunami Appeals UK Radio Aid day there has
been increased talk of syndicated national programming across different groups. Its encouraging to see that this will include
more cerebral programming in addition to the proposed show hosted by Chris Evans.
Who will be new the Chief Exec at Virgin? John Pearson has left Virgin Radio and speculation is
mounting about who will fill his shoes at the station. Programming Director Paul Jackson is temporarily filling his shoes but
an offer has been made to someone outside the company who is presently working their notice, the word on the street is Fru
Hazlitt, currently MD of Yahoo! UK and Ireland.
MediaCom View: The new CEO will need to allay fears over future ownership and address
a significant drop in operating profits in 2004, but the Virgin Radio brand still remains strong.
