3rd June
The BBC launches a major attack on proposals to allow commercial broadcasters to
grab a share of the licence fee.
MediaCom View: BBC Chairman Michael Grade launched into the Governments
Green Paper on Charter Reform this week saying that 'top-slicing' the licence fee to allow the BBC's competitors
to compete for a share would threaten the Corporation's independence. He also highlighted the breakdown in
accountability between the BBC and the licence fee payer as well as the ability of the BBC to invest in new content.
Eurosport to launch on Top Up TV.
MediaCom View: Following E4's move from pay TV to Freeview, Top UP TV have
announced that Eurosport is to debut on channel 49 for Top Up TV customers. They will now be able to access sports
events such as Grand Slam tennis and the Tour de France, as Top Up TV look to fill the hole in their portfolio.
Almost a week in to the sixth series and this year's Big Brother looks set to be another huge hit.
MediaCom View: The launch night achieved a 29% share of all individuals and a
massive 57% of young adults. C4 also coincided the launch of the new series with the launch of E4 on to the freeview
platform, which they claim will attract an extra 9.5 million adult viewers. The fact that Channel 4 have invested an
estimated 20 million for a further two series confirms their confidence in the brand, and is a clear sign that they
expect to make at least this amount back in advertising revenue.
Desperate Housewives prove strong attraction for C4.
MediaCom View: The triple bill series end of Desperate Housewives proved a ratings
winner for C4 this week. Numbers for last week's repeat were a bit low, but the final two episodes had shares of 21% and 32%
respectively. Overall both episodes were watched by over 3.5 million viewers and highlighted how successful the cult show has
become.
Maxim has been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority over a TV ad for a 'little black book'.
MediaCom View: The ASA have banned Maxim from showing the ad-which they used to
promote their April issue-because it implied a dating service within a 'little black book' handout. The ad was deemed
to be misleading in that it claimed readers could text and date any of the models, but in reality was a competition run
through the magazine.
Former Mirror editor Piers Morgan has agreed to buy the last remaining piece of the Quantum
Business Media portfolio - journalist trade magazine Press Gazette.
MediaCom View: Piers Morgan's purchase of the Press Gazette has brought him back
into the media spotlight after his high-profile exit from the Mirror last year. With a modest circulation of 6,000, the
title has suffered from increasing competition, including national paper media sections and the MediaGuardian website.
The deal, thought to be worth up to 1m, also gives Morgan control of the Industry's annual British Press Awards.
Despite the trade sector being new territory for Morgan, there is no doubt that he will inject some much needed life into
this title.
The Daily Mail & General Trust has sounded a warning to the rest of the UK press by admitting
its businesses faced an "uncertain" advertising market.
MediaCom View: In the six months up to April 2005, the Daily Mail and General Trust
reported increased pre-tax profits and advertising revenue; however since then the group has suffered a downturn in
advertising. The retail sector remains strong, but investment in motoring, finance and classified have all declined. The
National Press marketplace as a whole is facing an uncertain future, with consumers increasingly turning to other sources of
information for their daily fix of news.
Hachette Filipacchi has sold its teen lifestyle entertainment magazine TV Hits to Essex-based
Essential Publishing.
MediaCom View: The deal follows a period of growth for the publishing house, after it
snapped up H. Bauer's Real last year and Your Home from Natmags. In a bid to beat rivals in a highly competitive market,
Hachette merged TV Hits! with CD: UK . Despite this, the title continued to wane and suffered a circulation drop of 20% in the
latest ABCs. With a number of rival publications also struggling, it is becoming increasingly difficult for publishers to
succeed in the fickle teenage market.
