13th May
Andrew Neil, one the media's most prominent figures, calls on newspapers to follow magazines'
lead at the PPA conference.
MediaCom View: The publisher of The Scotsman, The Spectator and The Business
spoke out last week about the dismal state of the daily newspaper market. He appealed to fellow newspaper bosses to
become more like magazines if they are to survive increasing competition from the internet as a daily source of news.
With falling sales across the sector, it is evident that publishers need to evolve if they are to face a brighter
future.
Haymarket, publisher of Marketing and Campaign, has confirmed that it is to acquire Media Week
from Quantum Media.
MediaCom View: The addition of Media Week to Haymarket's portfolio has given them
significant clout in this sector. Speculation of them also bidding for Quantum's other media title 'Press Gazette' would
have stamped their monopoly on this market. However, these rumours have recently been quashed, with Haymarket no longer
thought to be in the running.
Wall Street Journal will switch to tabloid.
MediaCom View: On the 17th October The Wall Street Journal Europe will become the
first pan-regional title to switch to a compact format. The Indy was the first UK title to take the plunge last year,
closely followed by the Times. With the Guardian also preparing to down-size its format, it seems that thinking 'small' is
the best way for publishers to survive in a struggling marketplace.
Heart takes London 's top spot.
MediaCom View: The battle for number one in London continues, but it's worth
remembering that while Heart has overtaken Capital in share (hours), Capital still has more listeners and remains the
city's number one commercial station. The gap is certainly closing and Magic and Heart are really gnawing away at Capital's
traditional top spot place. There really is an alternative to 95.8 in London now.
ITV1's dismal run in the ratings on Saturday night continued last weekend.
MediaCom View: Celebrity Wrestling slumped to its lowest audience so far last
Saturday, only pulling in 2.6million viewers. ITV continue to struggle against the BBC as Dr Who, Casualty and MoTD all
attracted viewers, which meant ITV failed to gain even 20% of the peak time share on Saturday night. As a result ITV have
pulled Celebrity Wrestling from next Saturday, as they try to revive their weekend fortunes.
E4 to broadcast round the clock with new daily music strand.
MediaCom View: Following their decision to launch on Freeview, C4 are set to use E4
to debut their new music TV strand. The E4 music zone will run between 6am and 2pm, and will premiere E4's interactive
launch as viewers can vote for tracks and send text and videophone messages. We think this is an excellent idea: E4 is a
very strong brand, and by increasing its appeal and popularity it should help the drive towards the digital switchover.
