Former Daily Mail supremo Paul Dacre steps down from the DMGT board September 26, 2018 Former Daily Mail editor-in-chief Paul Dacre has left the board of the newspaper's parent company, three months after announcing his resignation. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) today said Dacre has stepped down as executive director with immediate effect. In June the company announced he would leave the Daily Mail and be appointed chairman [...]
Fox and Disney confirm they will sell Sky stake to Comcast September 26, 2018 Disney and 21st Century Fox have confirmed they will sell off their stake in Sky to Comcast, meaning the US media titan will almost certainly win full control of the broadcaster. It ends speculation around what Disney and Fox bosses Bob Iger and Rupert Murdoch were going to do with the 39 per cent stake after losing the dramatic auction [...]
CBS appoints Richard Parsons as interim chair after Lesley Moonves resigns over sexual misconduct allegations September 26, 2018 US media giant CBS has appointed an interim chairman to replace Lesley Moonves, who resigned earlier this month following a wave of sexual assault allegations. Richard Parsons will step in as interim chair – CBS also said two other board members, Bruce Gordon and William Cohen would step down to focus on other personal [...]
Newspaper industry calls for tech levy to make Facebook and Google fund UK journalism September 25, 2018 The trade body representing most national and local newspaper publishers today called for a levy to be put on tech giants like Facebook and Google to fund UK journalism. It also suggested Facebook should share some revenue with newspaper groups when their stories appear in user's newsfeeds. In its response to the government review of the [...]
Comcast has built up a 30 per cent Sky stake following its auction showdown with Fox on Saturday September 25, 2018 US media titan Comcast this morning confirmed it had bought 30 per cent of shares in British broadcaster Sky so far after winning a dramatic auction for the company against 21st Century Fox on Saturday. In a note to the market, it confirmed it had purchased 515,885,170 shares at its improved offer price of £17.28 per [...]
Theatre promoter Reach4entertainment revenues drop in first half after difficult 2017 September 25, 2018 Investors were not giving theatre communications group Reach4entertainment a standing ovation this morning as shares dropped after it reported declining revenues. Its share price lost 1.75 per cent in early trading after it said revenues were on the decline after a difficult 2017. The figures Revenue slipped from £41.9m the same time last year to £36m for [...]
Strictly Come Dancing professionals make a PR misstep in potential pay row dispute September 24, 2018 Glitter balls, sequins, the foxtrot, and the rest… Daaarling! It is that time of the year again as Strictly Come Dancing waltzed back on to our screens on Saturday night. New celebs, new dancers, new routine – same old format. There will be Craig Revel Horwood looking unimpressed, break-ups, make-ups, tears, injuries, tantrums, and [...]
Sky shares fly as shareholders prepare to accept Comcast’s £30bn takeover offer ‘immediately’ September 24, 2018 Sky's share price flew up almost nine per cent in early morning trading as it urged investors to accept Comcast’s £30.6bn takeover offer immediately, calling it “an excellent outcome for independent Sky shareholders”. The company’s independent committee backed the offer unanimously this morning, following a bidding war between billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and [...]
London firm to launch Spotify-style partner services with Universal Music Group September 24, 2018 London-listed music technology firm 7digital will today reveal a partnership with Universal Music Group, the record label behind artists such as Taylor Swift, Elton John and Lady Gaga, to create new bespoke music partner services attributed to individual artists. The deal will see 7digital power online stores for artists through which fans can buy access [...]
M&C Saatchi: WPP needs ‘radical surgery’ for post-Sorrell future September 21, 2018 M&C Saatchi's boss has warned his firm is ready to swoop on rival ad agency WPP’s territory as Sir Martin Sorrell’s successor is busy performing “radical surgery” on the business. David Kershaw hailed surging earnings at M&C Saatchi, seeing revenue almost double to £215.4m after new accounting rules changed the way revenue from customer contracts [...]