Adele keeps 25 off streaming services following Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to become latest superstar to snub Spotify November 19, 2015 Adele has become the latest artist to keep her music off Spotify, announcing today that her upcoming album 25 won't be made available on any streaming services. The British singer had reportedly been pushing Spotify to release her hotly-anticipated album to paying Spotify Premium subscribers alone, a move which would limit the release to 20m [...]
Now Sky’s doing virtual reality reporting – with help from the Silicon Valley VR startup Jaunt it invested in November 19, 2015 Sky is the latest media company to embrace the brave new world of virtual reality, following in the footsteps of the New York Times across the pond. Its news channel has produced a video report, called Migrants Crisis – The Whole Picture, which can be experienced by viewers virtually, placing them deeper wihin the story. Touted as [...]
One Direction lawyers Lee & Thompson announces merger with Forbes Anderson Free November 18, 2015 Law firms Lee & Thompson and Forbes Anderson Free announced today that they would be merging on 1 January 2016. Media and entertainment litigators Forbes Anderson Free will be moving into creative industry specialists Lee & Thompson’s West End offices and adopting the Lee & Thompson name. The merger will boost partner numbers at Lee [...]
The real rules of engagement: iProspect’s Matt Adams on B2B, game theory and Snapchat November 15, 2015 When marketers discuss the purchasing habits of young consumers, business-to-business (B2B) transactions are seldom mentioned. “It may sound strange, but the grey-haired B2B purchaser in the pin-striped suit isn’t the norm anymore,” says Matt Adams, managing director of digital performance agency iProspect. Last month, the Dentsu Aegis Network shop launched its new global B2B [...]
Children in Need 2015 raises £37m to set new record for BBC charity event November 14, 2015 The Children in Need charity show raised over £37m last night, a new record for the annual BBC fundraising event. Despite longstanding host Terry Wogan's absence for health reasons, the five-and-a-half-hour TV event last night raised more money that ever before – smashing the £32.6m raised on the night last year. Dermot O'Leary stepped in [...]
Britons don’t want to pay for online content – but they are making that more likely by turning to ad blockers November 11, 2015 Only four per cent of Britons would be happy to pay to access content online rather than see advertising, according to a new study. And yet, and yet, the number of Britons who are using ad blocking technology has risen again, with an estimated 7.3m people in the UK now doing so – a trend [...]
Why the future of the BBC’s sports coverage is made even more uncertain now Sky has renewed its Premier League highlights deal November 10, 2015 Last week Sky announced that it will be making Premier League highlights available on demand next season, after renewing its rights to "near-live highlights", the value of traditional highlights programmes, in particular, the BBC’s flagship football show, Match of the Day, into question and again leads to serious discussions about the future of sport on [...]
ITV posts strong third quarter results in 2015 despite X Factor viewing figures and the end of Downton Abbey November 10, 2015 ITV's top shows might be haemorrhaging viewers (The X Factor) or ending (Downton Abbey) but that hasn't stopped it posting strong results for the three quarters of the year so far, powered by double-digit growth in its production arm ITV Studios. The figures Revenues at the broadcaster rose 13 per cent to £2.04bn in the nine months to [...]
A conscious decoupling: Paperhat Group CEO Tim Peppiatt talks CGI, direct mail and building wraps November 8, 2015 They used to have to cut the roof off, but when you see a car seat in a sports car advert, it's likely to be CGI," says Paperhat Group chief executive and founder Tim Peppiatt. "They reproduce the same leather and stitching using the same wire frame used to build the vehicles in the factory. [...]
John Lewis and Argos Christmas adverts 2015: Sentimental or rational? The Christmas campaign conundrum November 8, 2015 Brands have long used sentimentality to draw custom at Christmas. John Lewis has been a standard-bearer for emotional Christmas placements, and this year's offering, which encourages donations to Age UK, is no different. Last year's "Monty the Penguin" spot has received 24m YouTube views, and the retailer's like for like sales grew by 4.8 per [...]