Letizia Moratti, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation
Europe, resigned on Tuesday, after less than a year in the job. Internal
differences have been given as the cause of her departure, with Moratti
quoted as saying that her belierfs were 'not shared by News Corp'.
SBS Broadcasting, the European television and radio broadcasting group,
has called off its planned dollars 615 million takeover of Central
European Media Enterprises. The decision comes as a result of legal
uncertainty surrounding the status of TV Nova, CME's television
operation in the Czech Republic.
The Guardian Media Group has signed up more than 500,000 registered
users for its Guardian Unlimited website since its launch nine months
ago.
In its first ABC audit, Guardian Unlimited also notched up 9.75 million
page impressions, making it one of the most popular newspaper sites on
the web.
The Daily Mail has launched a Rugby World Cup website. The Mail hopes
the site will follow in the footsteps of its Soccernet website, which
has been the world's most popular football site over the past three
years.
Time Out is to launch a poster campaign on the London Underground on 1
October. The campaign will use cross-track and four-sheet posters and
will run until the end of December.
London News Network, which is jointly owned by Carlton and LWT, has
signed a deal with Metro Networks, the traffic and travel bulletin
specialist, to provide an 'on the roads' service for the capital's
motorists.
Attic Futura's teenage titles TV Hits and Sugar are to be published
online following a deal with AOL UK. Sugar is Britain's most popular
teenage magazine and, if successful, the move may lead to other Futura
titles going online.
MindShare Worldwide has unveiled its 'next generation' website,
www.mindshareworld.
com. Primarily developed as a marketing, communications and information
resource, it contains news and opinion from MindShare's offices around
the globe.
Car Import Guide has launched a magazine of the same name offering
readers advice on importing cheap cars from the Continent. The
bi-monthly title has a print run of 35,000 and the first issue carries
ads from M&S Finance, Sainsbury's Bank and Stena Line Ferries, as well
as 'grey market' importers.
The Financial Times has launched a 64-page supplement to pull in
consumer advertisers deterred by high rates elsewhere in the paper. The
Business has a six-strong magazine sales team, which will work across
the title as well as the FT's monthly personal finance supplement, How
To Spend It. A run-of-magazine ad in How To Spend It costs more than
pounds 11,000 - compared with pounds 8,000 in The Business. Magazine
sales manager Emma Freeman has recruited two additional sales staff -
Prakash Megah and Jim Chaudry - for the new department.
Fox Kids has launched a TV ad campaign, planned and bought by
Pesterpoint.
The campaign will incorporate characters from the channel's shows to
promote the range of programmes on offer.