Media Ventures International, the media investment group, has taken
control of Talk Radio UK, buying out Emmis Broadcasting, CanWest and
Hambros Bank in a deal believed to be worth more than pounds 5 million,
which gives the company a 95 per cent stake in the station. The
Luxembourg-based international media group, CLT, is also believed to be
close to taking a stake.
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO’s media director, Alan Brydon, has poached Jim
McDonald from IDK Media to head the agency’s Sainsbury’s media planning
and buying business. McDonald, a planner-buyer at IDK, will join AMV
this month.
TNT and the Cartoon Network have revealed the latest results of their
third pan-European survey. Thirty-four per cent of children said the
Cartoon Network was their favourite channel (MTV came second with 13 per
cent) and around 36 per cent of the channel’s audience is adult. Just
under half (43 per cent) of adults with access to TNT throughout Europe
tune in during the week.
Virgin Radio is offering a new, one-stop information line for listeners
and advertisers. A pounds 3 million deal with the digital phone service,
Orange, has resulted in the launch of the Virgin Radio Directory, which
will offer listeners information on concerts, bookings, flights,
holidays and hotels, direct record purchase and merchandise. Advertisers
will also be able to use the number for any direct response ads
broadcast on the station.
Barb is overhauling its audience measurement research system to take
account of new broadcasters, technology and data requirements. The
present research contract ends in July 1998, but the board is seeking an
extension of the arrangements for a further two years, with
modifications to measure new channels, including Channel 5 and the
growing cable industry, together with any other changes in data
requirements.
TCC, the satellite and cable channel for children, is launching its own
quarterly magazine, Get Stuff. More than 300,000 copies of the
publication will be distributed free via cable operators through retail
outlets, customer mailings and customer services. Get Stuff will also be
delivered with free newspapers to cable homes with children in the
London, Birmingham and Liverpool areas.
Half of all adults believe ITV should be allowed to schedule News at Ten
at times to suit the rest of its programme schedule, according to CIA
MediaLab’s latest Sensor survey. However, 43 per cent still believe that
News at Ten should always be at 10pm, while 3 per cent think it should
move permanently to another slot.
Harari Page is launching a campaign for Country Music Television next
month. The TV ads, which will run on Sky, UK Gold, VH-1 and the Family
Channel, are designed to increase the awareness and trial of the United
Artists Programming channel.
ITV has published a report which, for the first time, quantifies its
value to the UK television industry. The report, Television and the Role
of ITV, has been put together by Spectrum Strategy Consultants. Among
the findings are: ITV invests more money in programmes per head of
population than any other European broadcaster and spends more on
original TV drama than any other European broadcaster.
BSkyB has added the SkyPlus supplement to its monthly magazine, Sky TV
Guide, which is mailed direct to Sky’s 3.2 million home subscribers each
month.
Sue Phipps, a former publishing director at IPC, has joined New Crane
Publishing as publishing director of Sainsbury’s: The Magazine,
following the growth of the magazine over the past two-and-a-half years.
