The Radio Authority has announced details of its timetable for the
award of local and regional digital multiplex service licences, which
begins later this month when a multiplex licence for Birmingham is
advertised. The authority aims to advertise one local or regional
digital licence each month up to the end of 2000.
The Mediapolis/WCRS charity auction on behalf of the Pepper Foundation
will be held on 3 December at the WCRS wine bar at 5 Golden Square.
Tickets are #5 and donated items are also being sought for auction on
the night. Last year’s event raised #28,000 and paid for one Pepper
Nurse to care for terminally ill children.
Commercial radio ad revenue has broken through the #400 million mark,
which represents a growth of 17.4 per cent over the past year. The
latest Advertising Association quarterly survey figures also show that
radio advertising accounted for a record 5.5 per cent of all display in
the second quarter of 1998.
Maiden Outdoor has promoted Jonathan Ratner to head of client sales.
Ratner joined Maiden a year ago from Express Newspapers. The company has
also hired Robert Hood from TSMS as client sales executive reporting to
Ratner.
Overall TV viewing has shown modest growth this year according to the
latest Trends in Television report from the Institute of Practitioners
in Advertising. Viewing is up for the first nine months of the year,
with average daily hours of viewing hitting 2.83 for the third quarter.
However, BBC1’s share has slipped below 30 per cent for the second time
this year.
The Sci-Fi channel has launched an ad campaign to promote its latest
acquisition, a 22-part series, Highlander: The Raven. The campaign, put
together by a group of freelance creatives and bought by Carat, includes
30-second spots across Sky channels, a colour print campaign in national
newspapers and lifestyle magazines and a national radio campaign.
Redwood Publishing, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Abbott Mead
Vickers Group, has joined forces with the Orchard Group, BBDO’s
integrated communications services agency in Asia, to work in the
Asia-Pacific region. The alliance will look to build new client
business, support Redwood’s existing clients in the region and develop
new products for the Asian market.
Future Publishing has launched the first title dedicated to digital
versatile disc technology, What DVD? The magazine is priced at #2.95 and
aims to tell readers all they need to know about the new technology,
which is being presented as an alternative to videos and CDs. It will
have a print run of 35,000 and is a one-off, although a further issue is
planned if sales go well.
A study commissioned by GWR Group and carried out by KPMG has called for
ownership controls on commercial radio to be replaced with a new regime
similar to the one governing TV. The study argues for a maximum audience
share of 20 per cent for owners. The report is in response to the
Government’s green paper, Regulating Communications, and argues that
current regulations hinder the pursuit of objectives for radio set out
by the Government in its consultation paper.
Jill Forgham, an executive from Portland Outdoor Advertising, has been
appointed director of client services at Portland’s office in Venezuela
as part of PPL’s expansion into the Latin American market. Forgham’s
responsibilities will include BAT Bigott, a recent PPL account win in
Venezuela.
Deconstruction Records has bought a microsite on NME’s website for the
band, Spiritualized. Box banners in the margins of pages on the NME site
advertise the microsite, which includes details of the new album from
the group, tour news and audio clips.
