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Ben Fenton
Silver lining for TV advertisers
Submitted by Benton Foundation on October 8, 2008 - 7:12amLast updated: October 8, 2008 - 7:12am
As experts on Tuesday predicted tougher times for UK advertising spending, Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, offered some hope to the beleaguered sector. While Zenith Optimedia, in its quarterly projections of advertising budgets, predicted a global slowdown as economic times worsened, Ofcom said it would consider relaxing rules governing how many advertisements can be shown in peak time.
New broadband plan for UK
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 16, 2008 - 7:29amLast updated: July 16, 2008 - 7:30am
According to Ofcom, UK customers enjoy an average download speed of 4.6Mbps. Anyone who has logged on at 6pm on a weekday would probably laugh at that figure. With some customers several miles from the local exchange on old copper wire, and many sharing connections with up to 50 households linked to one streetside cabinet, such speeds, let alone the advertised 8Mbps, are the stuff of dreams.
UK Cultural Secretary signals veto on product placement
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 12, 2008 - 8:07amLast updated: September 24, 2008 - 1:04pm
UK Cultural Secretary delivered a blow to the advertising industry and to ITV on Wednesday when he signalled an intention to veto product-placement in the UK. In his first big speech since taking office in January, Burnham said the government had an economic interest in protecting standards in UK broadcasting because they were "part of Britain's brand when it comes to world markets." "Here and now, I do want to signal that I think there are some lines that we should not cross one of which is that you can buy the space between the programmes on commercial channels, but not the space within them," Mr Burnham told a media seminar in London.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/94328564-37a2-11dd-aabb-0000779fd2ac.html
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Channel 4 reaches a ‘tipping point’
Submitted by Benton Foundation on April 24, 2008 - 8:40amChannel 4 is in urgent need of a new funding model and has reached a “tipping point” beyond which it will move into annual losses, its chairman, Luke Johnson, said.
