Small TV companies claim BBC trying to get them to lease shows for longer for same feeThe BBC has been accused of trying to strong-arm independent TV producers into extending the availability of their shows on the iPlayer from 30 days to one year witho…
Read moreAuthor: Mark Sweney
Sports Direct shares tumble as it races to find new auditor
After Grant Thornton quits, retailer talks to government about stock market rulesShares in Sports Direct have tumbled to their lowest level since 2011 after its auditors quit leaving the retailer, leaving less than a month to find a replacement.The sha…
Read moreNHS gets £8m payout over drug firm’s anti-competitive practices
Competition and Markets Authority found Aspen struck deals with rival firms to push up cost of life-saving drugThe NHS has been given an £8m payout from a pharmaceutical firm after an investigation found that it engaged in anti-competitive practices th…
Read moreFirst ads banned for contravening UK gender stereotyping rules
Watchdog bans VW and Philadelphia ads with bungling dads and ‘passive’ womenTwo television ads, one featuring new dads bungling comically while looking after their babies and the other a woman sitting next to a pram, have become the first to be banned …
Read moreMore than half of people aged 65 and over now shop online – ONS
Four in five Britons make online purchases, with 44% spending £100-£499 over three monthsThe online shopping revolution has officially become mainstream among the once tech-resistant generation aged 65 and over, with more than half now saying they shop…
Read moreUK consumers switch to online streaming en masse
Retailers suffer as DVD, CD and video games sales plunge by up to a fifthSales of DVDs, CDs and video games plunged by almost a fifth in the three months to the end of June, as consumers ditch physical products for online streaming.Specialist retailers…
Read moreWPP shares bounce back as company beats City forecasts
Firm has struggled to recover from string of client losses but outperforms wider FTSE 100WPP was the top riser on the FTSE 100 on Friday as it beat City forecasts, sparking investor hopes that a three-year plan to rejuvenate the beleaguered advertising…
Read moreBritons break second £100m-a-week digital streaming milestone
Digital video continues to power entertainment growth with gaming spend slightly upThe streaming revolution has notched up another milestone with UK consumers spending more than £100m a week on digital entertainment services such as Netflix, Amazon, Sp…
Read moreCineworld blames lacklustre sequels as box office figures fall
Blockbusters Jurassic World, Avengers and Black Panther failed to boost audiences, firm saysCineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema chain, said admissions fell in the first half of the year, as the box-office hit Avengers: Endgame failed to make u…
Read moreMore Bodyguards and Love Islands needed as UK viewers desert TV
Ofcom report highlights scale of challenge broadcasters face from streaming servicesThe scale of the challenge UK broadcasters face in the streaming era has been thrown into stark relief by a new report, which estimates that 34 extra series of the BBC …
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