Media UK

SURGE - news archive

This is an archive of news about SURGE. Some links may no longer work, due to the transient nature of the internet.

The DJ who sings 'Revolution' to the counter-insurgents
From Media Guardian. Posted May 31 2008, 11.03pm
Beatles fan Mohammed Ahmed is a voice of peace amid war. David Smith met him in Baghdad (more)

Radio 4 bounces back in Sony awards
From Media Guardian. Posted May 13 2008, 7.43am
Spoof radio phone-in show Down the Line was one of several Sony Award-winning shows as the resurgent Radio 4 also took the station of the year prize. By Owen Gibson (more)

Radio 4 marks resurgence with Sony award wins
From Media Guardian. Posted May 12 2008, 11.07pm
BBC network takes the station of the year prize in its 40th year on air (more)

Clear Channel surges after asset sell-off
From Financial Times. Posted May 9 2008, 11.16pm
Clear Channel recorded a surge in first-quarter earnings, helped by asset sales, although the media group's core radio and outdoor advertising divisions showed signs of continued weakness in a sluggish advertising market (more)

easyJet chief says oil surge creates 'darwinian economics' for airlines
From Daily Telegraph. Posted May 7 2008, 4.30pm
Easyjet is planning to rein back its breakneck growth in light of the soaring oil price but still intends to add 43 aircraft to its fleet over the next two years as it cranks up the pressure on weaker rivals. (more)

TV ratings - May 5: Flood falls back after early surge
From Media Guardian. Posted May 6 2008, 10.39am
The concluding part of ITV1's disaster drama Flood leaked a million viewers from its debut, but still won the 9pm slot. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

China Medstar surges on bid hopes
From Daily Telegraph. Posted May 3 2008, 12.01am
Diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy group China Medstar saw its shares jump 58pc as it revealed it had received a potential bid offer. (more)

Pentagon launches foreign news websites - USA Today
From Media Network Weblog. Posted May 1 2008, 1.42pm
USA Today reports that the Pentagon is setting up a global network of foreign-language news websites, including an Arabic site for Iraqis, and hiring local journalists to write current events stories and other content that promote US interests and counter insurgent messages. The paper says that the news sites are part of a Pentagon initiative [...] (more)

Birmingham Post sees traffic surge
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted April 30 2008, 3.55pm
Unique users to the Birmingham Post website rose by 72 per cent over the last month, according to the paper's editor Marc Reeves. Reeves released the figure for the period of March to April this year in a post to microblogging service Twitter. The site's relaunch in February gave the online edition more emphasis on breaking news [...] (more)

News of the World claims web traffic surge over Max Mosley sex video
From Media Guardian. Posted April 11 2008, 4.22pm
The News of the World's video of Formula One boss Max Mosley with five prostitutes attracted almost 189,000 unique visitors to its website yesterday, according to figures released by the newspaper. By Tara Conlan (more)

9X surges to fourth position in India
From Biz Asia. Posted April 8 2008, 4.25pm
INX Media's 9X has stormed into fourth position amongst Hindi General Entertainment Channels (GEC) in India. Launched just under five months ago, 9X continues to maintain a steady growth, week on week with it now hoping to catch up with established channels ZEE TV, STAR Plus and Sony Entertainment Television Asia. In Week 14 of data released for India's West, North and East amongst C&S 4+ audiences, 9X is at 83 GRPs. Other GEC channel ratings are as follows: STAR Plus (346 GRPs), ZEE TV (188 GRPs) and Sony (88) GRPs. In terms of time spent, 9X was at number three amongst the GECs in terms of viewing time; viewers spent 58 minutes on 9X. Time spent on other channels was as follows: STAR Plus (176), ZEE TV (105), Sony (57), Sahara One (57), NDTV Imagine (57), STAR One (53), ZEE Next (32), SAB (29). As BizAsia.co.uk exclusively reported earlier this week, 9X is set to launch in the UK with tests beginning this week. Related links: EXCLUSIVE: 9X UK launch imminent NDTV Imagine set for UK launch Bolly stars lead panel on new 9X reality show Music channel establishes lead position in India 9X & Bindaas begin eating into popular channels New channel 9X opens to a mixed response INX Network to launch channel in India this month STAR India's legal head quits network It's official! Top bosses quit STAR India Siddhartha Basu turns producer for ZEE TV soap (more)

Specialist coverage of Suffolk prostitute murder trial causes record surge in web traffic
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted March 11 2008, 12.00am
Coverage of the Steve Wright trial saw a rise of 35,000 unique users to the East Anglian Daily Times and 40,000 to the Ipswich Evening Star in January (more)

Somali troops raid three radio stations
From Media Network Weblog. Posted March 2 2008, 12.56pm
Somali forces closed down three radio stations during raids in search of suspected Islamist insurgents today, the stations’ directors said. Troops moved against the independent stations a day after a gunfight in Mogadishu’s central market between insurgents and government troops backed by Ethiopian forces killed nine people. Employees of Horn Afrik, Shabelle and Simba radios [...] (more)

Virgin Media customer numbers surge
From Financial Times. Posted February 28 2008, 11.49am
Virgin Media, the cable TV and telecoms operator, has its best quarterly performance after signing up a net 24,000 new customers in the final three months of last year (more)

From the lion's den to the dental surgery
From Media Guardian. Posted February 25 2008, 12.02am
After a career in newspaper journalism, the ex-editor of the Sunday Telegraph's decision to move to a monthly magazine long associated with waiting rooms was a surprise. Ben Dowell asks about her plans (more)

GCap in tune with ads
From The Scotsman. Posted February 1 2008, 12.00am
XFM Scotland owner GCap Media has seen revenues surge by seven per cent and insisted that it sees "no evidence" of a slowdown in radio advertising. (more)

'Desi DNA' specials with A.Network in Feb
From Biz Asia. Posted January 30 2008, 11.31pm
The BBC Asian arts and entertainment show 'Desi DNA' has teamed up with the BBC Asian Network for two special shows to be aired in February. 'Desi DNA', which is fronted by Adil Ray, Anita Rani, Bobby Friction, Samanthi, Parv Bancil, Nikki Bedi, Tommy Sandhu and Bidisha returned on BBC Two for its fifth series last week. 'Desi DNA & Asian Network Presents' is a multi platform Asian music collaboration spanning DAB digital radio, online, mobile and TV. For the first time full performances from the gig will be available to digital tv viewers via the red button from any BBC channel between 13th and 20th February. 'Desi DNA & BBC Asian Network Presents' introduces the first of two programmes from a specially recorded showcase presented by Adil Ray and Bobby Friction. On Wednesday 13th February (23:20) there are live performances and backstage interviews from artists including Danish rap outfit Outlandish, resurgent R and B singer Jay Sean, currently gaining chart success for his new single Ride It and a rising crop of new talent including exotic electro folk sitar player and singer Bishi and Bhangra DJs Tigerstyle, making their TV debut. Recorded in December exclusively for 'Desi DNA' and the BBC Asian Network at London’s Scala Theatre, digital TV viewers can watch full performances from Jay Sean and Outlandish by pressing the red button from any BBC channel. The second 'Desi DNA & BBC Asian Network Presents' which airs on BBC Two on Wednesday 20th February, introduces more exclusive recordings from the Scala gig. The programme features live performances from Bhangra progressives Swami, more from Jay Sean, and hip hop outfit Sona Family. This will be the first time the Asian Network will function the red button facility on digital TV. Related link: BBC Asian Network ups the ante on marketing (more)

Bacon to undergo throat surgery
From Radio Today. Posted January 8 2008, 2.25pm
Richard Bacon is to have an operation to remove a growth on his vocal cords. He told listeners to his Radio 5 Live show last night he will be off work for a month and will be unable to speak for a fortnight. He went on to post a photo of his vocal chords on the 5 Live website. (more)

GCap shares surge as it rejects takeover
From The Scotsman. Posted January 8 2008, 12.00am
BRITAIN'S largest publicly traded radio group, GCap Media, soared by almost half yesterday after confirming it had rejected a £313 million takeover bid. (more)

Bidding war talk boosts Xfm owner
From BBC News. Posted January 7 2008, 12.27pm
GCap Media shares surge as it spurns one bid approach, amid talk more are likely. (more)

Mogadishu mayor spurns radio pleas to resume broadcasts
From Media Network Weblog. Posted December 2 2007, 11.44am
The mayor of Mogadishu yesterday spurned pleas by three radio stations to resume broadcasting, a fortnight after they were pulled off air for allegedly fanning insurgency, radio managers said. The Somali authorities ordered Radio Simba, Radio Banadir and Radio Shabelle to halt operations  in the volatile seaside capital in mid-November. In order to resume business, the [...] (more)

My Mentor: Ben Jones on Neil Fox
From The Independent. Posted October 29 2007, 12.20am
Neil Fox is the reason I'm in radio today. I grew up in Bournemouth and even down there we knew that Dr Fox's Surgery on Capital Radio was this cool show from London. I'd get my mum to tune into it as soon as we could if we were driving up. It had this element of gravitas, and it got big guests; I remember Madonna co-hosting one show. It was fast-paced and interactive and it really reflected the capital. (more)

Digital radio platforms see upsurge in popularity
From Biz Asia. Posted October 26 2007, 9.07pm
Digital radio listening on DAB and television has seen an upsurge in popularity, according to recently released data by RAJAR. The majority of digital listening is done on DAB sets but digital TV is also on the rise as an outlet, although the Internet’s share of listening has fallen slightly in the last quarter. The survey showed 15% (6.1 million adults) of radio listeners now tune in through a digital radio, which is an increase of nearly 3% on the last quarter of this year. The results showed also that 3% of listening happens via digital cable, satellite and terrestrial television. Listening via a mobile phone has also witnessed a steady increase in popularity, now with an audience share of 9.2%. 2.76 million people now listen to podcasts. This signifies good news for digital only Asian radio stations such as Panjab Radio, Q Asia, Asian Gold, Asian Plus, Sukh Sagar, Akash Radio amongst many others. Related links: RAJAR Results: Kismat biggest winner in London Two new radio stations launch on Midlands DAB RAJAR Results: Digital platform proving a big hit (more)

Radio 1 lines up more Moyles in schedule overhaul
From Brand Republic. Posted September 6 2007, 3.15pm
LONDON - Radio 1 has revamped its schedule, giving breakfast DJ Chris Moyles an extra half-hour before his previous 7am start and recruiting Kelly Osbourne to host its Sunday night teen advice show 'Surgery'. (more)

'Public autopsy' surgeon Gunther von Hagens returns to Channel 4
From Media Guardian. Posted September 6 2007, 1.00am
8am: The anatomist who performed the UK's first modern public autopsy on Channel 4 is returning with a series giving graphic first-aid tips. By Leigh Holmwood. (more)

Emap shares surge as sale beckons
From Media Guardian. Posted August 30 2007, 1.00am
The potential break-up of Emap came a step closer today as the company said it is preparing to send out information to bidders. By Mark Sweney. (more)

Magazine ABCs: Women's weeklies continue to surge
From Press Gazette. Posted August 16 2007, 12.00am
(more)

Juice accused of prize boob
From Radio Today. Posted August 13 2007, 3.47pm
Liverpool's Juice FM is being criticised - for offering a breast enlargement as the prize in an on-air competition. 27-year-old Nadine Pude has won the chance to increase her bra size from an A to a DD and will have the operation later this month. But there's criticism from doctors who say it's not a good advert for cosmetic surgery. (more)

Lyons considers radical surgery
From Media Guardian. Posted August 9 2007, 1.00am
BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons has refused to rule out radical changes, including the closure of entire channels or services, as the BBC Trust examines cost-cutting plans. By Owen Gibson. (more)

Iraq: ?Insurgent? Al-Zawraa TV no longer observed
From Media Network Weblog. Posted July 30 2007, 12.32pm
Al-Zawraa TV, the pro-Sunni satellite television channel known for showing footage of insurgent attacks on US-led coalition forces is no longer being observed on the Arabsat-owned Badr 3 satellite by BBC Monitoring. The station has not been observed on its last known frequency (Badr 3 at 26 degrees east, 11766MHz horizontal polarization) since 30 July. A [...] (more)

Web surge after Lincs flood crisis
From Hold the Front Page. Posted July 23 2007, 12.00am
Work around the clock paid off as readers flocked to Telegraph online (more)

Annie Mac Hosting The Radio 1 Surgery
From Merry Media. Posted July 9 2007, 5.15pm
Annie Mac will host The Radio 1 Surgery during the Six Weeks Of Summer. Leitita SD, the current host of the show presented her final show yesterday.. (more)

Virgin shares surge on bid
From The Scotsman. Posted July 2 2007, 11.23pm
CABLE operator Virgin Media has confirmed it has received a bid approach from an unnamed group, which sources believe to be US private equity firm Carlyle Group (more)

Charlie Wolf confirms cancer
From Radio Today. Posted June 27 2007, 9.35am
Former talkSPORT and RedFM presenter Charlie Wolf has told RadioToday.co.uk that he has cancer. He will have surgery to remove a tumour on his right kidney in the next fortnight and is expected to make a full recovery. Doctors believe they have caught the disease in time and the future prognosis is very good. (more)

ITV surges on talk of BSkyB sell-off
From The Scotsman. Posted May 25 2007, 11.44pm
SATELLITE television provider BSkyB has not sold its 17.9 per cent stake in broadcaster ITV and has no immediate plans to do so, people familiar with the situation said. (more)

Yahoo! surges on Microsoft talk
From Media Guardian. Posted May 4 2007, 1.00am
5.30pm: Yahoo! shares leapt following a newspaper report that Microsoft was pushing for the pair to merge. By Bobbie Johnson. (more)

Subscriber surge helps push BSkyB shares to a three-year high
From The Scotsman. Posted May 2 2007, 11.12pm
SHARES in BSkyB soared nearly 6 per cent to their highest level for three years yesterday after the satellite broadcaster unveiled forecast-busting subscriber numbers, indicating that its move into broadband appeared to be paying off. (more)

Radio Surgery helps students
From Radio Today. Posted April 4 2007, 12.22am
Students from a school in Burnley have completed another trial radio broadcast with the help of a Lancashire based training and consultancy business. The Radio Surgery is managed by 2BR founder David Blaxhall, who has now helped many schools get on-air using RSL licences. (more)

RTL group chalks up 66 percent jump in 2006 profit
From Media Network Weblog. Posted March 8 2007, 12.12pm
Luxembourg-based television and radio group RTL Group reported a 66-percent jump in full-year 2006 net profit, boosted by a strong performance from its biggest channels. Group net profit surged to 890 million euros ($1.17 billion) in 2006 from 537 million euros in 2005, bringing earnings per share to 5.79 euros from 3.50 euros previously. “2006 was a [...] (more)

Newsbeat Survey into Young Britons
From Merry Media. Posted February 20 2007, 4.43pm
A BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat and 1Xtra TXU survey into how young Britons feel about their bodies found that more than 50% of female respondents said they would consider having plastic surgery.. (more)

Insurgent TV channel turns into Iraq's newest cult hit
From Media Guardian. Posted January 15 2007, 12.00am
Iraq's 24-hour satellite station al-Zawraa TV is a local success. By Michael Howard in Baghdad. (more)

Murray takes break from Radio 4
From Media Guardian. Posted December 21 2006, 12.00am
4.45pm: BBC Radio 4 presenter Jenni Murray will be taking a break from the station to recover from surgery for cancer. By Jemima Kiss. (more)

Autumn fears dampen Chrysalis profit surge
From Media Guardian. Posted November 1 2006, 12.00am
1.45pm update: News from Heart radio station's owner Chrysalis that a tough summer for commercial radio has continued into autumn overshadowed a jump in profits and knocked the group's shares today. By Katie Allen. (more)

Excite launches first UK cosmetic surgery magazine
From Brand Republic. Posted October 27 2006, 11.10am
LONDON - Excite Publishing has launched what it claims is the UK's first online cosmetic surgery magazine, Cosmetic Surgery Answers, which it said would fill in the gaps about patients' queries. (more)

Global digital terrestrial TV market set to surge - forecast
From Media Network Weblog. Posted October 23 2006, 10.32am
Forecasts from IMS Research predict that the worldwide digital terrestrial TV (DTT) market will grow significantly over the next five years, from an estimated 37 million households in 2006 to a predicted 131 million households by the end of 2011, the advanced-television.com e-mail newsletter reported on 20 October. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region [...] (more)

The Guardian surges in paid-for newspaper market
From Brand Republic. Posted October 13 2006, 12.10pm
LONDON - The Guardian notched up a massive 7.26% increase in circulation to 389,844 copies in September's monthly ABC figures, as its nature wallcharts proved the cream of the month's bumper crop of giveaways. (more)

Trading up for GMG Radio
From Radio Today. Posted August 14 2006, 6.00pm
GMG Radio has announced that, despite a cloud of gloom across much of commercial radio, revenue figures for the first three months of the new financial year have surged ahead. Trading for both its Real Radio and Smooth brands was up 26% from April to June 2006. The increase in revenue comes after The Guardian Media Group Plc reported last week that revenue growth for its radio stations for the year to April 2006 outperformed the market with a 13.9% increase in turnover to £27.9m with profits up by 170% from £1.0m to £2.7m. (more)

Somalia?s Radio Mogadishu reportedly under Islamists? control
From Media Network Weblog. Posted August 7 2006, 9.00am
Somalia’s resurgent Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) have taken the territories where the country’s former national radio is located in the capital Mogadishu. Sources in the capital have told BBC Monitoring that the Radio Mogadishu (Voice of the People of the Somali Republic) is now under the Islamists’ control. The station is located near Villa Somalia, [...] (more)

All Out celebrates BBC contract
From Radio Today. Posted July 30 2006, 5.45pm
Multi-award winning radio indie All Out Productions is celebrating its biggest ever series of commissions for BBC Radio 1. This follows the company’s first ever commission to produce audio content for Channel 4 Radio. The Manchester-based indie has been commissioned to produce six new half-hour documentary programmes, five to be broadcast during Steve Lamacq’s Lamacq Live show starting from the 24th of July, and one during the station’s hugely successful Sunday Surgery later this year. (more)

News audience surge as BBC puts 100 staff on Middle East crisis
From Press Gazette. Posted July 21 2006, 4.13pm
Audiences for the BBC’s Ten O’Clock news have risen by around 400,000 since the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon and Israel. (more)

YouTube serves up 100 million videos a day online
From Media Network Weblog. Posted July 17 2006, 12.29pm
YouTube, the leader in Internet video search, said yesterday that viewers are now watching more than 100 million videos per day on its site, marking the surge in demand for its “snack-sized” video fare. Since springing from out of nowhere late last year, YouTube has come to hold the leading position in online video with 29 [...] (more)

BBC's online games surge
From Media Guardian. Posted June 29 2006, 6.22pm
5.15pm: The BBC has received more than 1.7m requests to watch matches over its broadband service in the first two weeks of the World Cup. By Mark Sweney. (more)

Broadcasting Board of Governors announces ?surge broadcasting? plan
From Media Network Weblog. Posted June 19 2006, 10.50am
The US Broadcasting Board of Governors, International Broadcasting Bureau (BBG/IBB) is seeking to acquire satellite and ground station facilities, to augment existing facilities on an urgent and temporary basis to increase broadcast penetration into specific target areas during high profile events (Surge Broadcasting). BBG/IBB therefore desires to place indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts with multiple [...] (more)

ITV opens Asia bureau to cash in on sales surge
From Media Guardian. Posted June 15 2006, 10.51am
9.45am: ITV is to open its first Asian office to capitalise on 20% growth in the region for selling programmes to broadcasters and content to mobile and internet platforms. By Mark Sweney. (more)

Safer sex from BBC Radio 1
From Radio Today. Posted May 23 2006, 2.00pm
BBC Radio 1 has announced a unique partnership with BBC 1Xtra, MTV and Durex to launch BareAll06 - a safer sex campaign in the form of an online survey aimed at finding out what the nation's youth really think about sexual health. BareAll06 marks the first time the three youth brands have teamed up to examine and highlight an important youth issue. Each presenter will host a special edition of Radio 1's Sunday Surgery phone-in show alongside Dr Mark Hamilton. (more)

Scientist seeks link between solar flares and strokes
From Media Network Weblog. Posted April 24 2006, 6.51pm
Could the same solar energy surges that disrupt radio transmissions and cause power blackouts also trigger strokes in human beings? Neurologists who traced about 6,800 strokes and related cerebral attacks in one region of Slovakia have added that question to ongoing studies of whether solar cycles, solar wind and geomagnetic storms on Earth may be somehow connected to human health. Dr Michal (more)

Sales surge for Brit TV
From Media Guardian. Posted April 18 2006, 2.36pm
The revenue generated by the export of British television programmes including Jamie's School Dinners and Midsomer Murders leapt by 21% in 2005 to £632m. By Ben Dowell. (more)

AOL surges ahead with marriage of TV and internet
From The Independent. Posted April 10 2006, 12.00am
AOL chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller was around for the first internet crash. So, like most senior executives anticipating a second online boom, he is cautious. But confidently so. (more)

Love It! will revel in sex, celebrities and surgery
From Press Gazette. Posted January 19 2006, 12.00am
News International is to make a typically colourful entrance into the UK magazine market with the launch of fluorescent women’s weekly Love It! and the claim that closest rival Pick Me Up is “full of grey-haired grannies”. (more)