Media UK

Magic - news archive

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

Harry Potter magic rubs off on Bloomsbury profits
From Daily Telegraph. Posted August 29 2008, 11.50am
Harry Potter continued to work his magic at Bloomsbury Publishing, helping the company increase its cash pile and boost first-half investment income by more than 200pc. (more)

DLT's Magic Cadillac giveaway
From Radio Today. Posted August 25 2008, 4.22pm
Magic presenter Dave Lee Travis has given away his beloved Cadillac on air after suggesting that the contents of his garage be used as prizes. (more)

Magic 105.4 gets in the mood
From Radio Today. Posted August 11 2008, 12.20am
Magic 105.4 is launching what it describes as a "good mood" poster campaign across London.The campaign for the capital's commercial market leader launches today for two weeks across 1000 poster sites in the city. (more)

Bauer rules London with Magic
From Radio Today. Posted July 24 2008, 7.23am
There may have been doubt in the past but not anymore. Magic 105.4 is the undisputed number one commercial station in London, beating second place Heart 106.2 on all measures. (more)

Rajars: Magic's Neil Fox takes London breakfast top spot
From Media Guardian. Posted July 24 2008, 7.06am
Magic's Neil Fox has beaten Heart's Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott to become the number one commercial breakfast show in London. By Mark Sweney (more)

BBC1 works ratings magic with 'New Tricks'
From Digital Spy. Posted July 8 2008, 11.53am
The return of detective drama New Tricks drew a large audience to BBC One last night. (more)

Magical win for Neil Fox
From Radio Today. Posted July 7 2008, 4.32pm
Magic 105.4 has won the Station of the Year award at the Arqivas, whilst breakfast presenter Neil Fox takes home the Gold Award. (more)

London's Magic 105.4 wins the major station of the year award at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards
From Media Guardian. Posted July 7 2008, 2.48pm
London's Magic 105.4 has won the major station of the year award at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

Ex-CNET boss Tom Bureau joins Magicalia as chief exec
From Press Gazette. Posted June 13 2008, 12.00am
Consumer magazine group Magicalia is looking to grow its digital activity with the appointment of former CNET UK managing director Tom Bureau as its new chief executive. (more)

Classic FM, Magic and Xfm Manchester vie for top radio prize
From Media Guardian. Posted June 12 2008, 6.23am
Classic FM, London's Magic 105.4 and Xfm Manchester will do battle for the big station of the year prize at this year's Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards. By John Plunkett (more)

Magicalia: New CEO plans aggressive digital expansion
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted June 11 2008, 11.00pm
Integrating print and digital business is start of cross-media focus for parenting and motorbiking areas, says Tom Bureau (more)

paidContentUK: ex-CNET UK director becomes CEO of Magicalia
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted June 11 2008, 9.45am
Tom Bureau, who left CNET UK in June last year, is set to join the consumer magazine publisher, paidContent reports (more)

Ex-CNET UK director Tom Bureau joins Magicalia
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted June 10 2008, 11.00pm
Bureau's appointment is first in a series of digital hires for the magazine publisher (more)

Springwatch promises more animal magic
From Media Guardian. Posted May 23 2008, 11.04pm
This year's programme will feel wilder and more exotic, says the BBC, thanks to a change of location (more)

Sexy name change for Magic
From Radio Today. Posted May 18 2008, 5.30pm
Magic 105.4 is to become Sex in the City FM for a whole week, starting Monday 19th, to promote the release of the new movie Sex and the City this Friday. (more)

Sony TV to launch new weekend music show
From Biz Asia. Posted April 29 2008, 9.57pm
Sony Entertainment Television Asia will be launching a musical show, which will simply see seven professional celebrity singers performing for the viewers. The show will see seven singers namely Kailash Kher, Kunal Ganjawala, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sukhwinder Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan performing for five weeks. The musical show that is being hosted by Mini Mathur will have each singer showcasing some of his /her favorite songs, solo or duet, singing with an aspiring fan, singing a request song by the audience...all interspersed with interesting anecdotes and milestones from the singer’s musical career. Sony Entertainment Television EVP and business head Albert Almeida said, "Over the years the country has seen some truly magical talent. This show endeavors to celebrate music and the lives of these great artists by putting them on a platform that takes them into the homes of their biggest fans. So sit back and enjoy your most intimate rendezvous with your favorite singing stars." 'Yeh Shaam Mastani' will occupy the Friday - Sunday 21:00 slot, starting 3rd May. (more)

A magical medium that allowed Humph to find his voice
From Media Guardian. Posted April 26 2008, 11.03pm
Leader: In 1979, a one-hit-wonder pop song confidently predicted that video had killed the radio star. It hadn't (more)

Magic radio launches UGC TV ad campaign
From UTalk Marketing. Posted April 8 2008, 1.53pm
Listeners take control (more)

Magic Radio 'Good Mood Film'
From UTalk Marketing. Posted April 8 2008, 1.15pm
User-Generated ad (more)

Listeners create Magic TV ad
From Radio Today. Posted April 8 2008, 8.05am
Magic 105.4's latest television commercial has been made using images sent in by listeners. The user-generated Magic Good Mood Film starts this week. (more)

Radio station Magic launches user-generated ad
From Media Guardian. Posted April 8 2008, 6.14am
Magic 105.4 is to launch a TV ad consisting entirely of images sent in by listeners. By John Plunkett (more)

Girls to control Magic 105.4
From Radio Today. Posted April 2 2008, 11.03pm
Magic 105.4 owner Bauer has signed Unilever's Dove brand for a six month sponsorship deal which includes female presenters Lisa I’Anson, Hannah Cox and Angie Greaves hijacking the airwaves. (more)

Pratchett works magic for Sky One
From Media Guardian. Posted March 25 2008, 11.00am
Sky One's lavish Terry Pratchett drama The Colour of Magic concluded with nearly 1 million viewers. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

TV ratings - March 24: Pratchett works magic for Sky One
From Media Guardian. Posted March 25 2008, 11.00am
Sky One's lavish Terry Pratchett drama The Colour of Magic concluded with nearly 1 million viewers. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

Vidler to work marketing magic for Bauer
From Media Guardian. Posted March 19 2008, 12.18pm
The MD of London radio station Magic 105.4 has been made chief marketing officer for parent company Bauer Consumer Media. By John Plunkett (more)

David Jason queasy during 'Magic' stunt
From Digital Spy. Posted March 4 2008, 12.27pm
Sir David Jason reveals that he nearly vomited while filming The Colour Of Magic. (more)

Pratchett kneels for Sir David Jason
From Digital Spy. Posted March 4 2008, 10.17am
Terry Pratchett kneels down before Sir David Jason at the premiere of The Colour of Magic. (more)

'Chak De India' spells magic on Sony TV in March
From Biz Asia. Posted February 19 2008, 10.05pm
Shah Rukh Khan will be spelling magic for Sony Entertainment Television Asia in March when his movie 'Chak De India' gets its World TV premiere on the channel. The hockey themed movie released last summer and did average business at the box office. The film produced by Yash Raj Films is being screened on the channel as part of the network's exclusive tie-up with the production house. Sony Entertainment Television Network is the only Indian broadcaster that holds the rights to the entire Yash Raj Films library until 2012. 'Chak De India' will be shown on Sunday 23rd March at 20:00 on Sony Entertainment Television Asia. (more)

Ad-free hour for Magic 105.4
From Radio Today. Posted February 19 2008, 8.54am
Magic 105.4 owner Bauer has introduced an advertising-free hour long show each Sunday evening as part of a sponsorship deal with More Than. (more)

Magic 105.4 hires Lisa I'Anson
From Radio Today. Posted February 13 2008, 3.42pm
Former BBC Radio 1 and MTV presenter Lisa I'Anson is joining Bauer Radio's Magic 105.4 to host a weekly Sunday afternoon show. (more)

Magic pendant ad banished by ASA
From Media Guardian. Posted February 13 2008, 10.14am
A TV ad for a pendant that claimed to ward off evil spirits has been banned by the advertising watchdog for exploiting the vulnerable. By Maria Esposito (more)

Oliver's company plans kids' food show
From Digital Spy. Posted February 8 2008, 10.53am
Jamie Oliver is executive producing a children's show pilot about cooking "with a touch of magic". (more)

Magicalia breaths new life into moribund magazines
From Daily Telegraph. Posted February 5 2008, 12.01am
Chairman Peter Harkness describes his company, hobby magazine publisher Magicalia, as providing a "Battersea Dogs Home" for unwanted titles. (more)

Heart, Magic fight for London top spot
From Digital Spy. Posted January 31 2008, 10.34am
Heart 106.2 and Magic 105.4 are London's most listened to commercial radio stations, with Capital a distant third. (more)

Heart and Magic share London spoils
From Media Guardian. Posted January 31 2008, 8.27am
Heart and Magic shared the spoils in the latest listening figures for the London commercial radio battle, with Capital stuck in third place. By John Plunkett (more)

Ekta Kapoor set to recreate 'Mahabharat'
From Biz Asia. Posted January 28 2008, 11.18pm
TV queen Ekta Kapoor is set to recreate the 'Mahabharat' magic on a lavish scale, it’s been reported. Mumbai Mirror has said that the huge show will star all the top actors of the Balaji stable. It will go on the floors in the last week of February or the first week of March and will be aired mid-2008, on one of the recently-launched TV channels. This will be her first attempt at mythology. According to sources, some names speculated to take part in the new show are Chetan Hansraj, Naman Shaw, Ronit Roy, Shabbir Aluwalia, Aamir Ali, Jay Bhanushali, Karan Patel, Ram Kapoor and Hiten Tejwani. She has also spoken to Gauri Pradhan and Saakshi Tanwar. However it is yet unclear who will play the five Pandavas and the important characters among the Kauravas. Recently NDTV's new entertainment channel NDTV Imagine launched its mythological show 'Ramayan' in the primetime slot. Related link: NDTV Imagine to recreate 'Ramayan' magic (more)

Magic 105.4 goes Underground
From Radio Today. Posted January 14 2008, 12.47pm
The latest advertising campaign for Emap's Magic 105.4 has taken the station underground - to the animated escalator panels on the tube. The station is using 20 key tube stations to advertise its Magic Mystery Voices Promotion which runs across the schedule. (more)

Why 36 is the magic number for nuclear
From The Times. Posted January 11 2008, 10.58am
Your electricity bill will soar as the power supply becomes greener and more radioactive, in line with government policy. The proof lies in a single number buried in the White Paper on Nuclear Power, published yesterday. (more)

NDTV Imagine to recreate 'Ramayan' magic
From Biz Asia. Posted January 7 2008, 9.10pm
India's new channel NDTV Imagine has roped in original producers Sagar Arts to remake the mythological drama 'Ramayan' in a new avatar. The entire production is being executed at Sagar Film City in Baroda where grand sets have been erected to depict key areas in the kingdom of Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Ram. This new version has the advantage of being produced in times of huge technical advancements which will greatly enhance the story telling in a compelling new way. Announcing the launch of the show, Mr. Sameer Nair, CEO, NDTV Imagine said, "Ramayan is a tale for every generation. It is multi-layered, multi-faceted, multi-dimensional... and this brand new daily version of the timeless classic has been interpreted to cater to the taste of a shining, modern India. Television is all about great stories well told, and for us, Ramayan is India's greatest story ever and we hope to re-tell it in a compelling, entertaining manner." The characters in Ramayan will be essayed by a new generation of actors – Gurmeet Choudhary will play the lead of Lord Ram, while Debina Bonnerjee plays Sita. The 3 key characters - Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan will be played by Ankit Arora, Vije Bhatia and Lalit Negi respectively. Commenting on the show announcement, Mr. Prem Sagar said, “Ramayan like river Ganga is sacred, timeless and unmeasureable. A dip in the values of idealism and sacrifice embodied in Ramayan is like a bath in the Ganga that purifies your thought, speech and action and washes away all evil gathered as time has moved life. Twenty years ago, our revered father Dr. Ramanand Sagar created a revolution through a blockbuster show. Now, we the second and third generation hopes to recreate the same magic”. Adds Mr. Nair, “Ramayan has a huge connect with audiences across the country and has all the elements that will deliver on our promise to entertain and delight. The Sagar’s are powerful storytellers and the final word in creating mythological epics for television and we believe that our partnership has the potential to make Ramayan a show that the whole family will watch together every evening.” NDTV Imagine will hit TV screens in India on Monday 21st January. It will offer programming across genres, ranging from light-hearted family soaps to period dramas and from high voltage music and dance entertainers to the most glamorous events in the entertainment business. NDTV Imagine is looking at launching in the UK later this year. (more)

IPC to sell Practical Parenting to Magicalia
From Press Gazette. Posted January 3 2008, 12.00am
IPC Media has announced it is to sell it’s monthly parenting guide, Practical Parenting, to Magicalia because they say it no longer fits in with IPC Southbank’s portfolio. (more)

Online specialist publisher Magicalia buys print title from IPC Media
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted January 3 2008, 12.00am
Practical Parenting title sold to Magicalia as publisher expands its offline presence    (more)

Neil Fox: Rise and shine, the Fox is prowling the Magic airwaves
From The Independent. Posted December 3 2007, 12.40am
At precisely 5am each weekday morning, Neil Andrew Howe Fox steps out of his Chelsea home, climbs aboard his Harley and for the next 11 minutes purrs through the trafficless streets of London on his way to the radio studio behind Oxford Street where he plies his trade. In appropriate weather, he will don a pair of sunglasses for the duration of his commute. (more)

Ex-Magic host Graham Dene to front Smooth breakfast show
From Media Guardian. Posted November 26 2007, 5.35pm
Former Magic drivetime host Graham Dene will front rival Smooth Radio's breakfast show from next year. By John Plunkett (more)

Video: PlayStation 3 Christmas TV advert
From Media Guardian. Posted November 22 2007, 4.02pm
Sony's PlayStation 3 ads for the Christmas market will have a theatrical theme and feature performers including a magician and an acrobat (more)

Magic's Neil Fox seizes top London breakfast show crown
From Media Guardian. Posted October 25 2007, 6.48am
Magic's Neil Fox has leapfrogged Capital's Johnny Vaughan and Heart's Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott to become the top commercial breakfast show in London. By John Plunkett. (more)

The Magic Roundabout remake
From The Independent. Posted October 22 2007, 12.25am
In 1965, an animation programme burst onto our television screens with a cast of characters who bobbed around a psychedelic roundabout chewing on sugar cubes and making wry references to politics and culture while amusing pre-school children with their playful antics. (more)

Purple Labs Names Simon Wilkinson CEO
From Press Release, via webitpr. Posted October 10 2007, 2.00pm
Chamb�ry, FRANCE ? October 10th, 2007 ? Purple Labs, a leading supplier of embedded Linux solutions for the wireless industry, announced today the appointment of Simon Wilkinson as chief executive officer of the company. Previously Wilkinson was founder and CEO of Magic4, a market leading provider of messaging solutions to wireless terminal manufacturers. He took Magic4 through all stages of development, from venture capital fundraising to the recruitment and management of a senior team of... (more)

Hit Entertainment has put the rights to kids' TV puppet Sooty up for sale
From Media Guardian. Posted October 4 2007, 1.00am
Sooty, the puppet bear with a penchant for magic tricks and water pistols, is being put up for sale by owners Hit Entertainment. (more)

TV must get over its fear of interactive media, says Lilley
From Media Guardian. Posted September 13 2007, 1.00am
RTS convention: TV companies must overcome a climate of 'fear and hype' towards interactive media, according to Magic Lantern chief executive Anthony Lilley. By Mark Sweney. (more)

New Drivetime Host on Magic 105.4
From Merry Media. Posted September 12 2007, 12.20pm
Steve Priestley is the new Drivetime presenter of London radio station Magic 105.4. Priestley takes over from Graham Dene, who has left to join Smooth Radio in London as the new Breakfast presenter.. (more)

Magic listener wins £88,600
From Radio Today. Posted September 6 2007, 1.14pm
The Mystery Voices competition on Magic 105.4 has been won by a listener from Essex after correctly identifying the three voices as Paul Young, Pam Ferris and Nigel Planer. The competition had been running since the beginning of August. (more)

Magic introduces new sound
From Radio Today. Posted August 15 2007, 1.38pm
Emap's Magic 105.4 has introduced a new jingle package, created by Music4 in London. The new cuts, which started airing this week marks a return to jingles on the frequency after many years. Most recently the station has managed with just one sung jingle, played at the top of every hour. (more)

Harry Potter works magic for Time Warner profits
From Media Guardian. Posted August 2 2007, 1.00am
Time Warner, which includes Warner Bros, AOL and CNN, saw profits rise 5.2% to $1.07bn in the three months to June 30. By Katie Allen. (more)

Lee, Astin, Curry for next Pratchett film
From Digital Spy. Posted August 1 2007, 12.58pm
Christopher Lee, Sean Astin and Tim Curry join David Jason on the cast for The Colour of Magic. (more)

Northants 96 brings magic alive
From Radio Today. Posted July 13 2007, 2.39pm
GCap Media's Northants 96 is celebrating the release of the new Harry Potter film today by getting hundreds of local schoolchildren together to read the first book in the series. Each youngster is reading out half a page of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone aloud on stage at Northampton Saints' rugby ground. The station's also been broadcasting live from the event. (more)

Magic launches trivia website
From Radio Today. Posted July 3 2007, 12.20pm
Emap station Magic 105.4 is launching a new online gaming website. The interactive site, created for the station by CloudCity will roll out across all Emap Radio brands later this month and offers cash prizes. Trivia games can be played in real time by a potentially unlimited number of players. (more)

Magic 105.4 goes to the Ballet
From Radio Today. Posted June 26 2007, 8.31am
London station Magic 105.4 is to promote the English National Ballet in a year-long on-air promotion. Listeners to the Emap station will also be able to win VIP tickets to see a performance of Swan Lake live at The Palace of Versailles, with transport and accommodation. (more)

Magic helps launch new VUE
From Radio Today. Posted June 12 2007, 12.35am
Magic 105.4 is launching a new weekday competition called Trivia Triumph, initially sponsored by VUE Cinemas. During VUE’s sponsorship of the competition launch week the quiz will have a movie twist to celebrate the launch of a new o2 VUE cinema opening at the o2 arena on 29th June. (more)

Camden New Journal's magic stories
From Press Gazette. Posted June 1 2007, 12.00am
In today’s busy newsrooms it’s not often a weekly newspaper has its host of good exclusive stories written up and ready for the presses a fortnight before publication. (more)

Magic promotes George Michael
From Radio Today. Posted May 29 2007, 8.13am
Emap station Magic 105.4 has signed an exclusive deal with George Michael to give away tickets to his upcoming Wembley concerts. Listeners will be able to win tickets every hour, from 6am till 7pm for 5 days from June 4th. An outdoor advertising campaign will also highlight the giveaways. (more)

Magic 105.4 winner disqualified
From Radio Today. Posted May 25 2007, 9.56am
Look at what you could have won - that's the message to the winner of the Magic Mystery Voices Competition on Magic 105.4 in London. The winner failed to provide enough details to satisfy station bosses that they qualified to win £168,000, despite identifying the mystery voice. (more)

Simply Red to perform for Magic
From Radio Today. Posted May 15 2007, 12.05am
Emap station Magic 105.4 is entering into the world of organising live events in London, and arranging sponsorship deals to cover costs, and raise money for charity. A new deal worth £150,000 sees the station put on a Simply Red concert at Open Air Theatre, Regents Park. (more)

Magic is back at Number 1
From Radio Today. Posted May 10 2007, 7.20am
Emap's Magic 105.4 is celebrating gaining back the number one commercial radio spot in London today, taking the title away from Heart 106.2. Magic has held that position three times since out of the last four. The more music less talk station has a 5.9 per cent share, whilst Heart are at 5.4 and Capital at 4.6 per cent of listening in London. (more)

Magic puts Buble on TV ads
From Radio Today. Posted May 2 2007, 1.00am
A new advertising campaign for Emap's Magic 105.4 featuring the new single from Michael Buble, starts today. The station aims to highlight the more music less talk format to even more Londoners, and will be shown on ITV, Channel 4 and Five during May and June. (more)

Freeman to star in new Channel 4 comedy
From Digital Spy. Posted April 26 2007, 3.11pm
Star of The Office is to appear in a new sitcom about a failed magician. (more)

Sir David Jason for wizard role
From Digital Spy. Posted April 24 2007, 1.44pm
Sir David Jason will play a wizard in Sky One?s The Colour of Magic. (more)

Magicalia acquires Good Woodworking magazine
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted March 20 2007, 4.59pm
Office of Fair Trading clearance allows magazine to transfer from Future Publishingemail this article   digg this   del.icio.us (more)

Dene dumps Magic for Smooth
From Radio Today. Posted February 21 2007, 10.00am
Long-time London jock Graham Dene is leaving Emap station Magic 105.4 and joining GMG Radio's soon to be re-launched Smooth Radio. Graham will host breakfast on the new station. Previously he spent a decade on Capital Breakfast and six years at Virgin. (more)

Smooth poaches DJ Graham Dene from Magic
From Media Guardian. Posted February 21 2007, 12.00am
10.15am: London's Smooth Radio has poached its new breakfast DJ from rival Magic. By John Plunkett. (more)

Kiss goes up, Magic remains 2nd
From Radio Today. Posted February 1 2007, 7.21am
Emap are celebrating today as listening figures reveal their highest ever number of listeners across the group. Kiss 100 gains 121,000 new listeners and Magic 105.4 has remained the number two commercial radio station in London with a 5.5 per cent share. (more)

CBBC Searches for The Sorcerer's Apprentice
From Merry Media. Posted January 25 2007, 2.20pm
A boarding school set deep in the heart of the English countryside becomes the home of the ultimate magical adventure, as a chosen few battle it out to become The Sorcerer's Apprentice in a major new series for CBBC.. (more)

Magic's Fox to dance on ice
From Radio Today. Posted January 2 2007, 4.20pm
Magic 105.4 Breakfast presenter Neil Fox is to take part in the ITV1 reality series Dancing on Ice, starting later this month. He joins other celebrities including Ulrika Jonsson, Stephen Gately, Duncan James and Lisa Scott-Lee. (more)

BBC1 seeks magic touch for Merlin drama
From Media Guardian. Posted December 7 2006, 12.00am
1.30pm: BBC1 is planning a drama based around the wizard Merlin for Saturday evenings. By Jason Deans. (more)

New Spy Series for CBBC
From Merry Media. Posted November 12 2006, 2.33pm
Following the success of their last children's series, the Emmy Award-winning The Magician's House, and the Bafta-winning Spooks, comes M.I. High - an original children's series from Kudos Film and Television for CBBC.. (more)

Heart overtakes Magic to reclaim London crown
From Brand Republic. Posted October 26 2006, 8.10am
LONDON - Chrysalis' Heart FM has regained the top spot among the capital's commercial radio stations by leapfrogging Emap's Magic, while GCap's third-placed Capital lost more listeners, according to the London Rajar figures for July-September. (more)

Magic RAJAR figures for Emap
From Radio Today. Posted October 26 2006, 7.33am
Emap Radio are today shouting about their latest set of RAJAR results. And with good reason too. Q3 2006 has delivered the group with its highest ever set of listening figures.Magic 105.4 moves down to second place in the battle to be the number one commercial station in London giving the baton back to Heart 106.2. (more)

CBBC Unveils New Look Jackanory Today
From Merry Media. Posted October 19 2006, 1.17pm
CBBC today unveils the new-look Jackanory, which is set to burst onto screens at the end of November which will see storytellers enter a magical word and interact with the characters.. (more)

Potter magic buoys Bloomsbury
From BBC News. Posted September 19 2006, 8.30am
Book publisher Bloomsbury thanks the 'Harry Potter effect' and TV's Richard & Judy for boosting sales and profits. (more)

BBC hands over the air waves to magic of Tchaikovsky
From The Independent. Posted September 6 2006, 12.00am
The great Russian Romantic Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is to be the next composer whose complete works will be broadcast by Radio 3. (more)

Music is Money for Magic 105.4
From Radio Today. Posted September 5 2006, 10.30am
Emap station Magic 105.4 is launching a new advertising campaign in the Capital to drive audiences to a revamped version of the music quiz Music is Money, which will see 15000 pounds won every weekday for three weeks. The new execution launches this week with one 30-second and three brand new 10-second commercials. Created by St Luke�s, the adverts will be shown across ITV, C4, Five and Emap�s Magic TV Channel. From September 11th, the campaign will be supported by a series of bus sides featuring new creative. (more)

Magicalia buys magazine group
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted August 24 2006, 3.45pm
Encanta Media sold to online publisher for �2.72 million to create cross-platform titles (more)

Online publisher Magicalia buys specialist interest magazine group
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted August 23 2006, 5.15pm
Encanta Media sold for �2.72m to create cross platform titles (more)

3 hits a magic number
From Radio Today. Posted August 8 2006, 12.15am
People listen longer to 3FM than any other FM commercial radio station in the whole of the UK, that�s 15.1 average hours per week. The latest industry listening figures prove that 3FM has become the 2nd most listened to radio station on the Isle of Man and the station of choice for 25-44 year olds. Data released by RAJAR, the joint BBC and commercial radio industry research, has revealed that 3FM has more listeners on the Island than any of the national BBC radio stations and Classic FM. In fact only Manx Radio still has more listeners. (more)

Capital at low as Magic casts spell over London
From The Times. Posted August 4 2006, 12.00am
GCAP, the UK's largest commercial radio group, has been dealt a further blow with news that audience figures for its flagship station Capital Radio have sunk to a record low.... (more)

Magic top in London again as Capital slumps
From Brand Republic. Posted August 3 2006, 9.08am
LONDON - Emap's Magic FM was London's most-listened-to commercial station for the second successive quarter, while the misery continues at Capital Radio as it became less popular than Radio 1 in London, according to the latest figures released by Rajar this morning. (more)

Magic remain no. 1 in London
From Radio Today. Posted August 3 2006, 7.30am
Emap�s Magic 105.4 has retained its position as number one commercial radio station in London. Each week 1,867,000 people tune in to Magic 105.4 - a highest ever figure and representing an 11.4 per cent increase � or an additional 200,000 listeners in a year. Neil Fox continues to close the gap on other London breakfast shows. Each weekday morning 803,000 listeners choose the Neil Fox More Music Breakfast Show. Just over 100,000 more people are tuning in at breakfast (a rise of 14 per cent) than at this time last year. (more)

Eamonn Holmes: My Life In Media
From The Independent. Posted July 10 2006, 12.00am
he host of BBC1's National Lottery programme, Jet Set, and Sky News' Sunrise, Eamonn Holmes, 46, grew up in Belfast. He worked for Ulster Television before spending 12 years on the GMTV sofa alongside Anthea Turner and Fiona Phillips. He also hosts weekend shows on Magic FM and BBC Five Live and has written his autobiography, This is My Life, which divulges the secrets of his acrimonious relationship with Turner. He has four children and lives in Surrey with his partner Ruth Langsford, with whom he has guest-presented This Morning. (more)

DLT and Eamonn are Magic
From Radio Today. Posted July 9 2006, 9.00pm
As part of the new sound to Magic stations on medium wave and DAB across the North of England, Dave Lee Travis and Eamonn Holmes have hosted thier new weekend shows. The shows were also broadcast on Magic 105.4 in London. Speaking to RadioToday.co.uk, DLT said his show was full of music for all tastes: "The kind of music we all know and love feature on the show, but also some absolute gems which everyone will say I've not heard that for a hundred years!" DLT spent the first hour of his show catching up with technology explaining it was all phone calls and carts when he was last on-air at that time slot, rather than emails and texts. (more)

DLT and Eamon are Magic
From Radio Today. Posted July 9 2006, 2.00pm
As part of the new sound to Magic stations on medium wave and DAB across the North of England, Dave Lee Travis and Eamonn Holmes have hosted thier new weekend shows. The shows were also broadcast on Magic 105.4 in London. Speaking to RadioToday.co.uk, DLT said his show was full of music for all tastes: "The kind of music we all know and love feature on the show, but also some absolute gems which everyone will say I've not heard that for a hundred years!" DLT spent the first hour of his show catching up with technology explaining it was all phone calls and carts when he was last on-air at that time slot, rather than emails and texts. (more)

DLT to perform Magic shows
From Radio Today. Posted June 20 2006, 8.30pm
Dave Lee Travis, the hairy cornflake, is the latest presenter to be hired by Emap to help keep the Magic alive. As part of the new sound to Magic stations on medium wave across the North of England, Dave Lee Travis will host a new show on Saturday mornings - which will also be broadcast on Magic in London. From July 3rd, local Magic AM stations will have increased networking, with only a daily breakfast show remaining locally presented. (more)

Dave Lee Travis to join Magic
From Media Guardian. Posted June 20 2006, 6.21pm
The Hairy Cornflake, aka Dave Lee Travis, is joining the lineup at Magic as part of a revamp of the Emap easy-listening radio station. By Julia Day. (more)

Magic AM brings in DLT in programming revamp
From Brand Republic. Posted June 20 2006, 3.06pm
LONDON – Emap is to reposition its eight Magic AM stations to tighten their focus on 1960s and 1970s music, and has hired one of the DJs forever linked with those years, Dave Lee Travis, to present a Saturday morning show. (more)

Magic appoints network presenter
From Radio Today. Posted June 15 2006, 9.30am
Former Metro Radio presenter Steve Coleman is the new weekday afternoon presenter for the Magic network, Radiojam can exclusively reveal. Coleman presented breakfast on Metro during the 1980's, as well as a stint on Great Yorkshire Gold. Coleman has presented on Magic before, as mid-morning presenter on Magic 1152 in Newcastle, when it launched in 1998. He returns to the North East after presenting in Dubai for the past six years. (more)

Magic appoint network presenter
From Radio Today. Posted June 15 2006, 2.45am
Former Metro Radio presenter Steve Coleman is the new weekday afternoon presenter for the Magic network, Radiojam can exclusively reveal. Coleman presented breakfast on Metro during the 1980's, as well as a stint on Great Yorkshire Gold. Coleman has presented on Magic before, as mid-morning presenter on Magic 1152 in Newcastle, when it launched in 1998. He returns to the North East after presenting in Dubai for the past six years. (more)

Magic appoints GCap's Finch as first commercial director
From Brand Republic. Posted May 23 2006, 11.05am
LONDON - Alison Finch, the former head of commercial marketing at GCap, has been appointed by Emap as Magic's first commercial director. (more)

Magic hires first commercial chief
From Media Guardian. Posted May 23 2006, 8.18am
8am: Emap's London radio station Magic has hired Alison Finch to be its first commercial director. By Julia Day. (more)

Emap plans Magic radio revamp
From Media Guardian. Posted May 18 2006, 8.32am
8am: Emap is to overhaul its Magic radio stations in a move that could mean more networked programming and fewer local DJs. By Julia Day. (more)

Magic takes top spot in London
From Media Guardian. Posted May 11 2006, 12.19pm
Rajars: Emap's Magic has become the leading commercial radio station in London for the first time. By Julia Day. (more)

Fox sprinkles some magic in breakfast show battle
From Brand Republic. Posted May 11 2006, 11.05am
LONDON - Magic FM's Neil Fox was the main star in the January-March Rajar figures for the London breakfast slot, bringing in an extra 122,000 listeners to the station from the previous quarter to snap at the heels of Capital's Johnny Vaughan and Heart's Jamie Theakston. (more)

Magic is Number One in London
From Radio Today. Posted May 11 2006, 11.00am
Emap�s Magic 105.4 is London�s number one commercial radio station for the first time ever. Magic 105.4 is number one across all measures of reach, hours and share: making it the undisputed commercial radio market leader with significantly more people listening and for longer than to any other commercial radio station in London. Andria Vidler, MD of Magic 105.4, said: �Last year, we said we wanted to take Magic 105.4 to number one � and that is what we have achieved. We have a clear proposition based on �more music, less talk�; we have a great new breakfast presenter in Neil Fox and we have a Sony gold winning programmer of the year in Richard Park. (more)

Emap weaves Magic on London audiences
From Brand Republic. Posted May 11 2006, 8.05am
LONDON - Emap's Magic FM has claimed market leadership in London for the first time, taking a 7% share of listening, as former stalwart Capital Radio's fortunes continued to wane, according to Rajar figures for January-March. (more)

New Magic TV ad causes a stir
From Radio Today. Posted May 4 2006, 2.00pm
A national animal rights group, the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) has hit out at the use of a bear in a new TV commercial for London radio station Magic 105.4 to be launched tomorrow (Friday 5th May). CAPS campaigns against the captivity of animals for entertainment and has run several successful campaigns to persuade companies to stop using wild animals in advertising. The ad features a grizzly bear named Koda who is portrayed as taking part in the radio station's 'Music is Money' competition, hosted by Neil Fox. The 30-second advert was created by agency St Luke's, which flew to Vancouver, Canada to film the bear at Creative Animal Talent, a company that has over 100 animals including bears, mountain lions and wolves and supplies them to the film industry. (more)

Magic backs Fox's morning show with cash giveaway
From Brand Republic. Posted May 2 2006, 11.05am
LONDON - Emap's Magic 105.4 has embarked upon a �1m TV advertising campaign to promote Neil Fox's breakfast show cash giveaway. (more)

Viva Blackpool on BBC One.
From Merry Media. Posted April 26 2006, 7.00pm
David Morrissey returns as the infamous Ripley Holden in Viva Blackpool - a one off magical, musical spectacular from the award winning writer Peter Bowker, creator of the Golden Globe nominated original series 'Blackpool' - for transmission on BBC One next month.. (more)

Magic stations to relaunch
From Radio Today. Posted April 20 2006, 1.00am
Emap are to overhaul their Magic AM stations in June, increasing networked output and changing music format. Seven of the eight services across the North of England are thought to be reducing their local output to the minimum allowed by Ofcom - a four hour weekday breakfast show originating at each station. All local programming at weekends will also end. Magic's music format will be re-focussed, from the current "greatest hits non-stop" mix of music from the past four decades, to a Gold format concentrating on 60s and 70s tracks. (more)

New Granada Kids drama is magic
From The Stage. Posted March 14 2006, 1.25pm
Granada Kids, the children's arm of ITV production, is developing a new UK-originated drama based on magic and witchcraft, in a bid to tap into the popularity of the subject following the success of Harry Potter and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. (more)

Pilot points to a magic Saturday night
From The Stage. Posted February 8 2006, 11.55am
Children's presenter Dominic Wood and Dancing on Ice host Holly Willoughby are to star in a new Saturday night magic show for BBC1. (more)

Great debut for Fox on Magic
From Radio Today. Posted February 3 2006, 9.34am
Neil Fox has made an impressive debut with his first Rajar on Magic 105.4�s More Music Breakfast Show. Every week, 682,000 listeners chose the classier way to wake-up in the morning by tuning in to Neil�s new show. This was a 6 per cent rise on the quarter. In the competitive London marketplace, Magic 105.4 showed growth on the year with a 5 per cent rise in reach to 1.67 million listeners a week. Across the UK, 2.89 million people now listen to Magic via analogue and digital. (more)

Soapstar host lands Magic show
From Media Guardian. Posted January 19 2006, 11.06am
11am: Ben Shephard is capitalising on his high profile as co-host of ITV's Soapstar Superstar by signing a deal to present a Saturday night show on Emap's Magic radio station. By Julia Day. (more)

Sky One conjures up two magic shows
From The Stage. Posted October 12 2004, 11.03am
Objective Productions, the company responsible for bringing magic back to mainstream terrestrial television, is poised to corner the cable and satellite market with two new commissions for Sky One. (more)

Emma climbs aboard 'Magic Roundabout'
From The Independent. Posted January 1 1970, 12.59am
Boing! At the sound of a rusty spring and a wonky fairground organ, a generation of children would sit enchanted by the surreal tales of the Magic Roundabout. Now, a quarter of a century after the death of the show's writer and narrator Eric Thompson, the stories that never made it to the TV screen are to be brought to life for the first time by his family, including his daughter Emma Thompson. (more)