Media UK

The Hits - news archive

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

Pope hits out at TV sex and violence
From Digital Spy. Posted July 18 2008, 10.15am
Pope Benedict XVI criticises TV and the internet for presenting sex and violence as "entertainment". (more)

Ofcom boss hits back at BBC over licence-fee sharing dispute
From Media Guardian. Posted July 17 2008, 11.10pm
Lord Currie argues 'excess licence fee' exists and there should be a debate on what to do with it (more)

Music TV channel The Hits to be rebranded 4Music
From Media Guardian. Posted July 17 2008, 4.20pm
Music TV channel The Hits, which is owned by Channel 4 and Bauer Media joint venture company Box TV, is to be rebranded as 4Music. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

Murat libel payout hits £600,000
From Press Gazette. Posted July 17 2008, 12.00am
Madeleine McCann suspect Robert Murat today accepted "very substantial" libel damages at the High Court in London from several news outlets over allegations that he was involved in her abduction. (more)

Robert Murat libel payout hits £600,000
From Press Gazette. Posted July 17 2008, 12.00am
Madeleine McCann suspect Robert Murat today accepted "very substantial" libel damages at the High Court in London from several news outlets over allegations that he was involved in her abduction. (more)

Journalism graduate hits presidential campaign trail
From Hold the Front Page. Posted July 16 2008, 7.00am
Student boosts her CV on prestigious broadcast programme in Washington DC (more)

Paramount to shelve $450m film financing as crunch hits
From Financial Times. Posted July 15 2008, 3.00am
The credit crunch has hit home in Hollywood after Paramount Pictures, which has released a string of hit movies this year, was forced to suspend plans for a $450m film... (more)

Sri Lanka scraps TV deal with Taj Television
From Biz Asia. Posted July 11 2008, 11.28pm
The controversial multi-million dollar deal signed with Taj Television for telecast rights of the matches in Sri Lanka by the previous Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee has been scrapped by the Island country government. The decision terminates the deal involving two new agreements signed for providing TV rights for home matches from 2009 to 2012. The current agreement with Taj Entertainment Network (TEN) would expire by the end of this year. The decision to cancel the deal for the next three years would be informed to Taj TV, after which fresh bids will be invited. However, the broadcaster will be entitled to participate in any tender that would be floated by the SLC for future TV rights. The sports channel has recently roped in telecom service provider Idea Cellular as the title sponsor for the India-Sri Lanka cricket series. The Idea Cup, which kick-starts from July 23, will feature three Test matches and five ODIs. Ten Sports' commentary panel comprises Tony Greig, Ian Bishop, Ranjith Fernando and Arun Lal. Taj Television and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises are the joint owners of Ten Sports. Related links: Cricket fever hits ZEE Network this summer ZEE Sports & Ten Sports could be merged ESPN-STAR wins eight-year ICC rights deal ZEE buys 50% stake in Ten Sports (more)

Global hits drive BBC Worldwide to £117m profit
From Media Guardian. Posted July 8 2008, 11.04pm
Commercial arm unveils record profits driven by export of Top Gear and other 'superbrands' such as Lonely Planet (more)

Clockwork radio inventor hits out at Mugabe’s radio ban
From Media Network Weblog. Posted July 7 2008, 1.29pm
Inventor Trevor Baylis has hit out at the “horrible cruelty” of Robert Mugabe in banning Zimbabweans from using his wind-up radio. The man credited with changing the lives of thousands of Africans with the clockwork radio said he only found out about the Zimbabwean President’s crackdown on independent media from a friend. “I was absolutely [...] (more)

Average age of viewers hits 50 as more turn to web
From Media Guardian. Posted July 6 2008, 11.05pm
Go figure, Ravi Somaiya: A study of the big five broadcast networks shows that the average viewer no longer falls within the coveted 18-49 range (more)

Trinity Mirror hits back at City over pensions
From The Times. Posted July 4 2008, 11.10pm
Trinity Mirror rejected City concerns that it may have to make substantial payments to help to prop up its £1.5 billion pension fund. (more)

Sarkozy caught snapping at TV technician
From Media Network Weblog. Posted July 1 2008, 5.47pm
Video footage of President Nicolas Sarkozy reprimanding a TV technician who did not greet him when he arrived at the studio for an interview drew more than 300,000 hits on the Internet today. “It’s a question of manners,” Sarkozy tersely told the employee who had not responded to his “hello sir” when he clipped a microphone [...] (more)

New programmer for The Hits
From Radio Today. Posted July 1 2008, 1.28am
Bauer Radio has appointed Xfm Manchester's station sound producer Steve Dunlop as programmes manager for The Hits. (more)

Trinity Mirror profit warning hits shares
From The Scotsman. Posted July 1 2008, 12.00am
SHARES in newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror tumbled 28 per cent yesterday as it warned the City over its full-year profits. (more)

Regional newspaper's web hits top four million
From Hold the Front Page. Posted June 30 2008, 6.10am
expressandstar.com sees rise of more than 60pc in traffic (more)

Newspaper Society hits out at new BBC online plans
From Hold the Front Page. Posted June 24 2008, 5.30pm
Corporation's proposals are "ultra-local TV in a different guise" (more)

Web hits boost for regional newspaper's online arm
From Hold the Front Page. Posted June 19 2008, 6.30am
Page impressions soar by 60 per cent at shropshirestar.com (more)

Thief hits Radio Pembrokeshire
From Radio Today. Posted June 18 2008, 10.02pm
Pedr the Puffin, Radio Pembrokeshire’s long-serving mascot is recovering after a traumatic day at and outside broadcast in Milford Haven. Pedr is thought to be safe and well after a group of men ripped off his costume and ran off. (more)

Burnham hits at TV's London bias
From Financial Times. Posted June 18 2008, 3.00am
Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, fired a shot across the bows of the two largest broadcasters over their failure to make enough programmes outside London. Joking... (more)

MediaGuardian: Online content should meet same standards as broadcast, says culture secretary
From Journalism.co.uk. Posted June 12 2008, 7.17am
Online video content should be required to meet the same standards as television, Andy Burnham, culture secretary, told a media seminar yesterday. Burnham suggested including warnings on footage containing bad language, violence or sex. "If a clip on YouTube gets a million hits, it is akin to broadcasting and it doesn't seem to me to be too difficult to have an alert on that clip with regards to language or violence or for sex. That to me is not overly intrusive," he said. (more)

TV ratings - June 10: Gordon Ramsay's F Word hits series high
From Media Guardian. Posted June 11 2008, 11.58am
Gordon Ramsay's F Word was savoured by 3.5 million viewers, giving Channel 4 a 17% share of the audience in the 9pm hour. By John Plunkett (more)

Expert Eye: Redesign of music weekly NME hits all the right notes
From Press Gazette. Posted June 10 2008, 12.00am
Peter Sands, one-time music journalist and newspaper designer revisits NME following its recent redesign (more)

Montreal English talk station to switch to Greatest Hits
From Media Network Weblog. Posted June 7 2008, 2.47pm
Corus Quebec has announced that its English-language radio station 940 Montreal  (CKIW) will change from talk radio to a Greatest Hits music format on 14 June. Corus Quebec says it plans to give the dial position a new voice to help maintain radio diversity in Montreal. “We have spent years building a strong team that developed [...] (more)

Watchdog accuses BBC chiefs of breaching licence as website overspend hits £36m
From Media Guardian. Posted May 29 2008, 11.05pm
Lib Dem MP says Trust report is a 'damning indictment of the management of bbc.co.uk' (more)

ITV hits back at Ofcom over vote-rigging loophole claim
From Media Guardian. Posted May 24 2008, 11.02pm
ITV has launched an unprecedented attack on media regulator Ofcom over the accusation that it used a loophole to avoid a multi-million pound fine relating to a vote-rigging scandal (more)

Cricket fever hits ZEE Network this summer
From Biz Asia. Posted May 23 2008, 11.55pm
ZEE Network UK has acquired two big cricket series' to beef up its sports content this summer. (more)

Brown defends cat electrocution stunt
From Digital Spy. Posted May 21 2008, 10.32am
Derren Brown hits back at reports calling him a "cat killer". (more)

Airline tie-ups loom as crunch hits
From The Times. Posted May 18 2008, 12.00am
THE chat is gloomy these days on channel 123.45, the radio frequency that lets airline pilots talk to each other as they whizz between Europe and America high above the North Atlantic. (more)

CBS Radio chief hits the road to court advertisers
From Media Network Weblog. Posted May 17 2008, 11.34am
CBS Radio Chief Executive Dan Mason spent the last several weeks on a roadshow for advertisers, ready to rebut any claims his business cannot withstand satellite radio, iPods or a soft economy. Stopping in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, New York and elsewhere, Mason pitched CBS Radio’s move into digital broadcasting and the overhauls at key [...] (more)

ITV group revenue hits £429m
From Media Guardian. Posted May 15 2008, 6.56am
ITV has boosted its group revenue in the first quarter by 3% year-on-year to £492m, with net advertising revenue also up slightly at 2%, but revenue from its broadcasting operation fell by about 2% for the period. By Mark Sweney (more)

ITV group revenue hits £492m
From Media Guardian. Posted May 15 2008, 6.56am
ITV has boosted its group revenue in the first quarter by 3% year-on-year to £492m, with net advertising revenue also up 2%, but revenue from its broadcasting operation fell by about 2% for the period. By Mark Sweney (more)

TV ratings - May 10: Talent sizzles as heat hits ratings
From Media Guardian. Posted May 12 2008, 11.25am
ITV1's Britain's Got Talent remained the most popular show on Saturday, pulling in 7.5 million viewers on another day of hot sunshine. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

April ABCs: Mirror hits new circulation low while the Sun shows recovery
From Media Guardian. Posted May 9 2008, 12.01pm
The Sun's circulation was up nearly 3% year on year. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

Ofcom hits ITV with record £5.67 million fine
From The Stage. Posted May 8 2008, 3.40pm
(more)

Ofcom hits ITV with record £5,675,000 fine
From The Stage. Posted May 8 2008, 1.30pm
(more)

Weak UK ad market hits RTL revenues
From Digital Spy. Posted May 8 2008, 9.26am
RTL Group says the weak TV ad market in the UK contributed to a 2% drop in first-quarter revenue. (more)

BBC hits target of having all shows subtitled
From Media Guardian. Posted May 7 2008, 6.25am
The BBC has reached the landmark of having all its shows accessible to the hard of hearing via subtitles. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

Video: Chaos hits Antiques Roadshow
From Media Guardian. Posted May 6 2008, 10.50am
This cinema-style promo publicises the launch of BBC HD, the new high definition, free-to-air channel from the BBC. It was created by Fallon and Red Bee Media (more)

ITV write-down hits BSkyB
From Financial Times. Posted April 30 2008, 8.38am
The pay-TV group reported higher than expected revenues per user, but writing down a big fall in the value of its investment in the shares of rival ITV drove it to meant it made a pre-tax loss for the quarter (more)

Documentary maker Paul Watson hits out at Simon Cowell
From Media Guardian. Posted April 21 2008, 11.24am
Veteran documentary maker Paul Watson has dubbed Simon Cowell a 'symptom' of today's 'bullying' TV. By John Plunkett (more)

Spoof edition of Wall Street Journal hits US newsstands
From Press Gazette. Posted April 21 2008, 12.00am
Twenty six years between issues. That’s the time that has elapsed since a group of young American journalists put out a parody of the Wall Street Journal called Off The Wall Street Journal. (more)

Credit crunch hits homes in the sun
From The Times. Posted April 20 2008, 12.00am
Homeowners are “repatriating” millions of pounds of equity from their second properties in Europe to take advantage of the strong euro, the government’s recent capital-gains tax (CGT) changes, and to protect themselves from the global credit crunch. (more)

Fire hits BBC production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles
From Media Guardian. Posted April 16 2008, 12.30pm
A BBC production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been hit by a suspected arson attack that has damaged thousands of pounds' worth of costumes. By Tara Conlan (more)

TV ratings - April 9: The Apprentice hits new high
From Media Guardian. Posted April 11 2008, 12.50pm
The latest installment of BBC1's business boot camp, in which Ian Stringer was fired, pulled in 6.9 million viewers. By Tara Conlan (more)

JACK hits The Sun headlines
From Radio Today. Posted April 11 2008, 7.50am
Oxfordshire's JACK fm made The Sun newspaper yesterday with details of an interview with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in which he revealed his latest choice in music. (more)

HBO appoints entertainment president
From Financial Times. Posted April 10 2008, 12.07am
HBO, the Time Warner-owned premium cable network, named Sue Naegle as president of entertainment, entrusting her to shepherd a new generation of programmes to replace defining hits like the multi-award-winning The Sopranos and Sex and the (more)

Oddie responds to 'Springwatch' criticism
From Digital Spy. Posted April 5 2008, 10.13am
Bill Oddie hits back at criticism of his performance on Springwatch and Autumnwatch. (more)

Caspar Llewellyn Smith: Hard graft pays off as America falls for Leona Lewis
From Media Guardian. Posted March 30 2008, 12.02am
Caspar Llewellyn Smith: X-factor star, Leona Lewis, hits the top of the US singles chart and enters the history books (more)

Sunday dramas return to ITV1
From Media Guardian. Posted March 26 2008, 7.27am
ITV1 has recommissioned two of its Sunday night drama ratings hits, Kingdom and Wild at Heart. By Ben Dowell (more)

Asian Wedding Exhibition fever hits STAR One
From Biz Asia. Posted March 21 2008, 12.18pm
UK’s cutting edge television channel STAR One was the media sponsor for this year’s Asian Wedding Exhibition 2008, which took place on 8th and 9th March 2008 at the Alexandra Palace. The weekend provided a one-stop shop for all brides and grooms to-be who were planning for their big day, and to prepare them, STAR One will be showcasing, a first of its kind, one-hour special dedicated to organising the perfect wedding, which will be broadcast on STAR One at 21:00 on Sunday 30th March 2008 and repeated at 20:00 on Sunday 13th April 2008. Innovative wedding cars, exotic and exquisite mandaps, captivating fashion shows and previews of the coming season’s collections will be among the features of the one-hour special programme. 'Tips and tricks' from the top-end group of experts, spanning fashion and food to beauty and bhangra bands have also been included to make the programme educational and entertaining. Now in its 15th year, the Asian Wedding Exhibition, the largest event of its kind in the UK, brought together the best of Asian bridal fashion and beauty proving a phenomenal hit with Brit-Asian fashionistas and brides and grooms-to-be. Visitors were among the first to see some of the season’s latest collections, cuts and colours, from the hottest international designers. With over a hundred wedding specialists participating, from jewellers and beauticians to caterers, florists, photographers and even venue representatives, the exhibition constantly proves to be a one-stop shop for all wedding needs and it’s all under one roof. Since its launch, STAR One, the contemporary sister channel of STAR Plus, has been wowing British Asian audiences with a diverse line up of shows that take viewers away from the regular fare that is available on TV today. STAR One is committed to celebrating and presenting global audiences with a whole new era in original and compelling entertainment programming, delivering exciting shows that bring Asian programming well and truly into the 21st century. (more)

ITV entertainment chief steps down
From Digital Spy. Posted March 19 2008, 5.42pm
ITV entertainment controller Duncan Gray steps down after two years overseeing hits such as The X Factor and Dancing on Ice. (more)

HD DVD defeat hits Toshiba profit
From BBC News. Posted March 19 2008, 9.29am
Toshiba says pulling out of the high definition DVD format battle will cost it $666m and hurt its profits. (more)

Cornish encyclopaedia hits the web thanks to newspaper's efforts
From Hold the Front Page. Posted March 14 2008, 1.05am
Cornwall and Devon Media launches new 'wiki' website for fans of England's southernmost county (more)

ITV1 hits 9.6m Sunday peak
From Media Guardian. Posted March 10 2008, 11.01am
ITV1 put in a strong ratings performance with its mix of reality and drama peaking at 9.6 million viewers. By Leigh Holmwood (more)

Sky row hits Virgin Media bonuses
From Daily Telegraph. Posted March 9 2008, 12.01am
Virgin Media's senior executives will miss out on bonuses worth up to 75 per cent of their salary, after the company's protracted dispute with BSkyB and increased competition in the broadband market hit profits. (more)

Sunday Express hits record low
From Media Guardian. Posted March 7 2008, 12.55pm
February ABCs: Sales of the Sunday Express fell by 17% year on year. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

NME editor hits back at critics
From Press Gazette. Posted March 6 2008, 12.00am
NME editor Conor McNicholas has hit back at claims that his weekly music magazine isn’t as influential as it once was. (more)

Phone-in scandal hits ITV profits
From Media Guardian. Posted March 5 2008, 8.10am
ITV lost £58m from the call-TV crisis last year, as tumbling revenues from premium-rate services contributed to a 35% slide in pre-tax profits. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

First wave of 12 community websites hits city as newspaper extends reach
From Hold the Front Page. Posted March 4 2008, 11.30am
Move hailed as one of the "most ambitious" in the regional press as first of 80 are made live (more)

Editor hits back after town 'besmirched' by nationals
From Hold the Front Page. Posted March 4 2008, 7.10am
Comment column used to attack a two-page feature in the Daily Express (more)

Super League Show hits the road
From BBC Press Ofice. Posted February 28 2008, 6.20pm
Rugby League fans will be in for a treat this Sunday as the BBC Super League Show hits the road in the first of ten special editions. (more)

Student chart hits community airwaves
From Radio Today. Posted February 28 2008, 5.18pm
A South Wales community radio station is set to become the first to broadcast a new student radio chart show. (more)

Robinson blog hits back at MPs' motion
From Media Guardian. Posted February 26 2008, 3.53pm
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson has hit back against an early day motion 'deploring' his blog about the parliamentary expenses row. By Ben Dowell (more)

Return to Sender campaign launched after post office blow hits London
From Hold the Front Page. Posted February 26 2008, 1.05am
New battle as latest round of planned cuts is revealed (more)

Press Association hits back at Nick Davies' claims
From Press Gazette. Posted February 26 2008, 12.00am
Editor Jonathan Grun says Flat Earth News contains 'factual errors' about PA's journalism (more)

Advertising decline hits the trade press
From Financial Times. Posted February 25 2008, 2.00am
A decade ago, Reed Elsevier made its money from thick volumes lining lawyers' office walls, authoritative tomes on doctors' desks and magazines that were required... (more)

Editor hits back after senior police officer slams suicide coverage
From Hold the Front Page. Posted February 21 2008, 9.30am
"Misguided attack" by South Wales police chief as press watchdog monitors events (more)

The Hits to be renamed 4Music
From Digital Spy. Posted February 20 2008, 5.18pm
The Hits is to be renamed 4Music under new plans from Channel 4. (more)

My Life in Media: Helen Terry
From The Independent. Posted February 18 2008, 12.00am
Helen Terry, 51, is the executive producer of the Brits, the annual pop music award show. Terry's first taste of success was as a singer with Boy George in Culture Club and she later had several solo hits. She switched careers in her mid-thirties to work in television and refused to take part in Culture Club's 1998 reunion tour, having fallen out with George over his portrayal of her in his autobiography (the pair are reportedly friends again). Terry lives in Perthshire, spending four months of the year in London to make the Brits. This year's show, hosted by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, will be broadcast live from London's Earls Court on ITV1, from 8pm on Wednesday. (more)

Strike hits French public TV and radio stations
From Media Network Weblog. Posted February 14 2008, 1.23pm
Staff at French public television and radio stations staged a one day strike yesterday to protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal to ban advertising from public broadcasting. The strike hit programming at around a dozen radio and TV stations, with news bulletins pulled and live shows dropped. Unions said it was the first such industrial action since [...] (more)

BSkyB hits peak of its investment in broadband
From Financial Times. Posted February 6 2008, 8.47pm
British Sky Broadcasting has passed the peak of its investment in broadband, its new chief executive said as he expressed confidence in the satellite group's ability to weather a tougher economic climate (more)

Sky+ takeup hits 3 million
From Media Guardian. Posted February 6 2008, 8.31am
BSkyB set another record for customer growth for Sky+ in the three months to the end of December, with takeup pushing through the 3 million barrier. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

Newspaper business team hits the airwaves on new radio show
From Hold the Front Page. Posted January 30 2008, 7.35am
Daily Post reporters sign up to 24-hour talk station for business programme (more)

Crain’s off to flyer as new weekly hits Manchester
From Press Gazette. Posted January 29 2008, 12.00am
?New business weekly Crain’s Manchester Business has claimed its first major scoop after revealing that the boss of a Salford gallery is paid more than the governor of the Bank of England. (more)

Hill hits new heights
From Media Guardian. Posted January 28 2008, 11.53am
Harry Hill's TV Burp hit an all-time high, drawing 7 million viewers to ITV1. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

Internet radio hits the mainstream
From Media Guardian. Posted January 28 2008, 11.41am
UK web-based radio is drawing more than 8m listeners each week with nearly 2m downloading podcasts, according to a survey. By Jemima Kiss (more)

'Truth' contestant hits out at show
From Digital Spy. Posted January 24 2008, 11.40pm
A Nothing But The Truth contestant complains about the effect that the show had on his life. (more)

Irish publisher hits out at report on Welsh language paper
From Hold the Front Page. Posted January 24 2008, 12.00am
"No guarantee of success" claim could stifle progress, according to Lá Nua man (more)

New strands on Sahara FILMY next month
From Biz Asia. Posted January 23 2008, 9.49pm
Sahara's FILMY channel is tweaking its movie packaging next month with a batch of several changes. The first being 'Saturday Blockbuster' which will showcase latest movies including premieres and the second being Hindi dubbed Hollywood movies. 'Saturday Blockbuster' goes live on 16th February. Next month's line-up includes the much-appreciated romantic comedy 'Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.' and one of the biggest hits of recent times, the path-breaking 'Rang De Basanti' starring Aamir Khan. Sahara FILMY will also become the first Asian TV channel in the UK to bring Hollywood action movies dubbed in Hindi. 'Hollywood Smash Hits' go out from 21st February, every Thursday at 20:00. 'Lethal Combat' and 'Fatal Target' are some titles for the month of February. Furthermore, starting from Sunday 17th February, the channel will only air one commercial break in its Sunday 15:00 movie slot branded 'One Break'. Some of the titles, which will air in the 'One Break' strand in February, are 'Lajja', 'Sirf Tum', 'Judaai' and 'Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge'. (more)

Livingstone hits back at Channel 4 film-maker
From Media Guardian. Posted January 21 2008, 6.15pm
London mayor Ken Livingstone has urged Channel 4 to drop its Dispatches investigation into his administration. By Stephen Brook (more)

The Grey Lady's style bible hits the net
From The Independent. Posted January 21 2008, 1.05am
They dragged their John Lobb-shod feet for a decade but the luxury goods brands are finally getting online. And where their largesse can purchase advertising space, fashion magazines can flourish. So why are glossy fash-mag sites ? the digital equivalent of a big, fat wodge of photographic fantasia and witty text ? not sprouting like snowdrops? (more)

Andrew Neil is the nemesis as the BBC hits back at its bureaucrats
From The Independent. Posted January 20 2008, 1.00am
The Culture Secretary, James Purnell, said last week that it would be "perverse" not to consider allocating part of the BBC licence fee to other broadcasters. To BBC journalists, the real perversity lies elsewhere. Why, they ask, is their employer facing a perilous future with its strategic direction disputed between the executive group under the director-general, Mark Thompson, and its new regulator, the BBC Trust? (more)

Number of Internet users in China hits 210 million: government
From Media Network Weblog. Posted January 17 2008, 12.19pm
China had 210 million Internet users by the end of 2007 and will soon have more web surfers than any other country on the planet, an official report said today. China’s online population was only five million less than the US, the government-linked China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said in a report. “The CNNIC predicts that [...] (more)

Ad-free ?News at Ten? hits marketers
From UTalk Marketing. Posted January 16 2008, 10.43am
Prime slot removed by ITV (more)

ZEE TV develops presence in China market
From Biz Asia. Posted January 16 2008, 7.38am
Zee Entertainment is looking to become the first Indian television company to develop a presence in China, according to Subhash Chandra, Chairman of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises. In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Chandra revealed that ZEE has applied for TV landing rights in the Chinese mainland which would allow it to be part of the bouquet of channels offered by satellite operators. Although ZEE applied for landing rights permission more than a year ago, in September 2006, Beijing has yet to give its approval. However, Mr. Chandra is hopeful that a breakthrough might be announced during Manmohan Singh’s visit. Only ten days ago New Delhi allowed China Central Television’s English channel, CCTV-9, landing rights in India. Mr. Chandra thus believes a reciprocal gesture is imminent. If given approval, Zee will offer a 24-hour, tailor-made product for the Chinese market. Several ZEE entertainment soap operas dubbed in Mandarin have already been syndicated on Chinese television over the last two years and have proved to be hits. Chinese and Indian audiences share a love of family-based dramas that deal with inter-personal intrigue, Mr. Chandra said. Article from The Hindu Related links: ZEE TV's 'Sinndoor' to be dubbed & aired in China ZEE Network signs deal with China Central TV (more)

Mail editor Dacre's pay hits £1.5m
From Media Guardian. Posted January 10 2008, 11.04am
Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre was paid nearly £1.5m last year, a rise of 21% that confirmed his long-established status as the best-paid editor in Fleet Street. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

Young denies 'Crimewatch' ageism
From Digital Spy. Posted January 3 2008, 9.04am
New Crimewatch presenter Kirsty Young hits back at claims that the show is "dumbing down". (more)

Paramount at the box office summit with a couple of monster hits
From The Times. Posted December 29 2007, 12.00am
It could almost be the script for a film. An historic Hollywood studio transforms itself from an ogre to a star, with the help of films about . . . massive transforming machines and an ogre. (more)

Subprime crisis hits papers' property adverts
From Financial Times. Posted December 28 2007, 2.00am
The subprime mortgage crisis is tearing through the newspaper industry as US papers suffer sharp falls in real estate advertising. The extent of the damage was visible... (more)

Subprime crisis hits US newspapers' revenues
From Financial Times. Posted December 27 2007, 8.34pm
The subprime mortgage crisis is tearing through the newspaper industry as US papers suffer sharp falls in real estate advertising (more)

Subprime crisis hits newspapers' revenues
From Financial Times. Posted December 27 2007, 8.34pm
The subprime mortgage crisis is tearing through the newspaper industry as US papers suffer sharp falls in real estate advertising (more)

Sky hits back at calls to sell ITV stake
From Media Guardian. Posted December 20 2007, 3.43pm
BSkyB has criticised the Competition Commission's recommendation that it sells down its 17.9% stake in ITV. By Chris Tryhorn (more)

Outage hits Virgin VOD and broadband
From Digital Spy. Posted December 18 2007, 10.01am
A major outage is affecting video on demand and broadband internet services on Virgin Media's network. (more)

Taiwan hits 2 mil. DVB-T
From Rapid TV News. Posted December 13 2007, 8.44pm
Taiwan has over 2 million DVB-T receivers now deployed, according to new figures from the Taiwan Digital TV Committee. (more)

BSkyB rejects complaints of 'stranglehold'
From Daily Telegraph. Posted December 7 2007, 12.01am
Pay TV broadcaster hits back at rivals' condemnation of its 'market dominance' and dismisses calls for a competition commission (more)

Warrington station hits high
From Radio Today. Posted December 5 2007, 8.38pm
Warrington’s online community station Radio Worm hit a new high when it broadcast from Warrington’s answer to the London Eye. Presenter David Lawrenson broadcast his afternoon show live from Europe’s largest touring ferris wheel. (more)

Newspaper's fund for murdered school boy hits £20,000 mark
From Hold the Front Page. Posted December 3 2007, 12.00am
Cash is being collected towards £100,000 Liverpool Unites appeal (more)

Credit squeeze hits music industry
From Financial Times. Posted November 28 2007, 10.00pm
The turmoil in credit markets is frustrating plans by EMI and Warner Music to issue billions of dollars in debt backed by revenues from their publishing catalogues (more)

BBC lines up classic Christmas hits
From Digital Spy. Posted November 27 2007, 2.26pm
The BBC unveils its Christmas lineup, with viewer favourites at the heart of the schedule on BBC network TV. (more)

Ethiopian jamming hits Voice of America, Deutsche Welle
From Media Network Weblog. Posted November 20 2007, 11.07am
BBC Monitoring (BBCM) can confirm that two major Western broadcasters are suffering consistent jamming of their transmissions to Ethiopia.  Jamming is deliberate interference aimed at preventing the target broadcast from being heard. The standard technique is to transmit an irritating noise or continuous music on the same channel as the target. In the latest media development [...] (more)

The Hits rapped for text-in programme
From Digital Spy. Posted November 19 2007, 10.27am
Emap music station The Hits is found in breach of its broadcast licence after failing to log a programme. (more)

As iPhone Hits European Shores, ON Networks Offers Original, High-Definition Video Content
From Press Release, via webitpr. Posted November 13 2007, 8.43am
Professional Short Form Television Shows Optimised For All Apple Platforms, Including New iPhone, iPod and Apple TV LONDON, November 13th 2007 ? In the wake of the weekend?s rush to get their hands on the iPhone, the must have gadget of the moment, consumers are now asking just what can they do differently to show off the capabilities of their new prized possession. Anticipating this demand, ON Networks (http://www.onnetworks.com), a new media company which develops... (more)

BT Vision hits 60,000 subscribers
From Digital Spy. Posted November 9 2007, 10.57am
BT says it is close to its target of getting 100,000 subscribers for IPTV service BT Vision. (more)

Curse of Open TV hits Kudelski
From Rapid TV News. Posted November 8 2007, 7.59pm
Kudelski Group issued a profits warning Nov 8 because of lower Open TV earnings. (more)

ITV hits at BSkyB stake
From Financial Times. Posted November 7 2007, 10.57pm
ITV's share price reached an all-time low after it emerged that the UK's main commercial broadcaster wants BSkyB to be stripped of its entire 17.9 per cent share in the company (more)

ITV's Sky rebuff hits share price
From Media Guardian. Posted November 7 2007, 1.21pm
ITV's share price fell to an all-time low after it emerged the company wants BSkyB to sell its 17.9% stake. By Chris Tryhorn and Katie Allen. (more)

Virgin dispute hits BSkyB profits
From BBC News. Posted November 2 2007, 11.38am
BSkyB boosts its number of pay-TV customers but its profits are hit by its legal dispute with Virgin Media. (more)

Bennett hits out at "snooty" Three critics
From Digital Spy. Posted November 1 2007, 9.13am
BBC Vision chief Jana Bennett hits out at "middle-aged commentators" who criticise BBC Three. (more)

Kenyan TV station goes online
From Media Network Weblog. Posted October 31 2007, 3.33pm
Text of report by Kenyan television NTV on 31 October [Presenter] NTV is now online. Viewers can access NTV’s television footage through the internet keeping abreast with events and happenings in Kenya from anywhere in the world. Since acquiring branded channel on YouTube seven weeks ago, NTV has had over 300,000 hits making it one of [...] (more)

Heather Mills hits out against the media
From Media Guardian. Posted October 31 2007, 11.45am
Heather Mills has attacked the media for portraying her as 'a whore, a gold digger, a fantasist and a liar'. By Chris Tryhorn. (more)

Arnott's next crime thriller hits TV
From Media Guardian. Posted October 31 2007, 12.10am
Filming has just wrapped on an adaptation for ITV of Jake Arnott's 2001 novel He Kills Coppers, scheduled to air in March. (more)

Haymarket titles clean up on creative front as group hits 50
From Press Gazette. Posted October 30 2007, 12.00am
Haymarket Media Group, now in its 50th year in business, emerged as the big winner at this year’s Press Gazette Magazine Design Awards. (more)

Anna Pickard says watch this
From Media Guardian. Posted October 29 2007, 11.47pm
Anna Pickard recommends Property Ladder | Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection | Roger Cook's Greatest Hits | Imagine (more)

Sky hits the high streets for Bones campaign
From Media Guardian. Posted October 29 2007, 4.57pm
Sky One and Fox have set up 'crime scenes' in empty stores in three UK high streets as part of a teaser campaign for crime drama Bones. By Jemima Kiss. (more)

Muslim Forum hits out at suicide bomber film
From Media Guardian. Posted October 28 2007, 12.25am
A controversial Channel 4 drama, which depicts a second-generation British Muslim woman as a suicide bomber, was condemned last night by the British Muslim Forum. (more)

Davies hits back at press allegations
From Media Guardian. Posted October 26 2007, 1.46pm
Journalist Nick Davies has dismissed speculation that his controversial book on the newspaper industry is intended to undermine the Observer as the 'mad ramblings of Fleet Street columnists'. By Stephen Brook. (more)

The Hits extends digital lead
From Media Guardian. Posted October 25 2007, 1.32pm
Emap's The Hits and Smash Hits and GCap's Planet Rock are the top digital-only commercial radio stations. By John Plunkett. (more)

BBC Radio Five Live hits seven-year low
From Media Guardian. Posted October 25 2007, 8.33am
BBC Radio Five Live has slumped to its lowest audience for at least seven years in a tough quarter for the two BBC national speech networks. By John Plunkett. (more)

EDS legal team hits at BSkyB claim
From Financial Times. Posted October 22 2007, 6.30pm
US information technology company Electronic Data Systems has scorned the 'absurd and extravagant' £709m court action launched against it by British Sky Broadcasting (more)

Major pirate website shut down
From The Guardian. Posted October 19 2007, 1.00am
UK-based site closed for providing links to illegal versions of major Hollywood hits and TV shows. By Katie Allen. (more)

Phone scandal hits ITV for £18m
From Financial Times. Posted October 18 2007, 12.05pm
The broadcaster expects to take an £18m exceptional charge as a result of a Deloitte investigation into premium rate services, but executive chairman Michael Grade said no further heads would roll (more)

Fruit Shoot hits the spot for Britvic
From The Times. Posted October 17 2007, 9.55am
Shares in Britvic rose more than 5 per cent after the drinks group behind 7UP, Pepsi Max and Fruit Shoot said it was on track to hit its full-year profits target. (more)

BSkyB hits Perot’s EDS with $1.4bn claim
From Rapid TV News. Posted October 16 2007, 9.54pm
A London court has heard the opening salvos of BSkyB’s legal claim against US software outfit EDS for £709m. (more)

ITV hits jackpot on rugby punt
From Financial Times. Posted October 14 2007, 10.07pm
The golden boot of Jonny Wilkinson has propelled an unexpected £9m bonus into the coffers of ITV, an advertising industry expert said on Sunday. (more)

New weekly newspaper hits the streets
From Hold the Front Page. Posted October 10 2007, 12.00am
Venture creates 15 jobs and aims to fill gap in the market (more)

BBC and ITV reality hits both draw 7 million viewers
From The Stage. Posted October 8 2007, 3.45pm
(more)

Radio station Original FM rapped for playing too many hits
From Media Guardian. Posted October 8 2007, 1.00am
A Southampton-based radio station has been given a 'yellow card' warning by Ofcom for playing up to twice as many top 20 hits as its format allows. By John Plunkett. (more)

Competition hits Carphone’s broadband
From The Times. Posted October 8 2007, 12.00am
Carphone Warehouse is expected to admit this week that it has been a victim of intensifying competition in the broadband market by revealing that uptake of its “free” product has suffered a sharp slowdown. The group, which is fighting competition from big names including BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster that is 39.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, is expected to disclose in a trading update on Wednesday that net additions for broadband in its second quarter have dropped to as little as 95,000, from 126,000 in the last quarter. (more)

BSkyB-ITV deal 'hits competition'
From BBC News. Posted October 2 2007, 6.39am
BSkyB's purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV restricts competition, a provisional ruling by regulators says. (more)

TVHits! goes web-only
From Media Guardian. Posted September 28 2007, 1.00am
4pm: Essential Publishing is suspending the publication of teen entertainment magazine TVHits! to concentrate on the title's website. By Maria Esposito. (more)

Channel 4's audience share hits lowest level for 15 years
From Media Guardian. Posted September 27 2007, 1.00am
8am: A fortnight after the end of Big Brother, Channel 4's share of TV viewing fell to its lowest level for 15 years. By John Plunkett. (more)

Virgin Media hits phone clients
From Rapid TV News. Posted September 27 2007, 12.29am
UK cable operator Virgin Media is putting some of its phone rates up 16%. (more)

Bath Chronicle's first weekly edition hits the streets
From Hold the Front Page. Posted September 27 2007, 12.00am
New look unveiled as news team wait to see if readers take to the weekly habit (more)

Stream of TV hits the spot
From Financial Times. Posted September 24 2007, 3.00am
US TV networks believe they have found the business model to profit in the digital age - streaming their hit shows over the internet as opposed to selling them to... (more)

Parkinson: TV execs obsessed with celebs
From Digital Spy. Posted September 14 2007, 4.01pm
TV veteran Michael Parkinson hits out at broadcasters who are more interested in celebrities than showcasing new music talent. (more)

Nils Pratley: Grade gets ITV to learn its ABC
From The Guardian. Posted September 13 2007, 1.00am
Nils Pratley: It seems Michael Grade has been watching ABC television in the US. Over there, a venerable broadcaster dependent for its biggest ratings on bought-in shows from HBO, decided to find its own hits. (more)

New guide to being a reporter hits the bookshelves
From Hold the Front Page. Posted September 11 2007, 12.00am
Practical text on working as trainee reporter includes advice, tips and warnings from working journalists (more)

Whitstable Times awash with stories
From Press Gazette. Posted September 3 2007, 12.00am
Reporters at the Whitstable Times were faced with floods when a large underground reservoir designed to drain surface water into the harbour failed to cope with torrential rain. (more)

Departure hits Virgin Radio's IPO plans
From Financial Times. Posted August 31 2007, 9.35pm
Plans to float Virgin Radio this autumn received a significant setback when Paul Jackson, the station's chief executive quit to join Capital Radio, part of Virgin rival GCap Media (more)

Sun hits on a winner with bingo website
From Media Guardian. Posted August 31 2007, 1.00am
8am: The Sun's bingo website has become its biggest-earning commercial partnership online. By Jemima Kiss. (more)

Technical fault hits ZEE Network channels
From Biz Asia. Posted August 29 2007, 10.12am
The five ZEE Network UK channels have been hit by a technical fault, which has resulted in all services being taken off air. The fault occurred shortly after 08:45 this morning. Currently footage of a Bollywood concert is being shown on all ZEE channels including ZEE TV, ZEE Music, ZEE Cinema, Alpha ETC Punjabi and ZEE Gujarati. It is not yet known if the channels have been affected on cable service Virgin Media. BizAsia.co.uk is awaiting details on the problem from ZEE and will bring readers an update shortly. Update (12:00): The channels returned back on air around 10:00. A ZEE source said it was signaling problem, which resulted in the disruption. (more)

Winners and losers as Lotto mania hits the Argus
From Hold the Front Page. Posted August 24 2007, 12.00am
Real-time breaking exclusive charts tale of how rumour spread into the news pages (more)

Desi Hits signs exclusive deal with Rishi Rich
From Biz Asia. Posted August 23 2007, 5.13pm
Desihits.com has signed an exclusive online, radio and podcast deal with one of the world's leading Desi record producers, Rishi Rich. (more)

Weekly's 2.30am update as huge blaze hits town
From Hold the Front Page. Posted August 20 2007, 12.00am
Early coverage pays off as reader pics and eyewitness accounts flood in (more)

Radio 3 hits all-time low
From Media Guardian. Posted August 16 2007, 1.00am
Rajars: Radio 3 has sunk to its lowest-ever audience - six months after controller Roger Wright instigated a massive schedule change. By John Plunkett. (more)

Rajar: Radio listening hits all-time high
From Press Gazette. Posted August 16 2007, 12.00am
The number of people who regularly listen to the radio has hit an all-time high, with 91 per cent of adults tuning in at least once a week, according to official listening figures released this morning. (more)

Sky News online reports record hits
From Press Gazette. Posted August 8 2007, 12.00am
Sky News Online recorded its highest hits last month since the July 2005 London bombings. (more)

Bug hits BBC online radio player
From Media Guardian. Posted August 3 2007, 1.00am
A technical glitch has hit the BBC's online radio player, leaving listeners unable to access the service for several weeks. By Mark Sweney. (more)

Murdoch hits snag in Dow Jones deal
From The Scotsman. Posted July 28 2007, 11.18pm
MEDIA mogul Rupert Murdoch could face a challenge to his bid to buy Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, from a key branch of the Bancroft family, which has controlled the group since 1902. (more)

Broadband launch hits Sky profits
From BBC News. Posted July 27 2007, 6.58am
BSkyB's annual profits fall as a result of the money it spent on launching its new broadband services. (more)

'Don' to premiere on STAR Gold in August
From Biz Asia. Posted July 26 2007, 9.32pm
One of last year's box office hits 'Don' starring Shah Rukh Khan, a remake of the classic Amitabh Bachchan movie will premiere on STAR Gold next month. The action packed thriller also stars Priyanka Chopra will air on Saturday 25th August at 21:00. The channel will also repeat telecast of 'Krrish' starring Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra, once again. As well as a screening this Sunday (29th July), 'Krrish' will also air on Sunday 19th August at midday. (more)

GCap Media announces new UK classic hits network
From Media Network Weblog. Posted July 24 2007, 6.47pm
Following the acquisition of Classic Gold Digital in April 2007, UK broadcasting group GCap Media has announced the formation of its new national classic hits network which will be called ‘Gold’. The 18 AM and DAB Classic Gold radio stations will merge with the seven AM and DAB Capital Gold stations to form the national Gold network [...] (more)

L.A. Spanish-Language Radio Station Will Add English Hits
From radio.about.com. Posted July 18 2007, 1.00am
It's kind of a reverse of the "Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish" you usually hear on some phone calls. Entravision Communications, owner of radio station KSSE "Super Estrella"... (more)

New Evening Show on BBC Hereford & Worcester
From Merry Media. Posted July 17 2007, 3.24pm
BBC Hereford and Worcester is launching a new evening show on Monday 23 July and will be hosted by Andrew Easton, playing album and chart hits from the past 30 years.. (more)

A 4x4 too far: Clarkson hits trouble on fragile salt flats
From Media Guardian. Posted July 8 2007, 1.00am
BBC faces eco-outrage after Top Gear sends presenter into unspoilt Botswana wilderness. By Vanessa Thorpe and Juliette Jowit. (more)

Sky hits back at Virgin
From Media Guardian. Posted July 3 2007, 1.00am
4.30pm: BSkyB has filed papers in the high court defending itself against Virgin Media's claims of anti-competitive behaviour. By Chris Tryhorn. (more)

Only half way through year and journalist death toll hits 100
From Media Network Weblog. Posted July 2 2007, 10.51am
The worldwide journalist death toll has risen sharply this year with 100 lives lost within six months, threatening even the record level reached in 2006. According to figures compiled by the International News Safety Institute, 83 journalists and 17 other media professionals have died covering news stories between 1 January and 26 June, compared with [...] (more)

BBC's comedy chief, Jon Plowman, returns to progamme-making after more than a decade at the top
From BBC Press Ofice. Posted June 26 2007, 11.30am
Award winning BBC comedy boss Jon Plowmanthe man behind hits such as Absolutely Fabulous French And Saunders The Office The League Of Gentleman and Little Britainis to step down later this year and return to making shows for the BBC. (more)

Industry hits out at 'backwards step' over family court access
From Hold the Front Page. Posted June 22 2007, 12.00am
Too much weight appears to have been given to some "very narrow interests", says Satchwell (more)

Dibley producer hits back
From Media Guardian. Posted June 19 2007, 1.00am
1.30pm: The co-executive producer of The Vicar of Dibley has criticised the BBC's impartiality report, describing its claims about the show as 'totally misguided'. By Leigh Holmwood. (more)

Movie premieres galore on Sony & MAX in July
From Biz Asia. Posted June 15 2007, 9.15pm
The temperature continues to rise on and off our TV screens with bigger and better movie premieres in the month of July. SET MAX has confirmed that it will be telecasting the premiere of chick flick 'Kudian Ka Hai Zamana' starring Mahima Chaudhry and Rekha on Saturday 21st July at 20:00. There's also the satellite TV premiere of 'Anwar' starring Manisha Koiralla. The film proved a disaster at the box office but the music of the movie remains one of the biggest hits of this year. 'Anwar' will be shown on Saturday 28th July at 20:00. Flagship entertainment channel Sony Entertainment Television Asia on the other hand has lined up last year's huge box office success 'Dhoom 2'. (more)

Database theft hits customers
From BBC News. Posted May 25 2007, 5.08pm
A database of internet service provider Bulldog was used to defraud many customers, the BBC learns. (more)

Slower sales growth hits Comet
From BBC News. Posted May 23 2007, 7.48am
Comet squeezes costs after demand for flat screen TVs tails off from last year's World Cup-fuelled sales. (more)

Alan Johnston petition hits 100,000 mark
From Press Gazette. Posted May 22 2007, 10.19am
More than 100,000 people have added their names to the petition calling for the release of kidnapped BBC Gaza reporter, Alan Johnston. (more)

Slump in lad magazines hits Emap
From BBC News. Posted May 22 2007, 7.31am
Magazine publisher Emap reveals lower profits a week after chief executive Tom Moloney left the company. (more)

Konnie Huq Quitting Blue Peter
From Merry Media. Posted May 20 2007, 8.41pm
Long serving Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq is quitting the kids show once she hits 10 years next February, to pursue other tv projects according to reports.. (more)

Phone-in confidence fall hits ITV
From BBC News. Posted May 17 2007, 5.34pm
ITV warns recent scandals over premium rate phone lines have hit consumer confidence and knocked revenues. (more)

Phone line decline hits ITV
From BBC News. Posted May 17 2007, 7.13am
ITV warns recent scandals over premium rate phone lines have hit consumer confidence and knocked revenues. (more)

City AM hits 100,000 distribution
From Press Gazette. Posted May 15 2007, 7.21am
City AM has reached a distribution of 100,000, according to official figures released by ABC. (more)

Film maker to produce youth soap for ZEE TV
From Biz Asia. Posted May 1 2007, 10.33pm
Bollywood director and producer Prakash Mehra, who has been responsible for several Amitabh Bachchan hits like 'Muqaddar ka Sikandar' and 'Zanjeer', will soon be venturing into television production. Prakash Mehra's production house (Adai Mehra Productions) will be a producing a youth-based show for ZEE TV, the show is titled as 'Zindagi — Here We Come'. Talking about the show, Prakash Mehra's son Amit Mehra, producer of the show says, "The story is based in Goa and has a captivating script. There will be four fresh faces as the protagonists, who will be stars after this show. It will stand out from the rest of the youth-based shows as it has a completely new feel and look." The show will revolve around the lives of four young girls who work in the same hotel. The daily (Monday - Thursday) show will have a primetime slot and will go on the floors from next month. The production house, named after Prakash Mehra's four-year-old grandson (Adai Mehra), is currently on the lookout for four fresh faces for the emotional drama. Says a source from the production house, "The show revolves around the journey, affairs and experiences of these four girls working together. The show will have a fresh look, different music (amalgamation of classical and western) and a trendy look. It will be shot at virgin locations of Goa." Adds Amit Mehra, "We have started with television and our next target is films. Dad is unwell now, but he will continue giving his inputs as and when possible. His blessings are with us for our venture and he is very excited about our first show on television. I want him to lead a relaxed and retired life. There will be shades of his films in all our projects." Article from TelevisionPoint (more)

Sony trials shortform TV shows
From Digital Spy. Posted May 1 2007, 11.40am
Sony Pictures Television to shrink classic TV hits into shortform clips to show on online platforms. (more)

Sony to trial shortform TV shows
From Digital Spy. Posted May 1 2007, 11.40am
Sony Pictures Television to shrink classic TV hits into shortform clips to show on online platforms. (more)

Ball to sing musical theatre hits at BBC Proms
From The Stage. Posted April 27 2007, 3.30