Tech giants urged to work with government in online harms battle April 29, 2019 Facebook, Google and Snapchat should use their technology to work with the government on tackling harmful content online, health secretary Matt Hancock will say today. The health secretary will challenge social media giants to make greater progress in protecting vulnerable users at a second UK summit between tech firms and internet providers, held as part [...]
Advertising giant WPP suffers like-for-like sales decline after ‘significant’ client losses April 26, 2019 WPP sales slipped in the first three months of the year as the advertising giant told investors it is closer to selling market research division Kantar. Read more: WPP boss outlines overhaul of corporate culture Revenue rose almost one per cent year on year to £3.59bn in the first quarter of 2019 but like-for-like revenue [...]
BBC retains troubled outsourcer Interserve to provide security across its UK sites April 26, 2019 Embattled public sector outsourcer Interserve has been tasked with guarding the BBC’s entire UK estate for the next three years, in a contract award worth £47m. Read more: FRC investigates Grant Thornton audits of Interserve The announcement, seen by City PM last night, means Interserve’s security brand First Security will continue providing services for the [...]
Comcast beats profit estimates but streaming rivals eat into revenue April 25, 2019 US media giant Comcast has beaten Wall Street estimates to post strong first-quarter profit, but fell short on revenue. The figures Comcast posted a 17.9 per cent increase in revenues to $26.9bn (£21bn). Net profit rose 14 per cent to $3.6bn. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 18.1 per cent to $8.6bn. [...]
Facebook braces for $5bn hit after privacy scandals April 25, 2019 An ongoing probe into a slew of data breaches at Facebook has left the social media giant braced for a financial hit of up to $5bn (£3.9bn) in fines and legal costs. The social media giant’s profit for the first three months of this year more than halved year-on-year to just $2.4bn, with earnings per [...]
Snap smashes expectations with narrowed losses and surprise user growth April 24, 2019 Original shows, a design overhaul for Android phones and an entry into video games powered Snap to top analyst expectations last night, surprising Wall Street naysayers. Snap – the parent firm of photo-messaging app Snapchat – said its losses had narrowed to $0.10 per share or $123m (£95m) in the first three months of 2019, [...]
Sunday evening now ‘prime’ spot for TV advertisers as viewers flock to hit dramas April 24, 2019 Sunday is now the most effective time for TV advertising in the UK, as hit drama series help boost audience engagement. New data from TV and radio analytics firm Admo.tv reveals more TV ad spots air on Sunday than any other day of the week, while adverts on this day also drive more web traffic. [...]
Netflix to sell $2bn worth of bonds amid competition with streaming rivals April 23, 2019 Netflix will issue $2bn (£1.5bn) worth of bonds, denominated in both dollars and euros, to raise money as the battle over TV and film streaming intensifies. Read more: Netflix predicts slowed subscriber growth as price hikes begin to hurt The online media giant said the interest rate, maturity date, and other terms of the bonds [...]
All a-Twitter April 23, 2019 Anyone who knows about social media would recognise Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter: unruly beard, black knitted hat, dark clothes. He’s a distinctive figure in a way that Mark Zuckerberg isn’t, though it’s also true that there’s yet to be a film made about Dorsey’s rise to prominence. The Twitter boss recently took part [...]
Digital publishing revenues rise as video and display formats drive growth April 23, 2019 Digital publishing revenues rose almost seven per cent last year as publishers shift their focus towards video formats. Figures from the Association for Online Publishing (AOP) and Deloitte reveal UK revenues rose 6.8 per cent to £511.5m in 2018. Read more: Google hands out €500,000 for local publishers’ project The growth was driven largely by [...]
