Ulster Television (UTV), which recently bought The Wireless Group –
owners of talkSport radio – has appointed Scott Taunton (pictured) as
chief executive officer. Kelvin MacKenzie, the founder and former CEO
of the company, left after he was outbid by UTV to buy the company.
MacKenzie is now in negotiations with The Sun to take over from
columnist Richard Littlejohn.
Taunton said: “Kelvin has done a
great job at building awareness of the talkSPORT brand. I will now
focus on growing our audience.” Meanwhile, talkSPORT has clinched a
£1.1m sponsorship with The Times. The 18- month deal centres around its
drivetime show, named The Game after the paper’s Monday sports
supplement.
The BBC World Service is the biggest speech radio
station in Iraq according to new figures. Weekly audiences have
increased to 3.3m (22 per cent share) from 1.8m weekly listeners (13
per cent share) last year. The increase follows the rapid establishment
of BBC FM relays in key parts of the country. At the same time,
independent research commissioned by the World Service has found that
it has consolidated its position as the best known and most respected
voice in international broadcasting. Evidence published in its annual
review indicates that the service’s reputation for trust and
objectivity is higher than for any other international broadcasters in
virtually all markets surveyed, including Russia and the USA. Its
reputation has also improved in the Islamic world where it suffered a
reverse during and immediately after the Iraq war.
Ofcom has
published a ‘toolkit’ aimed at helping broadcasters to promote equal
opportunities. It contains practical advice, examples of best practice
and other suggestions to help them benefit from the experiences of
others in promoting equal opportunities.
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