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Latest News [2008] archive from May 2008
| Fru Hazlitt to leave GCap Media
Fru Hazlitt, the chief executive of GCap Media which owns commercial digital multiplex operator Digital One, is to step down when Global Radio completes its takeover of the company on June 6. | |
| Accusations over Freesat installations
Forum members at broadcasting website Digital Spy have accused some retailers of refusing to sell them Freesat receivers unless they pay extra for an engineer to install it. 30 May 2008 | |
| Monster at the movies
Cable and AV accessories maker Monster was an official partner at the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival, where the fourth Indiana Jones movie (pictured) was premiered. | |
| Chancellor to cut business taxes
Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted that “getting business tax right is not easy” and promised in future to consult UK businesses on any significant tax changes. | |
| New MD at Toshiba UK
Toshiba UK has appointed Andy Bass as managing director, following a restructuring of its Consumer Products and Distributor (CPD) sales teams. | |
| BBC to participate in super hi-def TV trials
The BBC is to take part in ground breaking TV transmissions using the Super Hi-Vision video system. The standard offers a resolution of 35 megapixels, 17 times the resolution of a 1080p screen. | |
| BBC iPlayer to join Virgin EPG
A branded iPlayer area will be added to the catch up section of Virgin Media's electronic programme guide next week. | |
| China gains 11 Blu-ray licences
Blu-ray production is to receive a massive boost with 11 Chinese companies having been awarded an official licence to manufacture the discs and players. | |
| Credit crunch not a catastrophe, claims CBI president
The credit crunch is not a catastrophe but a reality check, said the president of the Confederation of British Industry. | |
| Rural broadband overtakes urban
A bigger percentage of country homes have broadband than their counterparts in towns. | |
| Data protection scam warning
Warnings about a data protection scam that targets businesses has been put out by the Forum of Private Business (FPB). 28 May 2008 | |
| Sky's the limit for Stockport football club boss
We’ve all heard about famous football managers refusing to speak to television stations because of perceived wrongs in their coverage, but Stockport County boss Jim Gannon took things a stage further – and all in the name of good, old fashioned customer servi | |
| Woolworths ditches CD singles
High street chain Woolworths has said it will stop selling CD singles in its stores. | |
| Sony calls for more dealers to support Retra Conference
Sony’s general manager of direct sales, Mike Vernon, has bemoaned the lack of dealers at this year’s Retra Conference in Portugal. | |
| Council trials kerb-side collection for batteries
Recycling company Wrap has launched a trial kerb-side collection scheme for batteries in partnership with St Edmundsbury borough council. 23 May 2008 | |
| Yahoo postpones annual meeting
Internet search engine Yahoo has put back its July 3 annual meeting until later in the month. 23 May 2008 | |
| Whirlpool picks up GHI and Which? accolades
Whirlpool has received two awards for its AWO/D AS128 6th Sense AquaSteam washing machine. | |
| Don't talk up a recession
Times are tough but not so tough that we should give in to the gloom and doom merchants. | |
| Seven million DAB sets sold
Sales of DAB digital radios have topped seven million, according to the latest figures from GfK. | |
| Ofcom awards new DAB licence for Somerset
Ofcom has awarded the new local DAB radio multiplex licence for Somerset to MuxCo Somerset Ltd. | |
| BCC urges rate cut later in year
Given the acute threat to economic growth, modest interest rate cuts later in the year should remain a realistic option. 21 May 2008 | |
| BBC iPlayer use still growing
The BBC iPlayer has now received more than 75 million requests to stream or download programmes since its formal launch at Christmas. 21 May 2008 | |
| Freesat to add all TV regions by June
Free-to-view satellite platform Freesat will broadcast all BBC and Channel 3 regional variations by the end of June. 21 May 2008 | |
| Marks and Spencer profits top £1 billion
Profits at store group Marks and Spencer have passed the billion pound mark. | |
| Business split on temporary worker ruling
The Government's announcement today (May 20) that temporary workers will receive the same benefits as full-time employees after 12 weeks in a job, has been welcomed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). 20 May 2008 | |
| Games consoles need to be 'greener'
According to an article on BBC.co.uk, Greenpeace has declared that games consoles are not ‘green enough’. 20 May 2008 | |
| ERTV Exclusive - Samsung's Andy Griffiths speaks out
ERTV has secured an exclusive interview with Andy Griffiths, vice-president of Samsung UK. | |
| Qualcomm pays £8.3m for L-band spectrum
Qualcomm UK Spectrum Ltd has won the UK licence for spectrum in the ‘L-band’, with an £8.3m bid at Ofcom’s fifth radio spectrum auction. | |
| Orange launches LiveRadio device
Orange launches its LiveRadio device today, which connects to a home broadband line and allows consumers to listen to up to 4,000 internet radio stations. | |
| Sky+ launches new TV ads
Sky has hired stars including Michael Parkinson and ex-EastEnders actor Ross Kemp for an advertising campaign focusing on Sky+. | |
| June rollout for Sony HD roadshows
Sony is holding a series of roadshows in June and early July focusing on high-definition. | |
| UK appliance market is "brutal" says BSH
The UK domestic appliance market is "brutal", says a senior director at BSH. | |
| DSGi to close up to 77 high street stores
DSGi is to close around 77 of its 177 Currys.digital high street stores as their leases run out, leaving "up to100 stores in attractive catchments that most likely will be the focus for future trading". 15 May 2008 | |
| Music companies to abandon DRM
An increasing number of stores and record labels are removing DRM (digital rights management) from their music. | |
| Flexible working to be extended?
The Government is looking to extend the right of working parents to request time off work to those with older children. | |
| Freesat warns of HD box shortage
Freesat is warning prospective viewers of a shortage of high-definition set-top boxes. | |
| UK unemployment rises
UK unemployment rose for the third consecutive month in April. 14 May 2008 | |
| Sainsbury's to launch non-food online business
Supermarket giant Sainsbury's is to invest £15 million this financial year and next in the launch of a non-food online business in the first half of 2009/10. | |
| Basic rate taxpayers to pay £120 less in 2008
The Chancellor has put up the personal tax allowance by £600, which means that every basic rate taxpayer will pay £120 less tax this year. | |
| BBC calls for pay-TV investigation
The BBC is urging regulator Ofcom to combine its investigation of the pay-TV market with a review it had proposed of the wholesale platform market. | |
| Inflation hits three per cent
UK consumer inflation reached its highest level in 13 months driven by high food and fuel costs, according to the Office for National Statistics. | |
| DTT reaches 37 per cent of homes in France
The proportion of French homes with a digital terrestrial television receiver has doubled in a year to 37 per cent. | |
| BT unveils ToGo
BT has launched its latest broadband product, entering the crowded market of companies providing online access for people wherever they are. | |
| Wilmington first US town to go digital
Wilmington has been selected as the first town in America to undertake digital switchover, the Federal Communications Commission has announced. | |
| BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse fight for control of AOL
BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse are reported to be in a bidding war for control of the UK operations of Time Warner-owned internet service provider AOL. | |
| Scots entrepreneurs are UK's biggest job creators
Scotland's entrepreneurs are creating up to five times as many jobs as their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. | |
| Government planning changes to UK consumer law
The Government is planning fundamental changes to UK consumer law, UK Business Secretary John Hutton announced today. 09 May 2008 | |
| Best Buy agrees £1bn deal with Carphone Warehouse
One of the USA's biggest retail groups has signed a £1.1 billion deal with Carphone Warehouse that is set to turn the mobile phone retailer into one of Europe's largest electrical retailers. 08 May 2008 | |
| IPTV set-top boxes will be worth $3bn by 2012
The market for TV set-top boxes with connections to the internet will be worth $3 billion worldwide by 2012, according to new research. | |
| New tariffs for T-Mobile
T-Mobile has introduced new tariffs in response to the economic slowdown. | |
| Year on year fall in non-food shopping trips
Shopping trips for non-food items rose by 2.9 per cent in April compared with the previous month, but were four per cent lower than a year ago. | |
| ITV criticised for HD exclusivity on Freesat
Sky has attacked ITV for offering its high definition channel exclusively on Freesat. | |
| BSkyB to bid £600 million for Virgin's TV channels?
Satellite broadcaster Sky is reported to be considering a £600m bid for Virgin Media's TV channels, according to a report in The Observer newspaper. 07 May 2008 | |
| ITV HD channel will be a Freesat exclusive
ITV's high definition TV channel will be exclusive to free to view satellite service Freesat, the broadcaster has revealed. 06 May 2008 | |
| Microsoft withdraws Yahoo bid
Software giant Microsoft has withdrawn its offer for internet company Yahoo. | |
| Freesat brings HD to all
Independent electrical retailers can play a full part in the launch of Freesat, the free-to-air satellite system that officially goes live today. | |
| ERTV reports from Retra Conference 2008
The ERTV crew were at this year's Retra Conference on The Algarve, Portugal, to film and interview some of the delegates, including retailers, manufacturers, distributors and a selection of the guest speakers. Over the next few weeks, ERTV will be showing the interviews, so be sure to check out the website for news and views from the Conference. To see our first video reports from the event, click here .
02 May 2008 | |
| Basic version of iPhone sells out
Carphone Warehouse and O2 have sold out of the basic 8GB version of the apple iPhone. | |
| Sony has launched its new TV ad campaign
Sony this week unveiled its new TV ad campaign. | |
| Retra Conference outlines opportunities for indies
Independent electrical retailers can survive an economic downturn if they stop competing on price. | |
| Good retailers can still profit in a bad sales climate, says BRC head
Despite the doom and gloom of the current retail climate, there is still plenty of business to be had for good retailers. | |
| Make the most of a downturn, Clare tells Retra delegates
Independent specialists in electricals are vital to the success of the thriving UK retail market, according to the former boss of DSG International. | |
| Consumers keep on buying DAB
Nearly half a million DAB digital radios were sold in quarter one 2008, delivering sales growth of 28 per cent year-on-year, according to figures from GfK, the industry’s marketing service. | |
