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Latest News [2008] archive from September 2008
| Regulator to consult on Sky’s Picnic service
Ofcom is to consult on its plans to give Sky's proposed pay TV service, Picnic, conditional approval. | |
| Panasonic uses CEATEC show to launch new corporate name - ERTWeekly.com reports from Japan
Panasonic has used the Japanese technology trade show CEATEC as the launchpad for its new corporate name, which, as of October 1 this year, changes from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd to Panasonic Corporation. | |
| Sky to cut price of HD box in October
Sky is to offer its high definition Sky+ HD box to existing customers at half price during the month of October. | |
| Virgin accounts for third of iPlayer viewing
A third of all programmes watched on BBC iPlayer are viewed on Virgin Media's digital cable TV service, the cable operator has claimed. | |
| GDHA wins best CIH white goods stand award
Glen Dimplex Home Appliances (GDHA) won the award for the best white goods stand at this year's CIH show at the NEC in Birmingham. | |
| Freesat reaches 100,000 sales within five months of launching
Freesat, the joint venture between the BBC and ITV offering free, digital satellite television has reached 100,000 sales within just five months of launching on 6 May 2008, having maintained strong, steady growth throughout what has been a tough summer for high street retailers. | |
| ERT Industry Awards - picture gallery now online
Photographic highlights of the first ever ERT Industry Awards are now online. | |
| Roberts is in the pink for breast cancer charity
Roberts has joined forces with The Perfectly Pink Company to raise money for the charity; Against Breast Cancer. | |
| Yamaha looking for "more quality hi-fi dealers"
Yamaha has revealed that it “needs more quality hi-fi dealers” as part of its new strategy for the UK. | |
| Shortlist out for Sky satellite sales stars
Satellite broadcaster Sky has announced the nominees for this year’s Independent Retailer of the Year, who will be competing for £10,000 worth of marketing support and the coveted top award. | |
| ERT Industry Awards recognises excellence in retailing and manufacturing
The best electrical retailers and manufacturers were this week recognised at the inaugural ERT Industry Awards. | |
| Maytag joins Whirlpool
Maytag's business is to be integrated with that of Whirlpool in the UK leading to the closure of its Redhill, Surrey, base. | |
| Sky to introduce "unlimited" broadband
Sky is to remove the 250GB per month download limit on its top broadband package, Sky Broadband Max. | |
| Retail figures distort truth, claims BRC
Official figures are obscuring the harsh facts of life on Britain's high streets, according to retail chiefs. | |
| Alphason unveils new offices
Alphason has opened its new 100,000-plus square foot state-of-the-art headquarters, manufacturing and logistics centre just outside Bolton. | |
| Ainsley Harriott makes ERTV debut
Celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott has made his first appearance on ERTV. | |
| New music format could sound death knell for CD
CDs could soon be replaced by a fingernail-sized microSD memory card. | |
| Jessops to host photography exhibition
Jessops, the photographic retailer, has teamed up with The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) to host a new exhibition. | |
| ERTV at CIH Show
ERTV was at this year's CIH Show in Birmingham to capture some of the highlights. | |
| Jessops wins Best Supplier award
Photographic retailer Jessops has won a UK award for providing its customers with an excellent standard of insurance, repair and replacement services | |
| Retra urges businesses to think before making redundancies
Electrical retailers association Retra has urged businesses thinking about cutting back on staff to think carefully before taking action. | |
| Mininum wage warning
Nearly a third of small businesses are unaware of rises in the National Minimum Wage due to take effect on October 1, a new report claimed. | |
| US electrical chains embrace online live music content
US electrical retail giants Best Buy and Circuit City have used live music events to attract visitors to their websites. | |
| BRC's "grave concern" over business rates report
Is Britain's system of calculating business rates broken? The findings of a new report suggest it could be. | |
| Freesat Take A Town
Freesat has teamed up with ERT Weekly to launch a new mystery shopping initiative, as part of its commitment to dealer support. 18 September 2008 | |
| Official figures show surprise jump in retail sales
A surprise jump in UK retail sales in August was reported in official figures. 18 September 2008 | |
| Microsoft to slash Xbox 360 prices
Following similar cuts in America and Japan, Microsoft will slash the price of its Xbox 360 in the UK tomorrow. 18 September 2008 | |
| MPC softening stance on interest rates
The Bank of England appears to be softening its stance on interest rates. 17 September 2008 | |
| Whirlpool to lay-off US workers
Whirlpool is to lay-off around 700 workers at its Fort Smith, Arkansas, factory in the United States. 17 September 2008 | |
| Best Buy sees second-quarter earnings drop 19 per cent
US electrical retail giant Best Buy has reported a 19 per cent drop in its second quarter net earnings to $202 million (around £113m). 17 September 2008 | |
| HP to cut 24,600 jobs
Computer company Hewlett-Packard is to cut 24,600 jobs – 7.5 per cent of its workforce – over the next three years. 16 September 2008 | |
| Sky 'suspends' proposed Picnic service
Sky has announced an immediate suspension of its preparations to launch a subscription TV service on digital terrestrial television. | |
| Best Buy acquires Napster
US consumer electronics retail chain Best Buy has entered the online music market by purchasing the Napster online music service for $121m (£67.5m). | |
| TDK ships recordable Blu-ray discs
Imation's TDK Life on Record brand claims to be the first to start shipping new 6x write-once Blu-ray discs to the European market. | |
| UK 'in early stages of a technical recession’
A shallow recession through the second half of 2008 means that growth in the economy in 2009 will be the lowest since 1992, the CBI said today. | |
| London holds its own in tough retail climate
Retail sales in central London in August were 8.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, on a like-for-like basis, according to the BRC-KPMG London Retail Sales Monitor for last month. | |
| Freesat wins prestigious TV award
Freesat, the free-to-air digital satellite television service, has won a close fought race to be declared the winner of the Pace/DTG 'Best Contribution to Digital TV in the UK' award. | |
| Move towards single digital radio market for Europe
Consumers will soon be able to listen to their digital radios in any country in Europe thanks to a new initiative announced today (September 12) by the WorldDMB Forum. | |
| Five new channels on Freesat
Freesat, the free-to-air digital satellite TV service, has announced the launch of five new channels, including four TV channels and one radio station, all launching on September 16. | |
| Glut of unwanted space in town centres
An unprecedented wave of investment in town centres will fail to reverse the long-standing migration of retail sales from town centres to out-of-town retail parks. | |
| Sales fall at Argos
High street catalogue retailer Argos saw its like-for-like sales fall 5.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to August 30. 11 September 2008 | |
| John Lewis profits plummet
The John Lewis Partnership saw its pre-tax profits slump 26.6 per cent or £38.8 million to £107.3m in the six months to July 26. 11 September 2008 | |
| Pace to unveil world's first DVB-T2 terrestrial HD set-top box
Pace is to demonstrate the first set-top box capable of receiving DVB-T2 high-definition content at the IBC show in Amsterdam, which starts on September 12. 11 September 2008 | |
| Freesat to show Last Night of the Proms in HD
The Last Night of the Proms on Saturday night will, for the first time, be screened in high-definition on BBC HD, available on free-to-view satellite platform Freesat and on Sky | |
| Sales fall at Comet
Comet saw its like-for-like revenue fall by 9.9 per cent in the three months to July 31, with sales of white goods particularly weak. 10 September 2008 | |
| ERTV at IFA - see the highlights
The ERTV film crew was out at this year's IFA show in Berlin to capture some of the highlights. | |
| Massive rise in business rates predicted
Retailers in England are likely to see huge increases in their rates bill as a result of the 2010 business rates revaluation. 09 September 2008 | |
| Vodafone shuffles top team
Vodafone's new chief executive Vittorio Colao is shaking up top management at the mobile phone company. 09 September 2008 | |
| UK technology firms fail to prepare for future risks
The UK’s largest technology businesses are living dangerously if they continue to focus only on internal risks, according to accounting and business advice company BDO Stoy Hayward. | |
| CIH Show heading for a record
CIH's two-day show for members at the NEC in Birmingham is set to be its most popular event yet. 08 September 2008 | |
| BBC HD will be on air longer
BBC HD will be on air for longer, BBC head of HDTV Danielle Nagler has confirmed in a BBC internet blog. 08 September 2008 | |
| Cost of super-fast broadband could top £28.8bn
The cost of giving every home in the UK access to fibre-based broadband could top £28.8 billion, Government advisers claim. | |
| Shop prices rising faster in Scotland
Scottish prices appear to be playing catch-up with those in the UK. 05 September 2008 | |
| Samsung unveils its answer to the iPhone
In a bid to rival Apple’s iPhone, Samsung has launched its flagship smartphone Omnia in the UK, backed up by a £4 million above the line advertising campaign. | |
| Freesat adds more channels
More channels are joining free-to-view satellite service Freesat's line-up. 05 September 2008 | |
| MPC votes to hold rates
The vote today by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep UK base rates at five per cent for the fifth month in a row has brought a mixed reaction from business leaders. 04 September 2008 | |
| DSGi counters Best Buy
DSG International's answer to the arrival of US electrical retail giant Best Buy in the UK will open some time before Christmas at junction 9 off the M6. | |
| Retra brings industry together
Electrical retailers association Retra is working to bring suppliers and independent retailers together to combat the economic downturn. | |
| HI appointed as George Foreman distributor
Salton Europe has appointed HI as the exclusive distributor for its George Foreman brand. | |
| Utility to sell electricals online
Electricity supplier Good Energy has, this week, launched a website for people who want to buy environmentally-friendly goods, including electrical products. | |
| DSGi remains "cautious" after issuing results
Dixons Store Group International (DSGi), the UK's largest consumer electronics retailer, said like-for-like sales for the 16 weeks to August 23 fell 7 per cent and that business across Europe remains "challenging.'' | |
| Comet gets on the bus
Comet has claimed it is the first major UK retailer to offer its staff the chance to qualify for tax and national insurance savings (NI) on an annual bus pass. | |
| Oyster phones given the go-ahead
Londoners will soon be able to use their mobile phones as both Oyster and credit cards. | |
| Ofcom looks to improve mobile phone market
Regulator Ofcom is seeing views on ways to improve the mobile phone market. | |
| Thin is in - ERTWeekly.com reports on CE trends at IFA
The sci-fi dream of a screen that is thin and light enough to hang on the wall like a painting is finally coming true – with Sony using IFA to trial OLED panels which need no backlight, writes Barry Fox. | |
| Philips highlights health trend in small appliance retail - IFA exclusive
Philips has identified a growing trend for electrical retailers to promote small domestic appliances (SDAs) by using a ‘health and wellbeing' message in-store. | |
| Government aims to improve flexible working
The Government is looking at ways to make dealing with flexible working requests easier for businesses. | |
| Summer of sport boosts HD penetration throughout Europe
The Euro 2008 football tournament and The Olympics generated a surge in the penetration of high-definition technologies throughout Europe, according to the Digital Entertainment Group Europe (DEG Europe). | |
