Sky One don’t really do quiz shows. Terrestrial channels are the domain of the quiz show. But Sky One may be onto a winner with its upcoming new quiz show, “Are you Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?”

The show pits adults and kids in a quiz to answer questions that any 10-year old should be able to answer, as the grown-ups work their way up the cash prize ladder. It is based on the new hit US show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”

The show will be hosted by Noel Edmonds who is still committed to Deal Or No Deal on Channel 4.

The UK series, produced by TwoFour Productions, begins filming in the summer with a debut scheduled for this autumn.

I saw a bit of the US version when I was in the states a couple of months ago and did find it entertaining. Lets hope they can recreate it for a UK audience.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

When Sky removed its channels from the Virgin Media platform last month I wondered what the damage would be for each company. It seems that Sky’s audience share has taken a bit of a battering.

Sky demanded more money from Virgin to show their channels even though their viewing figures were falling. Virgin, unsurprisingly, thought that was a tad unreasonable and when the two companies could not come to a decision, Sky removed its channels.

The audience share for Sky’s basic channels has fallen by a combined 24.5% since they came off the Virgin Media platform last month. These include Sky One, Two and Sky News and Sky One no longer in the top five non-terrestrial channels. In fact Sky One got just 1% of the weekly all-hours multichannel viewing share.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

BSkyB’s stake in ITV is to be investigated by Ofcom after being asked by the Trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling. Sky acquired a 17.9% stake in ITV in November which ultimately stopped any plans for their main competitor, Virgin Media from taking over ITV.

Ofcom must provide advice to Alistair Darling minister by April 27 on whether the case raises public interest concerns about the number of different owners of media enterprises.

Some have complained that BSkyB’s stake stifles competition and could prove a conflict of interest.

Under “cross-ownership rules”, Sky is not allowed to own more than 20% of ITV.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

BSkyB are now using clips from The Simpsons to tell cable customers that they will lose basic channels from the platform if Virgin Media does not return to the negotiating table this week. The clips are aired on some of Sky’s channels which Virgin media adopters can view such as SkyOne and Sky News.

Previous communications have asked Virgin media viewers to put pressure on Virgin to accept a deal with BSkyB so that they may continue to broadcast the basic Sky channels.

BSkyB had asked for double the fee to carry its basic channels which include Sky One and Sky News but this has now been reduced to a 30% increase.

A Virgin Media spokesperson said “These promotions contradict Sky’s claims that they want to negotiate with us and demonstrate what we suspected all along: that Sky has no intention of doing any deal.”

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

SKY has bought an online publishing company Mykindaplace.com. Brand Republic reports "The business will become part of Sky’s multi-platform content division, Sky Networked Media, which will use its web design expertise to launch specialist sites, with the first expected before the end of the year." Tags: Mykindaplace

Business week on line is reporteing on the decline in 4Q for Sky thye note from the report "Numis Securities said it expected BSkyB’s 2007 profit forecasts to be broadly similar to 2006 due to the ongoing broadband investment. "BSkyB is one of the (very) few business-to-consumer media companies that has really come to terms with the digital age and we remain supportive of the company’s long-term positioning," it said." Tags: BSkyB

The Guardian Unlimited website is reporting on the 23% pay rise James Murdoch secured this year they website writes "Mr Murdoch, who joined Sky in November 2003, was paid a basic salary of £825,000 and also received benefits of £208,600. With a pension contribution of £66,000, his overall remuneration was £2.75m.In the course of last year he also received 382,500 shares - currently worth £2.07m - which he can cash in in 2007 if Sky outperforms the FTSE 100 index of Britain’s top companies." (more…)

There is plenty of talk about the new Sky by mobile aplication, which allows you to have the following key features:

* The latest news stories and video updates from Sky News and Sky Sports.
* Live scoreboards giving play-by-play accounts of top sports events.
* Tables, fixtures and results for key sports.
* The ability to personalise a “My Sports” section, to follow the sports, teams and events of your choice.
* Weather forecasts from the Sky News Weather team, including regular video updates and a 24-hour outlook for around 100 UK cities.
* The ability to check odds and place bets with Skybet.**

Stephen Nuttall, BSkyB’s Director of Business Development, said:

“Sky Mobile brings customers the latest news, sport and weather in a convenient and easy-to-use format. This application allows us to build on existing customer relationships and reach consumers wherever they want to access Sky content.”

It looks good on paper but will people bother?
Source: SKY Press Release
Tags: SKY Mobile

The Guardian Unlimited website, looks at a move Sky is making, by diversifying its product offering to retain customers and gain new ones, they write "Launching broadband has become de rigueur among media and communications companies trying to cope with maturing markets. With more and more people signed up to digital TV or mobile phone services, companies such as Sky, NTL/Telewest, Orange and Vodafone are moving away from a customer landgrab and instead are trying to make more out of their customers by providing extra products. Offering broadband - or in the case of cable, mobile services - is seen as a way of reducing customer "churn"." (more…)

Sharecast is reporting on the increase in revenue of BSKYB they write "For the year June, revenue increased by 8% to £4.1bn with pre-tax profits rising marginally to £798m from £787m previously.
The group said 77,000 customers signed up in the final quarter, ahead of expectations, taking the year total to 389,000. Overall number of direct-to-home (DTH) digital satellite subscribers in the UK and Ireland is now 8.17m."