We’ve known for a couple of years that UK newspapers are getting plenty of welcome traffic from overseas. Whilst that’s mostly thanks to ABCes monthly updates, comScore’s latest stats, too, reinforce just how good international reach could be for what we used to call Fleet Street. The research firm’s survey…

We warned BBC director-general Mark Thompson back in March that his Project Canvas was likely to face Kangaroo-style competition scrutiny. Now Sky has ripped the proposal to shreds in a 14-page BBC Trust submission designed to open a competition inquiry. Sky says… —It’s anti-competitive: Canvas “has the propensity to affect…

—MEN Media: When GMG Regional Media said it was having trouble in the classified jobs market, it wasn’t joking. Despite the unit seeing year-on-yea decline in profits of 85 percent in 08/09, its MEN Media division in Manchester is now offering recruiters free job ads for the next six weeks…

—BBC-Celebdaq: The BBC is resurrecting its online celebrity news-based stock exchange game Celebdaq. Though the game is still played by around 25,000 people a week, its popularity waned since the buzz surrounding it briefly prompted a spin-off BBC3 TV show in 2003. The re-launched game, developed by Monterosa, will incorporate…

—FindAnyFilm.com: The UK Film Council’s new website claims to have hit 10 two million visits in the 10 weeks since its launch. FindAnyFilm.com, dubbled a “Google (NSDQ: GOOG) for film”, launched in January after a £1 million build-out to offer cinema and TV listings, DVD, Blu-ray and download options for…

As the news and information industry contracts, you’re far more likely hear of closures than new launches. But some publishers are spotting opportunities in the downturn - especially in emerging markets with burgeoning consumer cultures less hit by the advertising downturn. Here are three of the latest recession-defying editorial launches……

By Jemima Kiss: Rupert Murdoch last night confirmed that charges for accessing Times Online or Sun Online content could start later this year.  “We’re absolutely looking at that,” he said in an earnings call last night, adding that changes will come in the next 12 months. “The current days of…

It’s taken a while, but broadcasters, online publishers and advertisers could be close to agreeing a standardised system to measure online video viewing. The Broadband Measurement Working Group, a coalition of broadcasters, ISPs and measurement bodies, is to start testing a new measurement metric next month, 18 months after starting…

How long can the news industry go on making only minimal profits from its supposed digital white knight? A month after saying online readers’ dependence on free content is “going to have to change somehow”, News Corp.‘s Rupert Murdoch has now “set up a global team, based in New York,…

UPDATE News Corp.‘s (NYSE: NWS) Q3 earnings release revealed Wednesday night that the UK newspapers division suffered a 21 percent drop in advertising revenues for the three months to March 31. The drop in advertising, higher marketing and production costs contributed to a “significant” drop in profits at News International…

Just as newspapers were looking to attract new mobile readers, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has rejected the first version of Newspaper(s), an iPhone app that let users read the content of over 50 newspapers around the world, including the New York Times (NYSE: NYT), France’s Le Monde, and the UK’s tabloid…

—Discovery Networks: Kathy Toher is the new director of international advertising across EMEA, excluding the UK, for Discovery Networks Europe. She moves over from classical music download site Passionato, where she was head of advertising sales and promotion since its launch last year. Last month former MD of UK channels…

Jeremy Darroch’s BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) posted a 23 percent-better operating profit of £622 million over the first three months of this year, despite signing 100,000 fewer broadband customers than in the year before. Broadband sign-ups slowed from 229,000 to 130,000 (total now 2.08 million)—Sky’s only business segment in which growth…

—People’s Music Store: Online digital music store creator People’s Music Store today signs a deal with Universal Music, its first major label deal. The agreement doubles its entire catalogue to 600,000 tracks. The business allows music fans to set up their own digital music shops selling music they like and…

Tiscali has confirmed it is yet again in talks to sell off its UK ISP business: Italian newspaper Milano Finanza is reporting that it expects a bid from Carphone Warehouse in the next month (via Reuters.com). MF reports that in response to its story, Tiscali “confirms the existence of negotiations…

Sky is disappointing one investment analyst ahead of its April 30 Q3 results. Morgan Stanley’s Patrick Wellington circulated a note, warning Sky will to spend big to keep pace with Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED) and BT’s high-speed, next-gen broadband roll-outs: “This could mean capex of £675 million to £785 million…

It’s a good time to sell your shares in Pace. The set top box maker hit a seven-year high in London last week after upping its 2009 forecast. So electronics maker Philips is now selling the 17 percent stake it acquired when it sold its own box business to Pace…

—Independent.co.uk: Following on from the long list of online partnerships it signed in the past year, the Indie is to show the Endemol-produced and Bebo-commissioned original online-only drama series The Gap Year on its student section. The show will be aired on a soon-to-be-launched video channel—the indie took down its…

News Corp (NYSE: NWS). isn’t immune to the advertising cutbacks that are squeezing news organizations both online and offline, and so Rupert Murdoch wants his various properties to start sharing more. The company is setting up a new unit designed to share content from all of News Corp.‘s global sources.…