29 Jul 10

Richard Desmond's take over of Five: MediaCom View

by Sean Japp, Head of TV

Richard Desmond taking over Five could be a blessing in disguise for the beleaguered broadcaster.

There's no doubt that advertisers would welcome a stronger Five, and the new owner has proved in the past that he has the resource and history to improve his press and magazine titles.

Programme acquisitions will play a key part in his long term ambitions for the channel and his ability to cross promote/sell through his newspaper and magazine titles could prove to be an extremely exciting prospect for the channel. Rumours of him acquiring the Big Brother franchise in the UK could prove to be an extremely smart move. How else will he fill the pages of OK! Magazine over the summer months?

We'll wait with baited breath and see what happens. One thing we can be sure of, it's going to be and exciting journey over the next few months.