BT says BT Sport has signed up 2 million subscribers and is now available to 4 million homes, as a result of its wholesale contract with Virgin Media.

The company says that it’s also “delivering for the business”.

BT marked its lowest line rental churn rate in additional than five years and a 2 per cent year on year revenue growth in its consumer business to £1.84bn within the three months to 30 September. Quarter on quarter, consumer revenue rose 4 per cent – its best quarterly performance for 10 years.

In terms of purchaser numbers, BT’s TV service added 70,000 subscribers within the quarter, while 156,000 new customers signed up for broadband – making BT the dominant player in acquiring new subscribers inside the period. It has around 7 million broadband customers in total.

BT’s investment in acquiring the rights to teach live Premier League football matches and other high profile sports, tapping up celebrity presenters which includes Clare Balding and the large marketing push linked to launching the channel did mean the corporate reported a 13 per cent year on year drop in profit to £948m.

Gavin Patterson, BT’s recently appointed group chief executive officer, says BT Sport has made a “confident start”.

In the 3 months to 30 September rival Sky splashed out one more £55m in marketing its broadband and pay TV services because it looked to mitigate the impact of BT Sport. The move gave the impression to show early signs of paying off because the company added 111,000 new broadband customers and 37,000 new TV subscribers in its first quarter. 

The world’s largest brewer by sales posted a 4.2 per cent year-on-year jump in UK volumes including cider for the 3 months to 30 September. It continues an upswing trendy around the region from the former quarter with the corporate ramping up activity around its Budweiser and Jay-Z tie-up alongside its Stella Artois premiumisation strategy inside the months since to preserve its momentum.

Despite the performance, AB Bev revealed market share for the region were hampered by ongoing promotional pressure within the first nine months of the year.

Inge Plochaet, president of AB InBev UK, says: ““We are happy with the performance of AB InBev UK’s beer and cider brands this quarter.  We’ve seen increases in both volume and equity for Stella Artois, supported by our Connoisseurs Programme which brings the ideal pour to discerning on-trade outlets.

”Budweiser and Stella Artois Cidre have also seen strong volume growth year on year, boosted by the great weather over the summer.  Our investment in innovative marketing, for instance the Stella Artois Cidre temperature-activated advertising campaign, has also helped to extend brand equity and drive purchase.”

Globally, like-for-like revenue grew 3 per cent to $11.73bn (£7.3bn) inside the period, while volumes slipped 1.3 per cent, dented by a 1.4 per cent drop inside the amount of beer sold. The revenue lift is a fillip to the company’s discuss selling pricier beers at a time when demand in emerging markets across Latin America is flagging.

The company said it was not “satisfied” with its top line performance in 2013, which it claimed was impacted by “macroeconomic headwinds” in numerous markets. It’s planning for a “fast start in 2014” and said it was readying sponsorship activity around next year’s FIFA World Cup.

Last month supermarket chains Asda and Tesco were forced to drag their respective “Mental Patient” and “Psycho Ward” outfits after coming under fire from the mental health lobby, which claimed the outfits further stigmatised people stricken by mental illnesses.

The obligatory public apologies were duly made and Asda even tried to further distance itself from the PR gaffe by promoting its range of Halloween-themed, in-store Augmented Reality treasure hunts. But similar to any horror story, audiences remember the bad, and infrequently the best.

Similarly, online retail giant Amazon removed pages promoting a ‘Zombie-fied’ outfit of disgraced UK DJ Jimmy Saville, following an identical public outcry.

However, on a more “refreshing” note, Carling marked Halloween with an internet video campaign created by the somewhat fittingly named, creative agency Creature (see below video).

Elsewhere, Marketing Week hands plaudits to online travel firm Booking.com, for its Haunted Destinations finder – a web-based portal that taps into the seasonal mood by encouraging ‘scare seekers’ to book stays in accommodation synonymous with things that go bump within the night (see bottom video).  

Marketing Week revealed that the scheme, named TPS Assured, was being developed in August, in line with ongoing controversy concerning the volume of nuisance calls received by consumers.

According to John Mitchison, head of the TPS: “The TPS Assured scheme might be useful to revive confidence in telemarketing by helping businesses, consumers and regulators to obviously identify those companies that operate at the right side of the law.”

To meet minimum standards for TPS Assured, telemarketers might want to show records covering a minimum of 10 data points on the subject of marketing calls, including the source of the decision list, the number called and the caller ID exhibited to the recipient.

They may also be required to declare to consumers on whose behalf the decision is being made, and to illustrate processes for complying with regulations and maintaining best practice. It’ll cost businesses £500 plus VAT every time they apply for certification, then £3,000 plus VAT for an initial single-site audit, followed by £1,500 plus VAT for subsequent annual audits to resume their membership.

Mitchison claims that direct marketing companies are unlikely to be deterred by the price: “The cost of complying with the legislation have been much higher prior to now, two years ago the price of a TPS licence was twice up to it truly is now – £4,400 in comparison to the present cost of £2,200.”

Commenting at the launch of TPS Assured, communication minister Ed Vaizey said: “Direct marketing is a sound industry however the public has had enough of nuisance calls from companies simply flouting the principles. We have got encouraged regulators to do so against people that break the law but we’re also keen for industry to enhance best practice. I welcome this initiative by the TPS and hope that it helps to drive up standards.”

The unveiling of TPS Assured follows yesterdays publication of a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nuisance Calls, chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Mike Crockart, while an action plan from Vaizey at the subject and a separate report by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee also are expected imminently.

The three brand campaigns are poised to head continue to exist 4 November, and are set to run over the process next month. Additionally they mark the launch of CityLive – an outdoor advertising three way partnership between Manchester City Council and MediaCo Outdoor.

The new ad units, located across 20 “high footfall” sites throughout Greater Manchester, can feature live news feeds and contain various interactive technologies, including facial recognition, NFC, touchscreen, and WiFi.

MediaCo claims CityLive lets outdoor advertisers target specific audience types – in place of just locations – through its proprietary planning tool that uses third-party data to higher assess the passing footfall, which includes the catchment area of the placement.

Richard Blackburn, commercial director of MediCo Outdoor also says the hot system means advertisers can both track and update campaigns in real-time, meaning advertisers can up the amount (when it comes to impressions), or change the creative in their campaigns.

Advertisers may additionally tailor their campaign costs by submitting the utmost sum of money they’re prepared to pay for an impression, corresponding to how media is traded in a Google AdWord auction, or online ad exchange.

The announcement of CityLive comes the identical week as Amscreen, the Lord Sugar-backed out of home media network, announced a tie-up with Tesco to roll-out its interactive advertising screens within the retailer’s 450 petrol stations around the UK.

Amscreen’s network of interactive screens is in a position to assess basic demographic data of passing audiences, together with gender, age and volume, via its OptimEyes system, and the address Tesco marks its first nationwide roll-out.

Both launches reflect moves inside the wider outdoor advertising industry to apply digital technology to higher contextualise how brands can communicate with audiences while at the move, plus improve the accountability in their outdoor advertising budgets.  

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Nuisance Calls, chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Mike Crockart, makes 16 recommendations calling on telecoms companies to pilot new ways of blocking specific phone numbers and for caller identification to be provided to consumers totally free on all marketing calls.

The APPG’s report precedes the publication of communication minister Ed Vaizey’s own action plan, expected to be published tomorrow (31 October), while a separate report with regards to nuisance calls by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is due in early November.

Stephen Dakin, managing director of software company Pinesoft, which gave evidence to the APPG and has contributed to roundtable discussions with Vaizey, says the APPG report is a “missed opportunity” to propose measures that government and industry could use to tackle nuisance SMS messages.

Dakin continues: “Even though the evidence given to the MPs at the All-Party Group illustrated how both texts and calls represent equally severe problems for consumers, not one of the report’s 16 recommendations clearly outlined how texts could be handled.

“If those individuals engaged in illicit marketing perceive that more resources are being dedicated to stopping nuisance calls to landlines and mobiles than to texts, they are going to simply pay attention to using spam SMS messages that allows you to continue their activities, while avoiding their falling foul of any new prohibitions or penalties.”

Pinesoft’s Mobile Preference Service tool, which permits consumers to opt out of selling texts, is among a variety of technologies being checked out by MPs. The Direct Marketing Association director of public affairs Caroline Roberts agrees that the APPG’s recommendations “didn’t really address [texts]”.

While Roberts says the DMA supports of a few of the group’s proposals, including reducing the load of proof had to take legal action against nuisance callers, she also questions the necessity for one more co-regulatory body to take a look at the difficulty – an approach recommended by the APPG, and which Vaizey is likewise believed to favour.

“I think the matter is we’ve almost got too many bodies,” Roberts says, adding: “A real mish-mash of individuals have gotten a stake during this.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office and Ofcom have already split regulatory powers inside the area of nuisance calls, reporting to the Ministry of Justice and the dep. for Culture, Media and Sport respectively. The Telephone Preference Service, run by the DMA, also acts as a self-regulatory body for telemarketers under licence from Ofcom.

Many of the recommendations proposed by the APPG are included within an individual Member’s Bill, authored by Crockart and consumer association Which?, as a consequence of have its second reading in Parliament on Friday (1 November).

It is unlikely to become law without government support, but Crockart says: “All recommendations are easily achievable and if implemented will improve compliance, make reporting easier and more suitable, protect and empower consumers, and improve the regulator’s capacity to do so.”