RTL has sold Five to Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell for £103.5m. Mr. Desmond has intimated that he will invest heavily in new programming and is already said to be in negotiations to buy Big Brother, currently homeless after being dropped by Channel 4.

Five's schedule will remain as is for a while as its contracts to broadcast shows such as CSI and Neighbours run their course. However, a shake-up in programming is now expected in 2011.

Following the government's decision earlier this year to allow product placement on UK television, Ofcom has announced its suggested rules for it, to be incorporated at the end of 2010.

Product placement is to be allowed in films, TV series, entertainment shows and sports programmes, but not in children's or religious programming, news broadcasts or consumer affairs and (UK-produced) current affairs shows.

June 2010 - this month the ZenithOptimedia Moxie Trends video focuses on the third dimension - yes for June we're bringing you the lowdown on 3D!

Nicola Smith, Emily Knab, Nick Burcher, Nicholas Tay, Javier De La Cruz and Simeon Spearman are your guides as ZenithOptimedia Moxie look across the world at the latest developments in 3D - from 3D opera to 3D bullfighting, it's all here in our June Trendspotting video!

TV advertising and program promotions in the US reach 85% of adult viewers daily, according to new research from the Council for Research Excellence (CRE).

The Competition Commission has announced that it will be sticking with its initial finding, published back in September last year, that ITV remains strong enough in its ability to attract mass audiences that the Contract Rights Renewal mechanism should be retained. Diana Guy, deputy chair of the commission, explained:

""ITV1 remains a 'must have' for certain advertisers and certain types of campaign, so the essential reason for the CRR undertakings remains: to protect advertisers and other commercial broadcasters from the enhanced market position created by the merger of Carlton and Granada."

Not surprisingly, Adam Crozier, recently arrived chief executive of ITV, is less than happy:

"Today's ruling is out of touch and damaging for the interests of creative Britain. UK media is over-regulated and this has to change if we value and want to sustain a vibrant independent broadcasting sector that can rival the BBC and compete on a global stage."

Ad revenue at ITV rose by 8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010 - and the group expects it to be up by as much as 22% in the second quarter, boosted by spending around the imminent World Cup.

Despite this good news, shares in ITV took a tumble on Friday, which was attributed to the current political uncertainty in the UK; many commentators think that austerity measures that seem likely to be implemented by any incoming government will depress the ad market, and that regulatory relaxations pledged by the Conservatives will now be pushed down the agenda.

Time Warner and CBS both said yesterday that they were much more optimistic thanks to a rebound in national and local television advertising.

First-quarter net profits at Time Warner rose to US$725 million, from US$467 million a year ago, with total revenue up 5% year-on-year to US$6.3 billion. CBS meanwhile reported a 40% increase in underlying profits.

Talking about the 'upfronts season', when TV networks pre-sell advertising ahead of the upcoming season, Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS, said: "It will be the strongest one in years".

According to BARB figures released today, British viewers are spending a record number of hours in front of the TV. Average weekly viewing has risen by more than 8% to 30 hours 4 minutes.

Thinkbox, the British marketing body for commercial broadcasters, attributed the rise to the greater choice offered by digital television, new technologies such as digital recorders, on-demand services, and the fact that people are spending more time at home because of the recession.

BSkyB reached a compromise deal yesterday that will see the broadcaster provide its Sky Sports 1 and 2 football coverage to rivals BT Group, Virgin Media and Top Up TV from next season.

BSkyB will, however, still contest an Ofcom ruling about the prices it should charge. Ofcom, meanwhile, has agreed that only the three companies already specified can take part in the deal, and that they will have to pay for content at current rate card prices until the legal appeal is concluded.

Virgin Media and Top Up TV both welcomed the decision, with BT saying:

We are delighted Ofcom's decision can be implemented pending the full appeal, and that we will be able to bring Sky Sports 1 and 2 to customers in time for the 2010-11 Premier League football season this summer.

US-based video aggregator Hulu has abandoned plans to move into the UK market after failing to strike deals with a number of the main broadcasters. ITV was already focused on developing its own online player and Channels Four and Five could not agree with Hulu over the sale of ads around their content.