That is why he said yesterday that “a powerful arsenal of entertainment programmes” was his top priority. He wanted to develop the drama slate, “factual entertainment” – whatever that may be – and “event programming”.The founding chief executive, Sir Jeremy Isaacs, grew weary of the Jackson era, lamenting in The Independent its obsession with its brand and the overwhelming desire “to target and reach a demographically clearly defined audience – the 18 to 35-year- olds – and single-mindedly commission a bulk of programmes that suits their tastes, however laddish.”Mr Thompson’s leaner channel, with the pain of hundreds of redundancies, will be justified only if he brings programming for a sophisticated audience of all ages. But detail of such programming was worryingly absent from his first address.. A business watchdog has launched an inquiry into allegations of predatory pricing at The Times and The Sunday Times, after complaints from other newspapers. “There is a formal investigation into anti-competitive practices,” a spokesman said.

“This is triggered when we have reasonable ground to expect a breach. We did receive complaints.”The investigation is expected to focus on a subscription offered to readers earlier this year. About half a million households were offered the chance to subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times for up to 48 weeks for £1 a week. This saved readers £2.90 a week on the normal cover price of the papers.The complaints to the OFT centred on the cost of producing the papers and the scale of the offer.

The watchdog is expected to examine allegations that the discounted cover price was far below the cost of producing a paper.If the OFT rules that The Sunday Times has abused its dominant market position it faces fines of about 10 per cent of the turnover it has made since the offer began. News International, the British parent company of The Times and The Sunday Times, has said it will co- operate fully with the inquiry and provide information the watchdog requests.”We’ve received a letter from the OFT requesting information regarding subscriptions on our broadsheet newspapers,” a spokeswoman said. “We will comply with the investigation, as we have done in the past.”The inquiry could take at least a year and the OFT is planning to call witnesses to give evidence. It will make a preliminary decision after the first part of its inquiry is complete.News International will then be informed of the initial findings and have a chance to present further evidence to the investigating team before a final decision is made.This is the second time Mr Murdoch’s media empire has been investigated by the OFT.The watchdog is reaching the end of an 18-month investigation into the satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting, which is 36 per cent owned by News International.BSkyB has been accused of abusing its position in the UK pay television market, and has been warned by the watchdog that a guilty verdict is likely.. In 1991, a magazine called Colors – the title created by the Italian fashion house Benetton – was launched. Here was a magazine that gave its creative team editorial freedom, rejected celebrity and featured stark, themed visuals that seemed as far away from selling knitwear as one could get. Looking at it now, it’s hard to figure out how a magazine that nowhere actively promotes the company’s products can send such a powerful brand message, but somehow it does.