1. • Founded in 1974 by Richard Desmond who still owns it
• British Publishing and television group
• Northern & Shell owns four national newspapers and is a 50
per cent joint venture partner in two more in Ireland.
• Also broadcasts in television, and owns Channel 5

2. Northern and Shell currently owns magazines such as
 OK!
 OK! Extra
 New!
 Star
As well as owning many newspapers such as
 Daily Express
 Sunday Express
 Daily Star
In addition to owning TV networks that include
 Channel 5, 5* and 5USA
 Television X
 ‘Red Hot’ channels

3. Northern and Shell mainly produce gossip publications that
focus on the celebrity world and current affairs.
Magazines such as OK!, New! And Star are celebrity and
gossip titles, and all are hugely popular in Britain:
• New! Is the 6th best selling magazine in the country, ahead
of;
• OK! 8th, and;
• Star 10th
Newspapers such as the Daily Star focus more on celebrity
culture stories, whereas the Daily Express prints all current
news and world affairs

4. Northern and Shells largest target audience are
those in B, C and D categories.
Magazines (e.g New!, OK!, Star) attract mainly B,
C1 and C2 audience, who are interested in
celebrity culture and gossip. The publications are
not massively expensive however, which may
attract a larger D and E range audience.
The Daily Star, at only 20p,and including many
articles and images of ‘babes’ and related subjects,
largely attracts a C, D and E audience, with The
Daily Express focusing on more ‘high-brow’ news
stories, is aimed at a B/C audience

5. Ownership & Interesting History:
Northern & Shell (British publishing and television group) was
founded in December 1974 and is currently owned by Richard
Desmond.
When Northern & Shell moved to the ‘Northern & Shell’
tower, Prince Phillip presented the opening which reflects the
company with a prestigious outlook.
23rd July 2010: Northern & Shell bought Channel 5, 5* and
5USA for £103.5 Million.

6. Financial Health
Is it a profitable business?
The company previously were at a low profitable standard
however since the increase over 2010 they have
improved their financial health into creating further
profitable improvement.
However in the magazine interest, the sales of January –
June 2011, titles Ok!, New! and star have decreased in
profitable income at high’s of -10.7% causing a
contradiction to the business becoming profitable.

7. Leading PLC (Public Limited Company) competition:
 Financial Times Group Ltd.
 Daily Mail and General Trust plc
 News International Ltd.

8. Personal Opinions?
How we feel about the company as
a whole