Ulster Television (UTV) continued to outperform ITV in terms of advertising in 2003, with its revenues rising by 2.1% whilst ITV’s fell by 3.4%. This gave UTV a record annual share of ITV advertising of 2.4%, according to the company’s full year results released this morning. The group expects television ad revenues to rise by… Continue reading Ulster TV Sees Airtime Revenues Up 10% In Q1 2004

WCRS, the agency that devised the high-profile 118 118 directory services campaign, is reported to be on the verge of agreeing a £20 million management buyout from French advertising network Havas. It is understood that WCRS managers, who have been in talks to gain independence from Havas for some time, will buy a majority stake… Continue reading WCRS Close To Finalising £20 Million Buyout From Havas

More voices were added to the cry of ‘recovery’ during February as a number of global advertising agencies posted upbeat figures and trading outlooks. Omnicom, which owns BBDO Worldwide and TBWA, said that its worldwide revenues rose by 18.3% during Q4 2003. Across the full year they were up by 14.4%. Omnicom says that the… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – February 2004

US business to business (B2B) publishing advertising revenues remained flat year on year during 2003, whilst advertising page volumes were still in decline, according to the latest data from American Business Media (ABM). The figures showing advertising revenues closing the year at $7.3 billion, up 0.7% on 2002, whilst ad pages were down by 3.2%.… Continue reading US B2B Press Advertising Shows Little Growth In 2003

Emap Performance has announced plans to cut a number of jobs across its radio and music magazine business as part of an ongoing strategy designed to cut costs and increase profit margins.The cuts are expected to affect all departments at Emap Performance including its magazine publishing arm, which houses a range of music titles including… Continue reading Emap Performance Restructures To Cut Costs

Digital marketing company ValueClick is claiming a first in online advertising with the launch of an innovative new campaign using technology that allows consumers to purchase products within the ads themselves.The technology comprises a secure skyscraper that guarantees online consumers a risk-free buying experience covering the entire purchase process from credit card checking through to… Continue reading New Format Could Revolutionise Online Advertising

UK cable operator, Telewest Communications, dramatically reduced its losses during 2003 as the benefits of its financial restructure and a return to focus on customer relationship have begun to bear fruit. Losses at the company were down from £2.2 billion in 2002 to just £272 million last year. Group operating loss was reduced from £1.9… Continue reading Telewest Turns The Corner As Loss Declines

Advertising account activity increased again in February, with further reviews in the pipeline, according to the latest edition of Lehman Brothers‘ New Business Scorecard. The broker says that WPP came top of the pile, whilst Omnicom and Publicis were ‘solid’ and Interpublic showed further deterioration in the form a number of major account reviews. Overall,… Continue reading Advertising Account Activity On The Up, Says Lehman

More than half of UK households do not know the difference between analogue and digital television, despite a series of high-profile advertising campaigns. This is according to new research carried out by the Consumer Analysis Group (CAG) and commissioned by Sony. The study reports that 48% of licence fee payers do not yet know how… Continue reading Majority Of UK Viewers Confused Over Digital Television

Demand is growing across Europe for high definition television (HDTV), with more then 17 million homes expected to have HD-equipped sets by 2008, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. HDTV is a television display technology that offers higher resolution pictures and sound quality similar to that of a compact disc. It typically uses… Continue reading Demand For HDTV Grows In Europe, Says Strategy Analytics