Three former Carlton directors could be ousted from the ITV board by a group of shareholders angry over their decision to authorise a controversial £15 million payoff to Michael Green.It is understood that Sir Brian Pitman, the most senior former Carlton director, will visit shareholders this week to explain why the broadcaster approved the payment… Continue reading Former Carlton Directors Could Be Ousted From ITV Board

Hollinger International, the parent company of the Daily Telegraph, has confirmed that it is pressing ahead with the auction of its newspapers and will welcome any offer from the Barclay brothers.The announcement follows a final order from a US court that prevented Lord Conrad Black from selling his majority stake in Hollinger Inc to the… Continue reading Hollinger Invites Barclays To Join Telegraph Auction

ITV’s chief executive of broadcasting, Mick Desmond, outlined a seven-point plan for future strategy at the annual ISBA conference this week. Top of the list was building strong partnerships with advertisers and he pointed to the arrival of Justin Sampson as ITV’s first head of customer relationship management.The ITV strategy included:Delivering commercial impacts to common… Continue reading Desmond Outlines New Strategy For Post Merger ITV

Hollinger International, the parent company of the Daily Telegraph, has confirmed that it is pressing ahead with the auction of its newspapers and will welcome any offer from the Barclay brothers. The announcement follows a final order from a US court that prevented Lord Conrad Black from selling his majority stake in Hollinger Inc to… Continue reading Hollinger Invites Barclays To Join Telegraph Auction

The UK has entered the top ten global ranking for DSL broadband penetration, having notched up 1.8 million subscribers to DSL services by the end of 2003. This makes Britain the tenth biggest market for broadband connections via telephones in the world, according to data from analysts Point Topic. Across the world almost 28 million… Continue reading UK Enters The Global Top Ten For DSL Broadband

The total number of WAP page impressions viewed in the UK reached 1.2 billion during January, according to new figures from the Mobile Data Association (MDA). This is an increase of almost 200 million compared to December and is the highest monthly figure yet recorded. There are now a total of 38 million WAP page… Continue reading WAP Page Impressions Reach Highest Monthly Figure

New research from the Branded Content Marketing Association estimates that branded television content will quadruple by the end of 2004 as advertisers search for more cost effective ways to promote their products. The research, which was conducted across major terrestrial and non-terrestrial broadcasters, found that the £5 million spent on branded programming last year could… Continue reading Advertiser Funded Television To Take Off In 2004

Merrill Lynch has upgraded its ad revenue forecast for ITV after the newly-merged TV giant said it has seen “positive signs” in the market. In ITV’s first financial results release yesterday (see ITV On Target To Save £100 Million From Merger), the company said it expects ITV1 advertising in the first quarter of 2004 to… Continue reading Merrill Lynch Upgrades ITV Ad Forecasts

The media industry must evolve new ways of evaluating advertising effectiveness as CPTs, TVRs and OTS are all irrelevant in today’s world, according to David Patton, vice president of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.Speaking ISBA’s annual conference in London yesterday, Patton said: “TVRs have no place in 2004, when I think of a TVR… Continue reading Sony Marketing Boss Claims TVRs Are Irrelevant

Speaking at yesterday’s ISBA Conference and expressing his personal rather than corporate view, Garry Lace, CEO of Grey, predicted that the next five years would see many more privately-owned agencies and privately-owned networks.He said: “The holding companies have traded too much on price and not invested in people and talent, they will not be able… Continue reading Privately Owned Agencies To Make a Strong Comeback