Sales of digital TV set-top boxes will rise by 39% to a record 50.3 million units in 2004, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. This follows the recovery in demand seen during 2003, when sales will reach 36 million units, an increase of 28%. Strategy Analytics says that key growth areas in 2004… Continue reading Global Digital TV Set-Top Box Sales To Hit 122m By 2008

BSkyB’s long running monopoly over top-flight English football has been brought to an end by a new deal with the European Commission designed to bring live Premiership matches back to terrestrial channels. The agreement will allow broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV to bid for eight Saturday matches each season after European competition commissioner,… Continue reading BSkyB Loses Premiership Monopoly In Football Shake-Up

Publisher Pearson says it remains on target to meet earnings goals despite falling ad revenues at the Financial Times. In a trading update, the company said that advertising revenues at the FT would be 12% lower in the second half than in the same period in 2002. The full year decline is expected to be… Continue reading FT Troubles Fail To Deter Pearson

There is often a clear distinction between what media planners perceive to be effective forms of advertising and what consumers say they actually consume, according to a report out this week. A survey carried out by InsightExpress for Mediapost found that planners and buyers have particular faith in network TV and magazines. More than half… Continue reading Media Industry Ponders Ad Survey Results

The new communications regulator Ofcom is calling for greater competition in the wholesale broadband market after concluding that BT has too much influence in the current environment. Ofcom and Oftel, the outgoing telecoms watchdog, have this week issued a consultation paper in which they propose new regulatory obligations. “It is clear that at this point… Continue reading BT Faces Scrutiny Over Broadband Charges

The online advertising industry will be celebrating this Christmas with the latest figures showing that adspend topped £151 million in the first half of this year to give the sector a record market share of 2%. Research published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that online advertising reached record levels in the… Continue reading Research Shows Online Advertising Boom In 2003

The Government could be on track reach its target of switching off the analogue television signal by the proposed 2010 deadline, following news that more than half of British households now receive multi-channel services. The latest figures released by the BBC show that the growth of digital television has been driven by the success of… Continue reading Digital TV Now In More Than Half Of UK Households

Richard Desmond is planning to boost marketing and promotions at the Daily Express by £5 million next year in a move that will see editorial budgets at the title cut. News of the cuts will come as a blow to the title’s new editor, Peter Hill, who was last week named as the replacement for… Continue reading Desmond To Boost Express Promotions Spend By £5 Million

The economy is still weak and as a result marketing activity has been limited, according to a new US survey. However, it would appear that conditions have bottomed out and marketers are confident of a revival in 2004. Patrick Marketing Group interviewed 125 marketing executives last month and more than 75% said that the economy… Continue reading US Marketers Gear Up For Improved 2004

Mobile entertainment is gradually entering the mainstream in the US and wireless gaming will account for revenues of more than $1 billion by 2006, according to IDC The tech research firm predicts that the number of wireless gamers is set to grow from 7.9% of all mobile subscribers in 2003 to 34.7%, or 65.2 million… Continue reading Wireless Gaming To Bring In The Dollars, Says IDC