Donald Emslie, chief executive of SMG Television, has called on the Government to reduce the annual £300 million fee that ITV currently pays for its analogue television licence. Speaking at the annual TV From The Nations And Regions Conference, Emslie, who is also chair of the ITV council, said: “The ITV system was only set… Continue reading SMG Television Boss Calls For End To ITV Super Tax

The advertising industry has given a mixed reaction to Ofcom’s decision to lift the rules banning the joint selling of television airtime, as it looks likely that the move will trigger a further round of sales house consolidation. The announcement by the new super-regulator earlier this week clears the way for broadcasters such as Channel… Continue reading Ofcom’s Airtime Sales Ruling Receives Mixed Reaction

Graham Duff, the new managing director of ITV Sales, has named Gary Digby, the Carlton Sales managing director, as his new right hand man, in a move the brings him close to completing his senior management line-up. It is understood that Digby saw off competition from his current boss at Carlton Sales, Steve Platt, and… Continue reading Duff Names Carlton’s Digby As ITV Sales Director

Major media advertising pacings in the US are looking fairly weak for the fourth quarter, although the outlook for 2004 is still positive, according to Merrill Lynch. The broker says that radio and television are both weak in Q4 and the Q1 2004 scatter market pricing is roughly flat compared to upfront prices. Newspaper revenues… Continue reading US Q4 Advertising Weak, But Broker Positive On 2004

The internet is rapidly gaining ground on more traditional media with European consumers now spending more time online than reading magazines, according to new research commissioned by the European Interactive Advertising Association. The study, carried out by Millward Brown, shows that the internet now accounts for an average 10% of media consumption in Europe, placing… Continue reading People Spend More Time Online Than Reading Magazines

Price, rather than speed, is becoming the primary factor for consumers signing up to broadband internet services, according to a new US report from Forrester Research. Early adopters of broadband services tended to focus on the technological specifications of the platform – things such as upload and download speeds. However, as broadband moves further into… Continue reading Price Takes Over From Speed In Battle For Broadband Customers

Europe will have more wi-fi hotspots than the US by 2007, according to a report on Netimperative. The site quotes research by US-based Radicati Group as predicting that Europe will take 38% of the world’s 447,000 hotspots by 2007, whilst the US houses 34%. Wi-fi (or WLAN) hotspots are areas where users can connect wirelessly… Continue reading Europe To Lead In Wi-Fi Hotspots By 2007

Commercial radio saw adspend increase by a solid 6.3% year on year to just below £150 million during the second quarter of 2003, suggesting the industry is leading the way out of the advertising downturn. According to the latest figures from the Radio Advertising Bureau, this seventh consecutive quarter of growth highlights commercial radio’s recovery… Continue reading Radio Leads The Way Out Of Advertising Downturn

Next year will be a year of action in the world of mobile video content, as the platform becomes the fourth screen after television, cinema and the PC. This is according to Dario Betti, a wireless multimedia senior analyst at Ovum. Betti says that video will be a priority for mobile operators in 2004, although… Continue reading Mobile Video Will Become ‘Fourth Screen’, Says Ovum

ITV’s advertising revenues will fall by 2.5% in the final quarter of the year, giving a full year decline of 4.1%, according to forecasts from Merrill Lynch analysts. This is a slightly poorer performance than the 1.0% Q4 decline recently predicted by Lehman Brothers (see ITV Revenue Forecasts From Lehman Brothers). Carlton and Granada’s financial… Continue reading ITV Advertising To Drop By 4% In 2003, Says Broker