The market for cable set-top boxes will be flat for the second year running in 2003, according to new research from In-Stat/MDR. The report, As Demand Stays Flat, Cable Set-Top Boxes Evolve claims that demand for digital cable receivers remains soft as cable TV operators continue to reduce their capital expenditures. Global set-top box unit… Continue reading Cable Set-Top Box Sales To Remain Flat, Says InStat/MDR

ITV’s share of television advertising revenue is set to steadily fall over the next five years, possibly to as low as 41%, according to forecasts from MindShare. This is at the bottom end of a set of figures compiled by the Competition Commission this summer as part of its inquiry into the merger of Carlton… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Market Forecasts For ITV

The Competition Commission has called for a wide ranging review of the television advertising sales market after expressing ‘disquiet’ at the way the industry currently operates. The regulator said that Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading should launch an investigation into the way television companies sell advertising following the Government’s decision to allow Carlton… Continue reading Television Advertising Market Set For Wide Ranging Review

Vivendi Universal has completed a deal that will see NBC acquire its US entertainment arm and cut debt at the Paris-based media group. As predicted, General Electric, which owns NBC, has agreed to pay $3.8 billion in cash for the assets which include film studios, cable channels and theme parks (see Vivendi-NBC Merger In The… Continue reading Vivendi And NBC Tie Up Entertainment Deal

Aegis Group, the media communications and market research company, is to acquire international healthcare research business, ISIS Research, for an initial sum of £15.5 million. Aegis says that ISIS will become a key part of Synovate Healthcare, the group’s healthcare research division. The deal carries a deferred payment of up to £8.3 million over the… Continue reading Aegis Buys Healthcare Research Firm For £24m

A new paper from Parks Associates urges the recording industry to consider new business models rather than try to stem the tide of online downloading. Unlicensed file sharing services are widely blamed for declining sales of CDs and the sluggish growth of legitimate download services (see Online Music Market Growing Slowly). A recent report from… Continue reading Free Music Downloads The Only Solution, Says Report

BT group has signed a joint marketing agreement with Freeview, the free-to-air digital television service, and has plans to enter the pay-per-view TV market, according to reports this week. The telecoms giant, which already has a similar deal with BSkyB, will be selling set-top boxes on the BT website. Regular Freeview receivers offering the 30+… Continue reading BT To Sell Freeview Digital TV Boxes

Digital television will be received by more than half of all UK TV homes by the end of this year, with penetration set to rise to more than 82% by 2008, according to a consensus of recent market forecasts. Figures from Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and ZenithOptimedia were compiled by the Competition Commission in its… Continue reading UK Television Platform Penetration Forecasts

The Government’s decision to allow Carlton and Granada to merge without selling off their sales houses has received a mixed reaction from advertisers, who are concerned that a single ITV will exercise too much power in the television advertising market. The Institute Of Practitioners in Advertising has expressed its disappointment at the Department of Trade… Continue reading Advertisers Give Mixed Reaction To ITV Merger

BSkyB has sold its 9.9% stake in Manchester United for around £62 million, as it continues to cut back its investment in individual football clubs. The satellite broadcaster confirmed today that it had sold its entire stake of 26 million shares in the Premiership champions at £2.39 each. The buyer has been revealed as The… Continue reading BSkyB Offloads Man United Stake