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

Carlton and Granada saw stocks rise today as the city welcomed news that the ITV partners could go ahead with their planned £4 billion merger without divesting their sales houses. Lorna Tilbian, analyst at Numis Securities, said: “The merger is the best possible outcome and allows ITV to better compete with a strong BBC and… Continue reading Carlton And Granada See Shares Rise As City Backs Merger

The Government has finally cleared the way for the £4 billion merger of Carlton and Granada, in a move that will see the creation of a unified ITV capable of competing more effectively with the BBC and BSkyB. Trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, has decided not to force the ITV partners to sell off… Continue reading ITV Cleared To Merge With Sales Houses Intact

There was a slight increase in ad demand during September, according to a significant proportion of US media planners and buyers interviewed for a survey by MediaPost and InsightExpress. Mediapost’s Ad Demand Index shows that 44% of those questioned said that demand for ad inventory was higher last month than in September 2002. By comparison,… Continue reading US Ad Demand Grows In September

US online retail sales totalled $12.43 billion in the third quarter of 2003, a 24% increase over the same period in 2002, according to shopping search and comparison site BizRate.com. Actual orders grew by 47% to 101 million in the three months to end-September. The average purchase amount was down 15% to $123 compared to… Continue reading Consumer Online Spending Grows In Third Quarter

Today’s decision by trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, paves the way for what many regarded as the inevitable creation of a single ITV company, as Carlton and Granada prepare to merge (see ITV Cleared To Merge With Sales Houses Intact). With only behavioural remedies imposed by Hewitt, the two ITV heavyweights have emerged from… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: What Next For One ITV?

The Government is this week expected to green-light the £4 billion merger of Carlton and Granada with a series of conditions designed to alleviate concerns over the power wielded by a single ITV in the television advertising market. Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, will announce her decision in the next few days following the… Continue reading ITV Merger Set For Approval This Week

BSkyB has boosted its football portfolio by acquiring the right to broadcast, tape-delayed, all the Premiership games not included in its live packages for three years from the 2004/5 season. The satellite TV company is thought to have paid £60-£70 million for the privilege to show ‘near-live’ games on TV and clips of all top… Continue reading Sky Wins ‘Near-Live’ Premiership Rights

On the whole the advertising market is heading in the right direction, with confidence and trading figures a little better now than they were six months ago. This is evidenced by comments from WPP‘s Sir Martin Sorrell, one of the industry’s most venerable and (generally) cautious market callers. Sorrell recently told a media conference that… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – September 2003