Continuing weak advertising conditions in Europe have contributed to a 2.8% decline in first half revenues at outdoor contractor JCDecaux. Revenues came in at £758.2 million, which, when excluding acquisitions and the impact of foreign currencies, is a 1.0% rise over last year. The US was the strongest region, recording double digit growth. This is… Continue reading Weak Europe Mutes JCDecaux’s First Half

Cable firm Telewest Communications has finalised restructuring plans and agreed a debt-for-equity swap that will leave shareholders with just 1.5% of the company. Protracted talks with bondholders, notably W.R.H Huff Asset Management, Liberty Media and IDT Corporation, have resulted in a deal which will see £3.5 billion of Telewest debts exchanged for shares. The refinancing… Continue reading Telewest Agrees Restructuring Deal

Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey has received a vote of support from an unlikely source as she presses ahead with her revamp at the newspaper publisher. Tweedy Browne, a New-York based investment firm, which holds a 5.5% stake in Trinity, told the Financial Times that there were signs that Bailey was “making the right… Continue reading Bailey Wins Approval For Trinity Strategy

Ulster Television (UTV) continued to outperform the ITV Network in advertising revenue growth during the first half of the year, reporting a 1% rise in airtime revenues, as against ITV’s 5% decline. This pushed UTV’s share of total ITV revenue up to a record 2.4%. Ulster TV has consistently outperformed its ITV franchise peers for… Continue reading Ulster TV Continues To Outperform ITV In First Half

Stronger than expected activity in the US and a slight upturn in Europe has prompted ZenithOptimedia to raise its full year forecast for global advertising expenditure. However, the revision was small and the outlook is for modest growth moving into 2004. Analysts estimate that the ad market will grow to the tune of 3.2% this… Continue reading Zenith Sees Signs Of Recovery In Ad Market

DSL has long been regarded as the killer application that will drive up fixed line revenues but a new report from Ovum suggests that it will not generate the financial windfall envisaged by the telecommunications industry. According to the study, The financial prospects for DSL, operators providing standard Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services will be… Continue reading DSL Is Not The Golden Egg For Telcos, Says Report

On the eve of the new Champions League season, Vodafone has acquired the wireless rights to the competition for the next three years in twelve countries. Under the terms of the deal, the mobile giant will offer customers a range of content including near-live video clips from games, historic clips of UEFA Champions League matches,… Continue reading Vodafone Buys Wireless Rights To Champions League

The US Senate has stepped up its efforts to scupper new media ownership laws by invoking a seldom used “congressional veto” that threatens to frustrate rule makers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking to relax existing restrictions on ownership. Proposed moves include scrapping the ban on cross-ownership of newspapers and television and allowing broadcast… Continue reading US Congress Stands Up To FCC Over Media Ownership

UK magazine publisher Highbury House Communications (HHC) today said that the costs of its acquisition and restructuring programme, together with continued weak business publishing markets, are likely to push down profits for the whole of 2003. Announcing first half financial results, the group said that the second half of the year should see a good… Continue reading Highbury House Profits Fall After Restructure Costs

Online spending in the UK has almost doubled in the past year as the internet population continues to grow and more consumers are attracted by the lower prices and sheer convenience of web shopping. Broadband is also having a significant effect on ecommerce activity. The Autumn 2003 Internet Report from Continental Research provides an update… Continue reading UK Becoming More Internet-Friendly