The number of mobile users worldwide will surpass two billion by 2007, although the growth rate between now and then will slow almost to a standstill, according to projections from InStat/MDR. This ‘catastrophic slowdown’ comes as penetration in western Europe approaches 83.6% in 2007 – a virtual saturation point in the market. As a result,… Continue reading Western European Mobile Market Will Hit Saturation By 2007

Guardian Media Group has agreed a deal to take full control of Trader Media Group, publisher of the car magazine AutoTrader. TMG which owns 70 publications in the UK and Ireland also has operations in Italy, Holland and South Africa. As the company is valued at £1.14 billion, GMG will pay almost £600 million for… Continue reading GMG Buys Up AutoTrader Publisher

The sale of ITV’s two airtime sales houses is the most likely outcome of the Competition Commission’s ‘remedies’ for the merger of Carlton Communications and Granada, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. The Commission has already presented a number of possible restrictions which would allay its concerns over a single ITV’s share of the television… Continue reading Divestment Of Sales Houses Will Cost ITV, Say Analysts

Vodafone and BSkyB have joined Hutchison Whampoa in bidding for the rights to show Premiership football highlights on mobile phones from next year, according to reports this week. Hutchison secured the mobile rights for £35 million back in June 2001 and is keen to retain the contract in order to popularise its third generation service… Continue reading Three-Way Battle For Mobile Football Rights

The US hot-spot service market will be worth in excess of $800 million by 2007, according to a study by research firm Parks Associates. The findings are based on consumer surveys and interviews with service providers conducted for Public Hot Spots: Moving beyond Road Warriors, a recent report on the state of the Wi-Fi market… Continue reading Hot-Spot Service Revenues To Grow As Market Demand Increases

ITV advertising is expected to fall by 5.0% in September and by 3.2% in the full year, according to forecasts from Morgan Stanley. Other reports predict that the total TV market will return to a slight positive growth of 0.7% in September. Commentators are talking of a continued cautiousness in the advertising market partly as… Continue reading ITV Revenues To Fall 3.2% In 2003, Says Morgan Stanley

Online travel travel company, lastminute.com, today said that it is still on track to make its first profit by the end of this year, in what is a symbolic milestone for one of the pioneers of internet commerce. The group’s Q3 2003 financial results show profits before exceptional items and tax of £1.6 million, up… Continue reading Lastminute.com Moves Toward First Profits

The creditors of insolvent German media group KirchMedia have voted unanimously to accept a â‚Ź1.3 billion bid for the ProSieben broadcasting business from US media investor, Haim Saban (see Saban Back In For KirchMedia). The agreement comes just two months after another â‚Ź2.0 billion proposal collapsed (see Kirch TV Deal Hits The Rocks). Saban’s â‚Ź7.50… Continue reading KirchMedia Creditors Accept Saban’s €1.3bn ProSieben Offer

The advertising recovery is taking longer than anticipated and analysts have been forced to revise their forecasts to reflect industry realities. Signs are that growth will be limited this year and hopes for a more significant recovery are pinned on 2004. The US continues to outpace the Eurozone but certain media sectors are performing better… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – July 2003

Internet users with broadband connections accounted for almost a third of all consumer spending online in the US last year, despite representing less than a fifth of the online population. The findings, from Scarborough Research, are a further indication that broadband access is conducive to spending more time and money online. US broadband users –… Continue reading Broadband Users Account For A Third Of Online Spend