First quarter underlying revenues at GWR Group were up by 0.4% year on year, driven by a good performance at the Local Radio Group (LRG). Strong national spend helped push LRG’s Q1 revenues up by 8%. At Classic FM, however, advertising has remained volatile, with a 16% dive in Q1 revenues, largely as a result… Continue reading Local Radio Group Helps GWR Stay Positive

French advertising and marketing giant Havas has confirmed that it is to undergo major reorganisation as it seeks to boost revenues in “challenging” market conditions. Havas, the world’s sixth-largest advertising group, said today that revenues had fallen by 19% to €836 million in the first half. This was attributed mainly to the recent rise in… Continue reading Havas Takes Steps To Reverse Sales Decline

Telewest Communications today announced reduced losses for the first six months of 2003 as it prepares to hand control to bondholders in a debt-for-equity swap. The cable company said that total sales were flat at £674 million but spending cuts have enabled it to trim net loss by 13% from £239 million in the first… Continue reading Telewest Looks To Turn Corner In Second Half

Trinity Mirror has announced plans to dispose of its Northern Ireland newspaper division, confirming rumours that the business would be sold as part of a broader structural review of the company (see Trinity May Sell Irish Titles). The division comprises the Derry Journal and Century Press & Publishing businesses which produce six titles in Northern… Continue reading Trinity Mirror Review Sheds NI Titles, Retains Nationals

Chrysalis Group has this afternoon confirmed the sale of its television assets to a trio of former ITV executives, following a preliminary agreement announced in April (see Chrysalis To Sell Television Group To Former ITV Heads). Steve Morrison (former Granada chief executive), Jules Burns (former managing director of operations at Granada) and David Liddiment (former… Continue reading Chrysalis Makes £45m TV Sale To Former ITV Heads

Ecommerce will account for 10% of all retail sales in the United States by 2008, valuing the sector at $230 billion, according to forecasts from Forrester Research. Whilst growth has slowed since the boom period of 1997-2002, more and more people are connecting to the web and retailers are improving their services each year, ensuring… Continue reading Ecommerce Will Take 10% Of All US Retail In 2008, Says Forrester

The take-up of digital radio in the UK is set to get a boost in the coming months as a number of retailers today announced plans to stock digital audio broadcasting (DAB) receivers in their stores. GWR Group, a champion of the DAB platform, today said that Sainsbury’s will be stocking digital radios in 125… Continue reading UK Supermarkets To Stock Digital Radio Receivers

There is little doubt that awareness and availability of video on-demand services is rising but the technology is still a long way from achieving widespread consumer acceptance. A recent US study from Leichtman Research Group determined that 80% of cable subscribers have heard of video on-demand but many are unaware that it is available in… Continue reading Consumers Remain Unconvinced By Video On-Demand

Clear Channel Communications, the leading radio station owner in the US, has reported an increase in second quarter profits despite a slight drop in radio advertising revenue. Revenues in the three months to the end of June climbed by 6.6% year on year to $2.32 billion. Quarterly earnings came to $251.3 million, up from $238.0… Continue reading Profits Grow At Clear Channel

Hollywood film studio, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), is understood to have withdrawn its $11.5 billion offer for the US entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal, after the French group asked for a higher price for the business. Vivendi is now thought to be asking for no less than $14 billion for the Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE)… Continue reading Vivendi Entertainment Price Is Too High For MGM