The government is facing further criticism over its plans to liberalise the regulations governing media ownership, with a leading academic claiming that a ‘cultural Jurassic Park’ is in the making. Michael Tracey, director of the University of Colorado’s Centre For Mass Media Research, has informed the UK government of the risks inherent in the drive… Continue reading Communications Bill May Create Cultural Dinosaur Park
ARCHIVE ▸ The Media Leader Staff
The proliferation of available options and the increasing pressure on leisure time are reflected in a new report which shows that almost 70% of US consumers use various forms of media at the same time. The latest Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM) carried out by BIGresearch, shows that over 68% of respondents say they regularly or… Continue reading Simultaneous Media Usage Becoming The Norm
Germany has consolidated its position as Europe’s leading internet market (see Germany Is Top European Internet Market) and around a quarter of the country’s users now access the web via cable or DSL broadband. The number of DSL users in Germany had increased to 6.53 million by the end of the first quarter, according to… Continue reading German Surfers Ride The Broadband Wave
Worldwide handset shipments totalled 107.6 million units in the first quarter of 2003, according to new findings from IDC In its Worldwide Handset QView, the IT and telecoms research company calculated that the market was down 12.4% in Q1 compared with the final three months of 2002. However, this was to be expected and shipments… Continue reading Global Handset Market Remains Solid In Q1
International media group Clear Channel Communications yesterday reported a fall in profits for the first quarter despite a small increase in revenues Net earnings in the three months to March 31 2003 totalled $71 million, down from $90.3 million in the same period last year. Revenues crept up from $1.70 billion to $1.78 billion. Clear… Continue reading Clear Channel Issues First Quarter Results
Shares in troubled advertising and public relations group, Cordiant Communications, shot up by 53% this morning as the company announced that it has secured an emergency financing package which will provide funds until 15 July 2003. Earlier in the week Cordiant was hit by news of the impending loss of one its major clients, drinks… Continue reading Cordiant Shares Bounce Back As Short-Term Funding Is Agreed
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has strongly defended the proposed liberalisation of the UK media regulations, which will allow the foreign ownership of UK media assets. Speaking at yesterday’s Westminster Media Forum, Jowell pledged her commitment to proposals put forward in the Communications Bill, saying: “Our policy is simple, we will remove ownership rules where possible… Continue reading Jowell Moves To Defend Foreign Ownership Deregulation
Losses at UK cable operator, Telewest Communications, rose by 13% to £187 million in the first quarter of the year, whilst turnover was flat year on year at £335 million. Despite the increase in losses, the group did managed to become cash-flow positive in the quarter and also achieved record earnings of £105 million, up… Continue reading Telewest Losses Rise 13% In Q1
March did not bring a lot of cheer to the US advertising industry, with results disappointing across most media, according to a round-up by Merrill Lynch. The impact of the war with Iraq has been less than expected, although separate reports are now claiming that the SARS outbreak poses a whole new threat to the… Continue reading March Showed Muted US Advertising Spend, Q2 Looks Better
The number of UK homes with broadband cable internet access has broken the one million mark, according to cable operators NTL and Telewest. More than 12 million homes are currently able to receive cable modem services across the two operators’ networks, but only one million have so far signed up to the service. The companies… Continue reading UK Cable Broadband Tops One Million Households