Cordiant has taken action to ease its debt burden by reaching a deal to sell 70% of its Australian business for £25 million. The Communications Group (TCG) which includes the George Patterson Bates agency will be owned 55% by funds advised by Pacific Equity Partners, with management taking a 15% stake. Cordiant will retain the… Continue reading Cordiant Completes Sale Of Australian Assets

Advertising revenues at Associated Newspapers – publisher of the national Daily Mail and Evening Standard in London – grew by just 0.4% in the first half of the year. Overall revenues at the division were more or less flat at £149 million. Announcing H1 results today, parent group Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), said… Continue reading Newspaper Ad Growth Remains Below Pre-War Levels, Says DMGT

Outdoor advertising contractor, Maiden Group, has seen sales rise by 24% in the first quarter of the year, as predicted in its full-year financials in March (see Maiden Losses Increase In Difficult 2002). This is an outperformance of the market, where sales grew by 16.9% to £169.7 million during Q1, according to figures from the… Continue reading Maiden Revenues Jump 24% In Q1, Visibility Limited

UK outdoor advertising revenues look set to significantly outperform the media sector in the first quarter of the year, posting a 16.9% rise to £169.7 million, according to figures from the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA). Figures for the UK display advertising market as a whole in Q1 are not yet available, although in March, the… Continue reading UK Outdoor Revenues Jump 17% In First Quarter

Western markets have seen dramatic growth in broadband subscriptions over the past year and more than a quarter of European internet users are now connected at high-speed, according to the latest analysis from Nielsen//NetRatings. The research firm confined its study to the period between April 2002 and April 2003, deducing that the number of European… Continue reading Broadband Heralds Growth In European Internet Use

Share of viewing in non-terrestrial homes hit 22.8% in the first quarter of this year, a record figure for one quarter, according to data from the IPA‘s Trends In Television report. The trends data show ITV1’s share levelling out slightly after a period of steady decline; it stood at 24.0% in Q1 2003, up from… Continue reading Non-Terrestrial Viewing Hits Record 22.8% In Q1, Finds IPA

There is continued recovery in the North American advertising market, whilst Europe remains variable, according to Aegis Group chairman, Lord Sharman. Speaking at the advertising network’s AGM this morning, he said that the first fourth months of the year have seen a continuation of the ‘patchy but gradual’ recovery experienced in the latter part of… Continue reading Aegis Sees North America Ad Recovery, But Variable Europe

Pace Micro Technology has cemented its relationship with News Corporation by concluding a deal to supply Sky Italia customers with set-top boxes. Sky Italia was created on the back of News Corp’s acquisition of of pay-TV network Telepiù (see News Corp Completes Telepiu Transaction), completed last month. The new network represents Rupert Murdoch’s latest foray… Continue reading Pace Hotfoots Into Italian Market

Microsoft has ditched its 23% stake in UK cable operator Telewest Communications, indicating that the UK cable and interactive TV sector is not as attractive a market as it once was. The holding has been taken up by US telecommunications group IDT for $5 million in cash (£3 million). In July 2000, Microsoft paid for… Continue reading Microsoft Offloads 23% Telewest Stake At Heavy Loss

Profits at UK media group EMAP rose by 16% in the year to March 2003, up from £151 million to £175 million. This exceeds predictions of 13% growth made by analysts at Lehman Brothers (see Heat Boosts EMAP Consumer Ad Revenues, Says Lehman). The disposal of EMAP USA in August 2001 (see Petersen Sale Closes… Continue reading EMAP Earmarks £23m For New Product Launches, Results In Line