There are a total of 24 million digital pay TV subscribers in Western Europe and this number is set to double over the next five years, according to a new report from IDC. The study, Digital Television Services in Western Europe: Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2007 examines the progress of the DTV market in the 16… Continue reading Digital TV Is Having A ‘Deep-Seated’ Effect, Says Report

The widely anticipated consolidation of the commercial radio industry suffered a set-back this morning, with confirmation that the Competition Commission has blocked GWR’s bid to buy Chrysalis Radio’s Galaxy 101 and merge it with Vibe FM. GWR, which jointly owns Vibe Radio Services with Scottish Radio Holdings, announced its intention to buy the Bristol-based dance… Continue reading Watchdog Blocks GWR-Backed Acquisition Of Galaxy 101

Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press continues to perform competently and is on target to achieve year-end targets, according to analysts at Merrill Lynch. The ‘modest’ growth seen in the first quarter (see Johnston Press Remains ‘Acquisitive’ As Profits Rise) has been maintained throughout April and May. Advertising revenue is up 2% in 2003, in line… Continue reading Advertising Upturn Helps Johnston To Prosper

Online retailer Lastminute.com yesterday reported its second successive quarterly loss as the war in Iraq and the SARS virus impacted on the travel industry. Although higher than envisaged, the deficit of £4.2 million (before goodwill, exceptional items and taxation) represented an improvement on the same period last year when losses totalled £5.3 million. Total transaction… Continue reading Losses Fail To Dent Confidence At Lastminute

Misfortune continues to stalk the corridors at Vivendi Universal, which yesterday reported a fall in sales for the first quarter of 2003. The once mighty media group recorded the biggest annual loss in French corporate history last year (see Vivendi Left Reeling By Staggering Losses) and has been forced to sell assets in order to… Continue reading Vivendi Sees Revenues Slide In Q1

The embryonic web services market is set to undergo significant expansion over the next five years, according to a new study from technology analysts IDC. The report, Western European Web Services Market Analysis, 2002-2007 details the forecast for spending on hardware, software and services used to implement web services projects in each of seven industries… Continue reading Web Services Spending Poised For Strong Growth

At a time of uncertainty in the general retail sector, online shopping sales rose by almost a half in the US last year and internet buying is becoming an increasingly profitable activity, according to a new report from Shop.org and Forrester Research. The State of Retailing Online 6.0 featured a survey of more than 130… Continue reading US Online Retail Revenues Near $100bn

Worldwide sales of wireless networking products increased slightly in the first three months of 2003, according to new figures from Dell’Oro Group. The market research firm calculates that the wireless LAN market grew by 1% quarter-on-quarter realising revenues of $411 million. Unit shipments rose 6% to 4.8 million during the period in question. The first… Continue reading Wireless Network Vendors See Growth In Q1

The management at Capital Radio remain confident about the future performance of the group despite interim results which showed a 15.5% fall in profits. The challenging advertising market has increased pressure on revenues which slipped more than 5% to £56.9 million in the six months ending March 31 2003. Similarly, profits before tax and goodwill… Continue reading Capital Takes Stock As Ad Slowdown Persists

Future Network has reported an satisfactory rise in revenues for the first quarter as it looks to build on the progress made in 2002. In a trading statment released to coincide with the group’s annual general meeting, Future said that gains had been made in each territory resulting in a 7% rise in overall revenue.… Continue reading Future Lifted By Bright Start To Year