Total Japanese advertising expenditure was down by 5.9% in 2002, the second successive annual fall, according to the leading ad agency Dentsu. Total adspend for the year was £29.6 billion but revenues fell across the board as the market failed to recover from the estimated 0.9% decline in 2001 (see Japan Advertising Falls 0.9% In… Continue reading Japanese Ad Revenues Decline In 2002

Newspapers are failing to realize the full potential of online content because of a reluctance to introduce flexible payment schemes. That is the conclusion of a new study by the Dutch research firm, Van Dusseldorp & Partners entitled The Guide to European Content Payment Solutions. The advertising downturn has had a particularly severe effect on… Continue reading Online Newspapers Can Profit From New Payment Solutions

Growth in the UK radio advertising market stabilised in 2002, but was at best subdued, with growth of around 2.3%, according to estimates from analysts at Merrill Lynch. The broker is forecasting that 2003 growth will be a little stronger, at around 3% to 4%, but the ‘lacklustre macro conditions’ are likely to prevent any… Continue reading UK Radio Update From Merrill Lynch

The chief executive of RTL, Europe’s biggest commercial broadcaster, has quit to take charge of the telecoms operator Belgacom. The departure of Didier Bellens throws into doubt the future direction of RTL which has a 65% stake in Channel 5 and interests across the continent. Bellens is credited with guiding the company relatively unscathed through… Continue reading RTL Chief Leaves For Pastures New

Cordiant, the troubled international advertising group, is coming under increasing pressure to sell off assets in a bid to shore up the share price and reduce debts in excess of £200 million. Reports in the weekend press intimated that the new chief executive David Hearn is planning to strip down the company to include only… Continue reading Market Downturn Takes Toll On Cordiant

Over 4.4 million UK adults bought products over the internet during Christmas 2002, spending a total of â‚Ź753 million (£503 million), according to a new study by Continental Research. Preliminary findings from the Winter 2003 Internet Report show that the number of people shopping online over the festive season has increased by almost three million… Continue reading Online Shopping Converts Splash Out For Christmas

In an overview of the worldwide market, sixteen companies have been named as the main drivers of digital media and entertainment. In-Stat/MDR set out to produce a report that identifies those organisations at the vanguard of digital broadcasting development. Twelve corporations were classified as Media Mega Companies including AOL Time Warner which despite its recent… Continue reading In-Stat/MDR Reveals ‘Media Megas’ And ‘Influencers’

The BBC may have hit a ‘high watermark’ of commercialism over the last few years and could be set to return to a stronger public service policy, ahead of its charter renewal in 2006. According to a new report from analysts at Lehman Brothers, a failure by the BBC to move away from the alleged… Continue reading BBC’s Commercialism May Have Peaked, Says Lehman Brothers

BSkyB added 244,000 new customers to its digital satellite pay-TV platform in the final three months of 2002, taking the total to 6.6 million, slightly ahead of broker forecasts (see BSkyB Subs To Grow 14% In Q2, Say Merrill Lynch Forecasts). The half-year was a good one financially for Sky, with tight cost controls paying… Continue reading BSkyB Shows Strong Half-Year Figures, On Target For 2003

The US advertising market is currently performing much better than Europe’s, where Germany – already weak – has started to deteriorate further. These are some of the findings of Merrill Lynch, which hosted an advertising dinner earlier this week. The broker says that the greater confidence of Q4 2002, which came from advertisers and consumer… Continue reading European Advertising Conditions Weakening, Finds Merrill Lynch