Almost half of the firms interviewed in a survey for the Institute of Directors (IoD) believe the government should provide more funds to encourage greater take-up of broadband in the business community. Of the 150 IoD members that responded, 63% had broadband but only 10% said that their needs were being met. Over three-quarters of… Continue reading Companies Want Financial Backing For Broadband

Shares in Cable & Wireless rallied this morning following reports that the troubled telecoms group is being marked for takeover. According to the Financial Times, an approach was made last month by Pacific Century Cyberworks, a Hong Kong telephone company owned by Richard Li. The paper says that a £2.4 billion bid was tabled but… Continue reading C&W Subject Of Takeover Speculation

Emap Communications, Emap’s B2B division, has acquired AGOR SAS (AGOR), a market leading independent exhibition business serving the domestic French retail sector. It will pay £21.2 million for AGOR, which operates in the volume, gifts and clearance goods markets. Emap says that the French focus of the AGOR business will complement Emap Communications existing positions… Continue reading EMAP Acquires French Exhibitions Business

Channel Five has confirmed the appointment of Jane Lighting as its new chief executive, replacing Dawn Airey, who stepped down to join Sky Networks last year (see Airey Leaves Channel 5 Top Post For BSkyB). Lighting has over twenty years experience in the TV industry and is currently head of Telewest’s pay TV business, Flextech,… Continue reading Channel Five Names Lighting As New Chief Executive

Shares in BSkyB tumbled yesterday after a Banc Of America Securities analyst warned that the satellite broadcaster’s customers are increasingly downgrading their subscriptions to cheaper packages. The broker placed a Sell rating on Sky, claiming that 700,000 top-tier subscribers downgraded their TV packages last year following price increases. Analyst Sean Eddie questioned whether Sky would… Continue reading BSkyB Shares Hit By Broker Worries

Approximately 40% of US internet users spend more time online than they do watching TV, according to new research from BURST! Media. The online ad sales company surveyed 5,000 web users and almost 27% admitted to watching less television than they did a year ago. The main protagonists would appear to be those in the… Continue reading Online Population Watching Less Television, Says Report

Three quarters of marketers will increase or maintain their online advertising budgets during the next six-months, according to new research from MSN and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The latest instalment of the Online Pulse study, which surveys 500 leading brand managers, marketing directors, advertising agencies and media buyers, shows that the number of brand-led… Continue reading Research Reflects Strength Of Online Advertising

European newspaper advertising is expected to fall by 3.4% in 2002, whilst consumer magazine revenues drop by 3.6%, according to Zenith Media figures, analysed by Merrill Lynch. However, both sectors are forecast to return to growth in 2003, with papers up 1.3% and magazines up 1.7%, as shown. European Press Adspend Forecasts       … Continue reading Press Advertising Growth Forecasts From Zenith Media

Revenues from mobile gaming are predicted to top â‚Ź500 million in Western Europe this year with the UK contributing â‚Ź75 million to this total. A study entitled How to make money on Mobile Services identifies four different forms that mobile gaming is likely to take. These are classic/arcade style games, betting/lotto games, TV voting and… Continue reading Europe’s Mobile Market Ripe For Gaming

More than £3.5 billion was spent on TV advertising during 2002, a decrease of 5.7% on the previous year, when adspend topped £3.7 billion. Figures from Thomson Intermedia show that FMCG brands were the most lucrative TV advertisers during 2002, investing more than £843 million in the medium throughout the course of the year. FMCG… Continue reading Over £3.5 Billion Spent On TV Advertising Last Year