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

Venture capitalists are believed to be circling around Carlton and Granada, assessing the prospect of making a bid for the ITV partners ahead of their planned £2.6bn merger. It is understood that the former head of Channel Five, David Elstein, has been discussing the possibility of a take-over bid with a consortium of VC firms.… Continue reading Venture Capitalists Eye Carlton And Granada

The RTL Group has today confirmed the appointment of Gerhard Zeiler as its new chief executive in succession to Didier Bellens (see RTL Chief Leaves For Pastures New). Zeiler takes up the post with immediate effect but will also continue as chief executive of German broadcaster RTL Television. He is thought to be close to… Continue reading Zeiler Takes The Helm At RTL

The number of top US companies launching online advertising campaigns rose by 6% year on year in 2002, according to figures from Nielsen//NetRatings. The survey shows that 286 of the Fortune 500 advertisers – the top 500 companies by revenue – used the internet for a marketing campaign during the course of the year. This… Continue reading Fortune 500 Companies Increase Online Advertising Spend

UK market research growth slowed in the second half of 2002 as ad hoc business declined, according to Merrill Lynch. Nevertheless, the broker is still expecting a 2.5% growth for the full year. Moving into 2003, growth is expected to remain positive – at around 2.5% again – despite increasing pressure on ad hoc business.… Continue reading UK Market Research Growth Slows, But Remains Positive

Marketing spend on new media campaigns is set to increase significantly during 2003, according to new research from communication management company, Jaywing. The survey, which polled 100 senior marketers from a range of industry sectors, found that 40% were planning to increase their budgets for direct marketing campaigns using email, SMS, digital TV and the… Continue reading Research Predicts Rise In New Media Spend During 2003

The newspaper industry was forced to take stock last year as belt tightening and consolidation acted as a brake on spending. Nonetheless, the market appears to have bottomed out and a new set of press forecasts identifies some reasons for optimism in 2003. Overview The events of September 11 undoubtedly accentuated the slowdown in the… Continue reading Newspaper Market To Stabilise In 2003, Says Billetts

There is a widely held perception that the world wide web will have a profound long-term effect on leisure time habits. This appears to be confirmed by the February 2003 Internet Report from the UCLA Center For Communication Policy which identifies a decline in offline shopping and TV viewing among online users. The study revealed… Continue reading Internet Responsible For Lifestyle Changes, Says Study

US radio revenue rose by 6% across the course of 2002, in a recovery that is described as ‘remarkable’ by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB). According to figures just released by the RAB, national spend rose by 13% over 2001, whilst local was up by 4%. The Bureau says that the figures also represent a… Continue reading US Radio Revenue Grows 6% In 2002