2002 was a bumper year for cinema with box office revenue growing by 10% year on year, according to the latest figures from trade publication, Screen Finance. Research shows that box office takings topped £800 million last year, with 350 film releases, compared to a box office total of £727 million from 321 releases in… Continue reading UK Box Office Earnings Climbed 10% In 2002

The US mobile industry downturn will continue for at least the first half of the year but signs of recovery are emerging, says Mobile Ecosystem, a firm which carries out research and consulting in the wireless field. Wireless Week cites the company’s Mobile Confidence Index which stood at 112 at the beginning of the month.… Continue reading Mixed Outlook For US Mobile Sector

Lower income households in the US watch more television than higher income brackets, according to new research from the Yankee Group, which shows that homes earning $35,000 a year or less have their televisions turned on for an average of six hours and twelve minutes per day. However, in homes with the same income, but… Continue reading Low Income US Homes Watch Most TV, Finds Yankee Group

The board of AOL Time Warner has elected Dick Parsons to both the post of chairman and chief executive, following the departure of Steve Case (see AOL Chairman Quits Following Shareholder Unrest). Analysts have suggested the decision reflects a shift in the balance of power within the company, as Case who headed up the America… Continue reading AOL Time Warner Puts Faith In Old Media

Two of Spain’s largest cable operators have announced plans to roll out digital TV services this year, according to a report on Europemedia. ONO and Auna Cable had been expected to launch operations in late-2002 but the uncertain state of the DTV market led to a delay. Both services will carry up to 100 channels… Continue reading Spanish Viewers To Get New DTV Services

News Corporation has made conciliatory overtones to Brussels in a bid to gain regulatory approval for its takeover of Telepiù, the Italian pay-TV arm of Vivendi Universal. Rupert Murdoch has agreed to pay in the region of E900 million for the operator which he plans to merge with News Corp’s own pay-TV venture, Stream to… Continue reading Murdoch Makes Concessions On Telepi

The current advertising outlook is one of cautious optimism, with most forecasters predicting the start of a slow and steady improvement in growth rates this year. In the US, revenue growth is on course to outperform the global average, leading the way to recovery. Radio has had a very good recent run and television is… Continue reading Current Ad Growth Bubble May Not Hold, Warns Myers

Home broadband access grew by 59% in the US during 2002 as an increasing number of internet users made the switch from dial-up services. Nielsen//NetRatings estimates that 33.6 million Americans now access the net via a high-speed connection in the domicile. Narrowband users still make up the majority of the internet population but last year… Continue reading US Web Users Move Into The Fast Lane

ITV airtime revenue could be down by as much as 10% year on year in February and March, according to estimates from Merrill Lynch analysts. The dip is partly due to advertisers’ reluctance to spend whilst there are large uncertainties over the short-term future of consumer spend. However, the ‘great irony’, as Merrill points out,… Continue reading ITV Revenues Drop As Audiences Improve

US adspend will increase by more than 3% to $117.5 billion in 2003, according to a full-year forecast issued by CMR yesterday. In its last market study, CMR was upbeat on the state of the advertising market, pronouncing that 2002 would see positive growth of 2.5% (see US Adspend Up By $2 Billion Through Third… Continue reading CMR Predicts ‘Modest Growth’ For Advertising Sector