Gannett has emerged as the successful suitor to SMG’s publishing division, with an offer that values the titles at £216 million, the two groups announced during the Christmas period. US group Gannett, owner of the Newsquest regional newspaper group in the UK, had all but secured the deal in December when reports emerged that SMG… Continue reading Gannett Secures SMG Publishing Deal For £216m

Michael Bungey, CEO of global marketing group, Cordiant Communications, is to step down from the post at the end of this year, handing the role to David Hearn with effect from 1 January 2003. The hand-over comes as part of a broader reorganisation of the Bates Group, Cordiant’s parent company, which began in September this… Continue reading Hearn Replaces Bungey As Chief Of Cordiant Comms

Independent News & Media (INM), the international media group and publisher of the Independent newspaper in the UK, says that advertising visibility has improved following strong trading in the fourth quarter and that circulation revenues remain very buoyant. INM’s global operating base, covering five primary markets in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the… Continue reading Independent News & Media Sees Improving Ad Visibility

Ulster Television (UTV) has acquired the entire issued share capital of City Broadcasting, the operator of Lite FM, a radio station based in Dublin, the group announced this morning. UTV will pay €14.0 million (£9.0 million) for the business and will also assume liability for Lite FM’s €1.3 million debt. Lite FM is the most… Continue reading Ulster TV Acquires Dublin’s Lite FM

Advertising page volumes in the business-to-business (B2B) hi-tech publishing market decreased by 15.6% in November, according to the latest figures from United Business Media’s (UBM) CMP Media. Within this market, CMP saw a decrease in its volumes of 9.9%. In the calendar year to November, the sector’s ad volumes dropped by 31.6%, whilst CMP fell… Continue reading Hi-Tech Publishing Market Ad Volumes Fall 16% In November

Mobile internet services attracted an average of 12 million page impression per day during November, according to the latest collective WAP figures released by the Mobile Data Association (MDA) and the UK’s four GSM operators. This brings the total figure for November to 366 million page impressions, which represents a 5% growth per month in… Continue reading UK WAP Services Continue To Show Growth

According to press reports, Premiere, the German pay-TV platform, has been sold to the private equity house Permira. The Financial Times claims that Permira will pay cash for a 70% stake in Premiere while the operator’s creditor banks take a 20% share as compensation in exchange for part of their E750 million in unpaid loans.… Continue reading Premiere Finds A New Home

Online advertising spending growth will outpace growth in total US media spend in 2003, according to a white paper from eMarketer. The Media Spending Outlook produced in conjunction with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) predicts that overall ad expenditure will increase by 4.7% next year. This estimate is in line with a number of recent… Continue reading Online Media Helps To Fuel Ad Recovery

Service availability is no longer a major impediment to the growth of broadband in the US but the majority of internet users are yet to be convinced of the merits of switching to high-speed services. A new survey from InStat/MDR has revealed that less than one in ten dial-up internet subscribers are unable to access… Continue reading Broadband Providers Must Change Strategy To Woo Subscribers, Says InStat/MDR

SMG is understood to have reopened the bidding for its Herald collection of newspaper and magazine titles after US group, Gannett, reportedly attempted to renegotiate its agreed £215 million offer (see Newsquest Favourite To Take Over Herald Titles). Reports claim that after becoming the preferred bidder, Gannett attempted to lower its offer price by £12… Continue reading SMG Reopens Herald Auction, Say Reports