The proposed takeover of SMG’s publishing unit by the regional newspaper group, Newsquest has been referred to the Competition Commission. The Competition Minister Melanie Johnson took the decision after Gannett, the parent company of Newsquest, applied for permission to acquire the titles, which include The Herald, Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday. SMG put its… Continue reading Gannett Bid For SMG Titles Referred To Competition Authorities

Shares in Cable & Wireless fell by almost 50% in early trading as news spread that the ailing telecoms group needs to find £1.5 billion after being downgraded to junk status. Moody’s, the credit rating agency, downgraded the stock on Friday triggering a clause in a contract signed with Deutsche Telekom when C&W’s sold its… Continue reading C&W Stock Nosedives Following Downgrade

The regional newspaper group Newsquest is in pole position to take control of SMG’s newspaper business after increasing its offer for the group to £215 million. Newsquest, which is owned by the US newspaper group Gannett, and a consortium led by Independent News & Media are now the only two bidders for the SMG titles… Continue reading Newsquest Favourite To Take Over Herald Titles

NTL chief executive Barclay Knapp has sought to deflect blame from his company’s own management and accused TV regulators of failing to control the dominance of BSkyB in the pay-TV market. Speaking at last week’s Westminster Media Forum, Knapp claimed that the lack of regulation in the television industry had contributed to the collapse of… Continue reading NTL Chief Turns On Pay TV Regulators

Global advertising is set to grow by 2.9% in 2003, as an upswing that began in the latter half of this year continues into the next. This forecast will be delivered to a UBS Warburg media conference in New York today by Zenith Optimedia chief executive John Perriss, according to reports. Zenith says that it… Continue reading Zenith Optimedia Predicts 2.9% Global Ad Growth In 2003

Zenith Optimedia today released a new set of world advertising expenditure forecasts, predicting a 2003 global growth of 2.9% in current currency and 1.0% in constant currencies (see Zenith Optimedia Predicts 2.9% Global Ad Growth In 2003). The full figures from Zenith’s report are included here. They show that Europe is currently lagging behind other… Continue reading World Advertising Forecasts From Zenith Optimedia

The tough market conditions affecting UK business over the last year have hit advertising and marketing budgets more than other areas of expenditure, according to a new survey from Continental Research. The report finds that two-thirds of the UK’s 1.1 million businesses have made cutbacks on their original spending plans over the past year, with… Continue reading Advertising & Marketing Hit Most By UK Business Downturn

Regional newspapers are the most popular medium for UK businesses to market themselves, according to Continental Research‘s Autumn 2002 E-Commerce Report, which is launched today. The survey shows that over half a million businesses currently use the regional press for their advertising and that it is especially favoured by small and medium-sized businesses, as shown.… Continue reading UK Business Favours Regional Press For Marketing

The number of worldwide internet users will top 665 million by the end of this year, an increase of 22% on the 2001 figure, according to a new report from eTForecasts. The research firm estimates that 121 million new users have come online in 2002 and the global internet population is predicted to exceed 1… Continue reading Global Online Population Increases By A Fifth

By the end of this year, over 50 million Europeans will be banking online and this number is set to increase gradually in the next five years, according to a new report from Jupiter Research. The Online Financial Services Forecast 2001-2007 examined activity in seventeen European countries and found that almost 40% of the total… Continue reading Mounting Interest In Online Banking, Says Jupiter