Net losses at debt-laden cable operator, Telewest Communications, fell by 34% to £397 million during the third quarter of the year, the company announced in its interim financial results this morning. Whilst turnover rose by 4% to £1.0 billion and operating loss dropped by 25% to £187 million, the company’s debt has risen by 9%… Continue reading Telewest Reduces Losses Ahead Of Restructure

UK radio advertising revenues are set to grow at a slight higher rate than the overall advertising market between now and Q2 2004, according to the latest quarterly advertising forecasts from the Advertising Association (AA). The figures show an average quarterly growth of 4.6% between Q1 2002 and Q2 2004 for radio, whilst the overall… Continue reading UK Radio Advertising Forecasts From The AA

The mobile industry has been urged to concentrate on targeting young women and business orientated men in the battle to convince the public of the merits of GPRS and 3G services. According to analysts at Forrester Research, only 20% of European mobile users will adopt 2.5G and 3G applications in the next two years. This… Continue reading Next Generation Mobile Still A Turn-Off, Says Forrester

New research unveiled at the Easy TV Event, organised by the ITC in association with the Consumers Association and the Design Council, has recommended a more user-centred approach to the design of digital television. The Easy TV Event, which is part of an ongoing initiative to promote the need for easier to use digital television… Continue reading Digital TV Urged To Be More User Friendly

BSkyB is expected to post a 205,000 net subscriber gain in its first quarter results, taking the number of customers for its digital satellite service to 6.3 million, according to Lehman Brothers. The broadcaster had 6.1 million subs as at June this year (see BSkyB Results Beat Expectations With 6.1m Customers Now Signed) and the… Continue reading Good Growth Expected In Sky’s Q1 Results

Revenues at News International’s UK titles have plunged 50% in the last three months as a result of the high profile tabloid tussle with Trinity Mirror. Figures out today show that The Sun lost more than £20 million in revenues after cutting its cost nationwide in a bid to compete with the Daily Mirror. “Slightly… Continue reading Price War Drives Down News International Income

The European Commission has cleared the way for RTL Group to complete the acquisition of a 47.3% stake in German news broadcaster n-tv. Back in August, RTL agreed to buy the TV and radio assets of publishing group Georg van Holtzbrinck, including the stake in n-tv, for E170 million (see RTL Acquires German Media Group).… Continue reading RTL Cleared For N-TV Acquisition

Telewest Communications has sold its 16.9% shareholding in SMG to institutional investors for 85p per share, the group confirmed this afternoon. The sale, which was given the go ahead by shareholders in September (see Telewest Set For SMG Disposal, Denies More Redundancies), raised £45.1 million for the UK cable operator. This money will be put… Continue reading Telewest Raises £45m From Sale Of SMG Stake

UK display advertising is set to grow by 1.8% in Q3 this year, after which growth should steadily, if not dramatically, rise. This is according to the latest set of forecasts from the Advertising Association (AA). The figures show increases in quarterly growth throughout 2003, followed by a gentle dip moving into 2004. Throughout the… Continue reading Advertising Association Long-Term And Quarterly UK Ad Forecasts

New figures from GartnerG2 have established that SMS is now more popular than email and it is claimed that the industry is missing a trick by ploughing so many of its resources into 3G technology. The latest consumer research was presented at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Cannes. In particular, it was found that 62% of… Continue reading Mobile Industry Too Obsessed With 3G, Says GartnerG2