People who have watched or listened to streaming media online in the past week buy more compact discs than the average American, according to a new study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research. The report, Internet 9: The Media and Entertainment World of Online Consumers found that weekly “Streamies” bought twenty-one CDs in the last… Continue reading Streaming Media Encourages Music Sales, Says Report

Prominent cable and DSL providers in the US added a combined 1.37 million broadband internet subscribers in the second quarter of this year, according to Leichtman Research Group. By the mid-point of this year, the major US providers had over 13.5 million broadband subscribers between them. More than 65% of these users connect to the… Continue reading US Cable Firms Reap The Broadband Bounty

Advertising revenues at US newspapers continue to be weak, with the latest round of figures from some of the country’s largest publishing groups showing steep declines in national adspend. According to a report from the World Advertising Research Centre, USA Today – the biggest-selling US paper – saw national ad volumes fall by 16.0% in… Continue reading US Papers Continue To Suffer Ad Declines

The struggling media group Vivendi Universal is considering spinning off its US entertainment business in a deal involving John Malone’s Liberty Media, according to press reports today. The Wall Street Journal claimed that Liberty is planning to merge its Starz and Encore cable networks and interest in the Discovery Channel’s parent with Vivendi’s American entertainment… Continue reading Vivendi Mulls US Spin-Off With Liberty

Pre-tax profits at global advertising network, WPP, fell by almost 30% in the six months to 30 June 2002, the company announced this morning. Turnover fell by 2.0% to £8.8 billion, following a very tough period for the advertising industry. What is more worrying for the industry is that WPP, which is something of a… Continue reading WPP Warns Of Little Ad Improvement This Year

The enticing combination of entertainment content and networking technologies could provide a huge boost to internet service and content providers, as well as to electronics manufacturers, as consumers seek to create ‘networked digital entertainment homes’. This is the premise of a report to be released next month by Parks Associates, which finds that the transfer… Continue reading Digital Networked Entertainment Homes Could Have Mass Appeal

The number of broadband subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region will rise from 12.9 million at the end of 2001 to 64.5 million by the end of 2006, according to a new report from The Yankee Group. The research body predicts that China will spark this upsurge with broadband subscribers set to increase from 323,400 last… Continue reading Chinese To Drive Asian Broadband Uptake

Interactive television (iTV) users are ill-educated about the benefits of the platform and consequently its availability has little impact on consumers’ digital television (DTV) purchasing decisions. This is one of the findings of a new report from Van Dusseldorp & Partners, which says that operators need to make consumers aware of the services which iTV… Continue reading Consumers Need Better Education About iTV Services, Says Report

A new study from Ipsos-RSL has revealed a lack of growth in the UK digital TV sector although conditions are ripe for further expansion in the coming year. The quarterly DART (Digital Audience Research Tracker) survey shows that, as in October 2001, 35% of UK homes have access to digital TV services. Stagnation has been… Continue reading UK Digital Market Stands Still For Now

Carlton and Granada, the UK’s two major commercial television broadcasters, are to forge stronger links in a bid to win back advertisers and viewers and cut costs at a time of financial uncertainty. Competition rules do not currently allow for a full merger of the two companies but Gerry Murphy, the chief executive of Carlton,… Continue reading ITV Power Brokers Team Up To Stop The Rot