Advertising revenue at Independent News & Media (INM) – publisher of the Independent newspaper in the UK – fell by 6.8% during the first half of the year, whilst circulation revenues grew by 2.1% on 0.5% rise in volume market share. The tough ad conditions saw pre-tax profits dip 10.2% to E51.7 million in the… Continue reading Independent News & Media Profits Dip In Tough Ad Climate

The US television prime-time advertising marketplace is so close to being sold out that some executives are encouraging advertisers to take back the upfront commitments, according to a report on Mediaweek.com. The situation, which is somewhat incongruous with the weak economic conditions currently being experienced in the US, has driven the prices in this ‘scatter’… Continue reading US Scatter Market Virtually Sold Out

Ulster Television (UTV), part of the ITV Network, saw advertising revenues rise by 0.3% in the six months to the end of June, substantially outperforming the network as a whole, which saw a 5.6% decline in airtime revenue. UTV’s first half results, released this morning, showed pre-tax profits drop by 9.4% to £5.7 million; turnover… Continue reading UTV Ad Revenue Outperforms ITV Network

Nearly 46 million people in the US went online from work in August 2002, the highest figure yet recorded by Nielsen//NetRatings since it began measuring the at-work audience. Net usage at work rose 17% year-on-year compared to home usage which was up by just 4% in the same period. Men account for 55% of all… Continue reading US Workplace Web Usage Hits New Peak

New research conducted by the Mobile Data Association (MDA) has found that more and more businesses are using SMS to communicate with their customers. The report, due to be published this month, also highlights the importance of using SMS as a marketing tool and predicts that the trend will be accelerated by the growth of… Continue reading MDA Predicts Growth In Text Marketing

A new survey from In-Stat/MDR indicates that business broadband usage is likely to grow in the next few years. However, these findings are tempered by claims that the technology will largely be confined to non-essential applications in small remote branch offices or for home workers. The research found that over a fifth of large US… Continue reading US Firms Reluctant To Commit To Broadband

The viability of paid-for content will be the focus of this year’s World Electronic Publishing Conference to be held in Barcelona next month. “Beyond The Printed Word” is organised by the publishing technology association IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the magazine publishers association FIPP. The conference, which will take place on 17… Continue reading Publishers Step Up Search For Online Profits

European consumer spending on interactive TV applications and services will more than double in the next six years, according to a new study by Strategy Analytics. The research firm calculates that 16 million Europeans are active users of enhanced TV applications and predicts that spending in this sector will total $92 million in 2002. This… Continue reading European iTV Revenues Set To Escalate

The chief executive at RTL, Europe’s largest broadcaster, has called on the UK government to extend the ban on companies outside the EU investing in British broadcasting firms until similar laws in the US are relaxed. Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s International Conference in London, Didier Bellens voiced his disapproval of US TV ownership… Continue reading RTL Chief Calls For Level Playing Field On Media Ownership

Global advertising network, Publicis, has released first half financial results which saw revenues increase by 2.4% year on year, outperforming the overall market. While the worldwide advertising market dropped an estimated 6% in the first six months of 2002, Publicis’ organic growth only declined 3.6%, the statement says. Publicis owns a number of agencies worldwide,… Continue reading Publicis Results Outperform Struggling Ad Market