The number of broadband subscribers will increase by 50% across the globe during 2002, according to a report from In-Stat/MDR. Telecoms firms and industry bodies have expressed a certain amount of frustration at the slow take-up of broadband in many developed countries. However, In-Stat/MDR predicts that the broadband population is set to increase from 30… Continue reading World Broadband Population Set To Boom

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Reports in the weekend press suggest that SMG is considering selling its television arm, which includes both Scottish TV and Grampian TV. According to the Independent on Sunday, SMG is looking to reduce substantial debts and sees the television interests as valuable assets which could raise over £400 million. Carlton Communications has already been linked… Continue reading SMG May Offload TV Business

The two commercial French television stations, TF1 and M6 are set to complete their takeover of the country’s second largest satellite operator, TPS. The duo are buying the 25% stake of the company owned by the utilities group, Suez for E160 million. TF1 will now have a two-thirds share in TPS with M6 owning the… Continue reading French TV Groups Swoop For TPS

AOL Time Warner has been rocked by the resignation of one of its most senior executives as the sense of crisis deepens at the world’s largest media company. The chief operating officer, Robert Pittman has stepped down as head of AOL’s internet arm, a position he only resumed in April. The advertising recession hit the… Continue reading COO Quits AOL Time Warner

RTL Group, which owns Channel 5, says it can see the first shoots of recovery in the UK advertising market. The pan-European broadcaster says that full-year results are in line with analysts’ expectations. RTL says that although advertising conditions in Germany and France remain unfavourable, there are ‘tentative’ signs of a revival in the UK… Continue reading RTL Detects ‘Tentative’ Signs Of Recovery

The president of Viacom has played down speculation that his organisation is preparing to buy a major ITV company, claiming that they are too expensive at the moment. Speaking at a conference in Boston, Mel Karmazin conceded that an approach for either Granada or Carlton Communications was unlikely in the current economic climate. “The stocks… Continue reading ITV Too Costly At Present, Says Viacom Chief

Some 19 million people in the UK now have access to the internet, according to the annual internet survey from Which? Online. This is equivalent to almost one-third of the UK population, although there is growing evidence that the growth in usage is declining. The rate of increase in the internet population has slowed from… Continue reading One-Third Of The UK Now Online

Telecoms operators in western Europe must look beyond their debts and define their strategic options now, says a new report released by Analysys this week. According to the study, The Future of Telecoms Incumbents, the fourteen incumbent operators had a collective long-term debt of E240 billion at the end of 2001. Deutsche Telekom accounts for… Continue reading Telcos Must Focus On Strategy, Says Analysys

A comparison of the latest global and regional advertising forecasts is shown here, along with previous data. Most regions have been revised upwards in the latest set of figures, in line with a gradually improving advertising marketplace. Advertising Forecasts Comparisons                        Area  2001A  Previous  2002F … Continue reading Global And Regional Advertising Growth Forecast Comparisons