Digital radio, or digital audio broadcasting (DAB), will gain broader consumer acceptance within the next five years in Europe and the US, according to a new report from In-Stat/MDR. Despite what In-stat describes as ‘a series of difficulties in the early years of development’, DAB and digital audio radio services (DARS) are now beginning to… Continue reading Digital Radio To Gain Consumer Acceptance By 2005

Despite the emergence of next-generation Multimedia Message Services (MMS), Ovum believes that SMS will continue to be the dominant technology used for person to person messaging via mobile phones during the next two or three years. MMS usage will only begin to grow strongly around 2004-2005. John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum, said: “Although vast… Continue reading MMS Will Not Take Off Till 2004, Says Ovum

The majority share of US prime time television viewing went to the cable networks for the first time in the 2001/2 season, according to data reported by Jack Myers Report. The basic cable networks took a 46% share against the four major broadcast networks’ 45%, according to figures compiled by Discovery Communications. Previously the four… Continue reading Cable Overtakes Major Broadcast Networks For US Prime Time Share

The Football League has proceeded with its threatened legal action against the owners of ITV Digital, launching a £178.5 million claim against Carlton and Granada. The League is seeking a declaration that Carlton and Granada are liable as guarantors for payments totalling £178.5 million owed by ITV Digital (see Football League Battle With ITV Digital… Continue reading Football League Kicks Off Action Against ITV Digital Owners

BSkyB yesterday afternoon exercised its put option with respect to its 22% stake in KirchPayTV in a move that is likely to be the final nail in the coffin for the heavily-indebted media group Kirch. KirchPayTV last week filed for insolvency due to illiquidity and huge debts (see KirchPayTV Files For Insolvency, BSkyB Expects No… Continue reading BSkyB’s 22% Put Option Set To Force Kirch Collapse

The merger of Italian pay-TV platform, Stream, with Vivendi Universal’s (VU) Telepiù (see Vivendi To Buy News Corp’s Stream In Italy, Says FT) has been cleared by the country’s anti-trust regulator. However, the regulatory authority has imposed certain restrictions on the deal that could offer VU an escape route from the deal. Stream is joint-owned… Continue reading Italian Anti-Trust Ruling May Offer Vivendi An Exit From Stream Deal

Below are the latest business to business (B2B) ecommerce sales forecasts from Gartner, as reported by ElectricNews. B2B Ecommerce Sales Forecasts ($ billion)          2002  2005  Europe 500 2,300 Global 1,930 8,530 Source: Gartner, May 2002     

The global IT market has hit the bottom and is poised for recovery in 2002, according to a new report from IDC. The rebound is attributed to strengthening economic conditions in the United States. However, IDC warns that IT spending growth will remain ‘muted’ by comparison with previous years’ figures before staging a ‘full recovery’… Continue reading IT Market Poised For Recovery, Says IDC

eMarketer reports that, according to the 2002 Email Marketing Factbook from Opt-in News , 50% of consumers questioned said that they would be likely to take advantage of products or services from opt-in marketing emails compared with 37% who said the same regarding email newsletters and 13% who favoured direct mail. In terms of formats,… Continue reading Net Users Prefer Text Ads, Marketers Favour HTML

Europeans will send nearly 17 billion mobile messages per month in 2007 according to Forrester Research. Growth in email and other forms of instant messaging will continue although revenue will fall as cheaper forms of messaging emerge. “The entry of instant messaging (IM) and email introduces the economics of the Web to the premiums of… Continue reading Europeans Will Send 17 Billion Mobile Messages Per Month In 2007