Pan-European broadcaster, RTL Group, has this morning become the latest in a growing series of media companies to indicate that advertising market conditions will continue to be tough for at least the next six months. Earnings at the group fell by 35% to Eur361 million before restructuring costs are accounted for and by 50.3% to… Continue reading RTL Falls Into Red, Channel 5 Revenues Down 9.0%

Moving into the middle of Q1 2002, the consensus amongst media and advertising groups is that an ad recovery is not likely to emerge until into the second half of the year at the earliest. Visibility – the extent to which market developments can be predicted – remains poor and so even a H2 recovery… Continue reading Insight Analysis: Media Healthcheck – February 2002

By the end of 2002 10% of the world’s homes, almost 100 million households, will be receiving digital signals according to a new report Global Digital Television from Informa Media Group. This represents almost twice as many homes as in 2000 and by 2010, 548 million digital homes, 53% of the world’s total TV households,… Continue reading 10% Of Homes Worldwide Will Be Digital By The End Of The Year, says Informa

According to a recent Yankee Group report, 76% of households with broadband access report that they used their computer to play audio CDs within the past three months. An additional 60% of broadband households used their PC in the prior three months to play online games and 49% to download music. Video applications lagged in… Continue reading PCs Are Turning Into Entertainment Centres

Telewest Communications has signed up more than 107,000 broadband internet customers – representing an annual growth of 1,135%, the cable operator announced this morning. At this point last year Telewest was selling 380 broadband connections a day on average; now it is shifting 900 per day. This shows a burgeoning interest from UK consumers in… Continue reading Telewest Signs Up 107,000 Broadband Internet Customers, Losses Deepen

UK IT spending dropped 6.2% in 2001 from ₏54 billion to ?50 billion, a smaller drop than in most other European countries, according to a new brief by Forrester Research. Europe-wide, IT expenditure will dip to 0.7% growth in 2002 and flatten out to 7% annual growth in 2004 because of slow population growth, years… Continue reading UK IT Spending Drops 6.2% In 2001

Telewest Communications has signed up more than 107,000 broadband internet customers – representing an annual growth of 1,135%, the cable operator announced this morning. At this point last year Telewest was selling 380 broadband connections a day on average; now it is shifting 900 per day. This shows a burgeoning interest from UK consumers in… Continue reading Telewest Signs Up 107,000 Broadband Internet Customers

US broadcast network TV advertising will decline 7.4% in 2001, to $15.5 billion, with a further 3% decline in 2002, according to analysts at ABN Amro. The broker cites the ongoing economic downturn as the cause of the decline. Over the long term it expects broadcast networks to see further audience erosion, as the average… Continue reading Economics Of US Network TV Are Becoming ‘Untenable’ As Revenues Drop, Says ABN Amro

Carlton Communications chairman Michael Green, today told the company’s AGM that the advertising market remains weak and that he is unable to predict with any uncertainty the timing of a resumption in growth. Nevertheless, Green reassured that Carlton is well-positioned to benefit from a recovery in demand for advertising, when it does transpire. ITV revenues… Continue reading ITV Revenues Predicted To Be 12% Down In Five Months To February

The Boards of Carlton Communications and Granada last night said that a “fundamental restructuring of ITV Digital’s cost base must be concluded as a matter of urgency in order to secure the long term future of the business.” The financial viability of the troubled digital terrestrial business has been the subject of speculation for some… Continue reading ITV Digital Requires ‘Urgent Fundamental Restructuring’ Say Owners