UK advertising and public relations group, Chime Communications, this morning confirmed that it had achieved its target of double-digit growth, despite ‘the horrors’ of 2001. Announcing its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2001, the group said that despite some optimistic comments made at the end of last year, the market remains pretty… Continue reading No Recovery Until Second Half Says Chime Communications

Future Network, the international games and specialist consumer magazine publisher, has today said that it has been encouraged by the trading of January and February this year and described the previous financial year as the most difficult in the company’s history. Future has had a very rocky ride of late. Its market capitalisation has plummeted;… Continue reading Games Mags Recovery Could Drag Future Out Of ‘Most Difficult’ Period

JCDecaux has this morning released full year results for 2001 which revealed a 2.1% fall in profits and a downbeat outlook for Q1 2002. EBITDA was down 2.1% to E377.3 million whilst net profits were halved to E10.2 million from E20.4 million in 2001. This, said the group, was due to a slowdown in its… Continue reading JCDecaux Downbeat On Early 2002 Outlook

Radio First (see Radio First Sees Medium Term Profit In Football Stations) has made an upbeat statement at its AGM today and announced that formal audience research would be completed at each station during 2002. Chairman Keith Harris stated that numbers of advertisers and, consequently ad revenue, was growing month by month and as such… Continue reading Football Ventures Boost Radio First Outlook

According to press reports this morning SMG is considering a £60 million write-down of its stake in Scottish Radio Holdings in response to pressure from its auditors. In a buoyancy market, between December 2000 and May 2001, SMG gradually increased it hold in SRH building a 29.5% stake at a cost of £147 million. Analysts… Continue reading SMG Counts The Cost Of SRH Investment

Research company Taylor Nelson Sofres released full year results for 2001 this morning revealing profits up slightly ahead of expectations. Pre-tax profit was up 15% before goodwill charges rising from £37.8 million in 2000 to £43.5 million. Underlying growth was 6.1% for the year ahead of estimated market growth of 5%. Revenue Growth In Specialist… Continue reading Taylor Nelson Sofres Confident Of ‘Steady’ Growth In 2002

In results released this morning, Ulster Television plc has revealed an increase in group operating profit to £13.6m, up from £13.4m last year, despite the prevailing conditions. Overall advertising revenue for the ITV network was down by 13.5% in 2001, UTV managed a drop of just 6.1% thanks, said the company, to stringent cost-control produced… Continue reading Ulster TV Emerges Relatively Unscathed From ITV Ad Slump

According to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal, positive signs are emerging for the ad industry with two Wall Street analysts reporting a likely upturn in the market. “We believe the US advertising recession is at its end,” said Leland Westerfield, media analyst at UBS Warburg in New York. “The cyclical recovery appears to… Continue reading US Analysts See Positive Signs In Market Outlook

US radio revenue rebounded in January according to the latest totals released by the Radio Advertising Bureau. National sales were up 2% when compared with January 2001 and local revenue increased by 1% year on year. The combined total for local and national spending also grew by 1% in year on year comparison. The announcement… Continue reading US Radio Rebounds In January

Peter Bazalgette has called for the Government’s analogue switch-off target of 2006-2010 to be abandoned, claiming that it is “unrealistic and distorts policy making”. The chairman of Endemol UK and non-executive director of Channel 4, writing in today’s Guardian, added that “an early switch-off as a government objective encourages digital platform-owners to hope for interventions… Continue reading Bazalgette Calls For End To Switch-Off Target