Oftel has proposed a cut in BT’s wholesale unmetered internet access prices. The 7% cut is based on detailed information on BTÂ’s costs for providing wholesale unmetered Internet access to other operators under the FRIACO arrangements. David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said: “Up until now, BTÂ’s FRIACO charges to other operators to provide wholesale… Continue reading Oftel Moves To Cut BT Internet Costs

Pearson has this morning confirmed that, having received several expressions of interest in FT Business, it has appointed investment Lazard to advise on the sale. The FT Business portfolio includes Investors Chronicle, The Banker, Money Management and Financial Adviser in the UK but does not include the FT or Pearson’s 50% stake in The Economist.… Continue reading Pearson Puts FT Business Up For Sale

According to press reports this morning the ever-acquisitive WPP has approached advertising agency Leagas Delaney about a possible take over. WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is thought to have approached the Leagas board with the intention of bringing in into the WPP fold as the headquarters of the Red Cell Network. The deal would provide… Continue reading Sorrell Eyes Leagas Delaney

NTL today announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with Macquarie Bank to sell its Australian broadcast business for A$850 million in an all cash transaction. NTL Australia covers 98% of the terrestrial broadcast population in Australia from 578 sites located across the country. For the year ended December 31, 2001, NTL AustraliaÂ’s revenues… Continue reading NTL Sells Off Australian Broadcast Business

Europemedia reports that space on the current generation of the internet will run out by around 2005 unless the European Union states speed up plans to roll out a new IP version, according to a recent European Commission report. The report claims that the development of internet protocol version 6 (IP6) would further boost Europe’s… Continue reading Internet Will ‘Run Out Of Space’ In 2005, Says New EC Report

A new report from the Yankee Group comes to unsurprising conclusions regarding the appeal of video-on-demand services, revealing that young men (16-17 years) are most likely to buy movies in this way. 31% of cable and satellite subscribers say that they are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to order a VOD movie costing $3.95. 16-17… Continue reading VOD Appeal Greatest Amongst Young Men, Says Yankee Group

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has estimated that for Q4 2001 B2C e-commerce sales were valued at $10 billion and accounted for 1.2% of total US retail sales during the period, according to eMarketer. The $10 billion figure represents a 13.1% rise in e-commerce sales in the US over the Q4 2000 period. Emarketer… Continue reading US Q4 Ecommerce Sales Forecasts Were Mostly Optimistic, Finds eMarketer

Latest figures from the Advertising Association suggest that regional press ad revenue is set to fall by 0.8% this year, compared to the -0.2% decline forecast by the AA in October. AA Regional Press Forecasts, YoY Change (% Growth)    1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  Sep-99  6.8 1.5 3.2     Dec-99  6.8 4.5 5.3… Continue reading Regional Press Forecast Comparisons From The AA

A new video-on-demand distribution service, formed by MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal Studios and Warner Bros is due to launch in the US soon. The service, Movielink, will create an open access IP based system for content delivery. Users will be able to download movies from the site and it is thought that the studios are… Continue reading MGM To Offer Downloadable Movies On The Net

The latest Merrill Lynch UK television industry forecasts of growth and subscribers by multiple platforms are shown below. Further analysis of these figures will follow shortly in the Forecasts section of MediaTel Insight. The previous set of forecasts from Merrill Lynch can be found here. Merrill Lynch Cable, Satellite & DTT Penetration Forecasts In UK … Continue reading UK Cable, Satellite & DTT Penetration Forecasts From Merrill Lynch – February 2002