Liberty Media’s agreed deal E5.5 billion deal to acquire six cable franchises from German media group Deutsche Telekom (see Deutsche Telekom Sells German Cable Regions To Liberty Media) looks set to be blocked by the country’s regulators, according to a number of reports. It is understood that the Cartel Office in Germany is preparing to… Continue reading Liberty Media’s Deutsche Telekom Cable Deal Hits Regulatory Snags

The New York Times reported its Q4 financial results yesterday which showed advertising revenues have fallen by 21% year on year during the quarter. Profits declined by 46% and sales were down 17%, but the results were broadly in line with expectations, according ABN Amro analysts. In terms of current trading, the company says that… Continue reading New York Time Revenues Drop 21% In Q4

Pearson today announced that it has completed the sale of its 22% stake in European broadcaster, RTL Group, to Bertelsmann AG, as previously announced in December last year (see Pearson Agrees Sale Of RTL Stake). Following the deal, Marjorie Scardino, chief executive officer of Pearson, and John Makinson, finance director at Pearson, will resign as… Continue reading Pearson Completes Sale Of RTL Stake To Bertelsmann

If European telecommunications companies endeavour to compete with cable operators by building ‘hybrid’ satellite and ADSL networks they will end up losing more than E3,000 (£1,830) per subscriber over ten years, according to Forrester Research. The Making ADSL Broadband Pay report, released by Forrester last month, suggests that telcos should try to forge creative partnerships… Continue reading European Telcos Will Lose Out If They Compete Head On With Cable Companies, Warns Forrester

Debt-laden telecoms companies will be forced to further consolidate and divest during 2002, as they simply cannot afford to go it alone. This is one of the findings of the World Markets Research Centre (WMRC) report on the prospects for the global telecoms market in 2002. The analysis says that if 2001 were the annus… Continue reading Consolidation And Divestments Expected In 2002 For Debt-Laden Telecoms Companies

There has been much talk in the advertising community recently about the threat to television advertising revenues from personal video recorder (PVR) technologies, such as Tivo. These digital recorders are able to hold large of amounts of programming on hard disk and can ‘learn’ which types of programme the viewer would like to have recorded.… Continue reading Insight Analysis: Should Advertisers Fear Digital Video Recorders?

French television groups TF1 and M6 each released its 2001 financial results yesterday, with the outlook continuing to be weak, according ABN Amro analysts. TF1 saw advertising revenues fall by 4.7%, with Q4 down by over 10%. However, the figures were in line with the broker’s expectations. Ad revenues at M6, meanwhile, grew by 2.3%,… Continue reading French TV Groups’ Figures Show Ad Downturn Continuing In Q1

Shares in satellite broadcaster BSkyB fell sharply yesterday to close trading down 45½p, or 6.3%, at 673p. The heavy trading was prompted by reports that the company’s interim financial results, which are released next Friday, may show a declining rate of subscriber growth, along with a substantial write-off on Sky’s investment in Premiere, the pay-TV… Continue reading Sky Shares Plummet Despite Forecasts Of ‘Solid’ Interims Next Week

Echoing the predictions of analysts at ABN Amro (see Global Media Recovery Will Not Bounce Back But Come Slowly, Says ABN Amro), Roger Bootle, economic advisor to Deloitte & Touche, has warned that expectations of a global economic recovery are likely to be largely disappointed. World economies In the broker’s latest Economic Review Bootle says… Continue reading Optimism For Economic Recovery In 2002 May Be Disappointed, But UK Is Looking Good

Listening to internet radio showed strong growth during 2001, with the UK’s Virgin Radio London the second most listened to station, according to data from MeasureCast released this week. Virgin was not surveyed for the whole year, however, and early January data suggest that the station takes the spot as the most listened to on… Continue reading Virgin Radio Leads Internet Stations Listening, According To MeasureCast