The slight downgrades in European advertising forecasts (see Forecasts) has led ABN AMRO to downgrade its global forecasts slightly. ABN Global Advertising Forecast Changes    2001  2002    Old (%) New (%) Change (pp) Old (%) New (%) Change (pp) N America -8.2 -8.2 – -2.7 -2.7 – France -4.1 -3.8 0.3 -2.3 -2.2 0.1… Continue reading Global Advertising Forecasts From ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO reports that advertising growth rates in September and October of this year were the worst so far this year. In September, advertising fell by 13% compared to 2001 and October was even worse with revenues dropping 15% on last year. UK Advertising Growth By Media     Oct 2001 (actual)  Q3 2001 (actual)  TV… Continue reading UK Advertising Will Grow In November, says ABN AMRO

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) today announced that it plans to make a ruling the BSkyB has behaved in an anti-competitive way, infringing on UK competition law. The OFT launched its investigation into BSkyB a year ago (See BSkyB Faces OFT Investigation), now BSkyB has the opportunity to address the charges levied at it.… Continue reading OFT Proposes Ruling Against BSkyB

French media group Vivendi Universal (VU) today announced that it is to acquire the entertainment assets of USA Networks in a deal worth £10.3 billion. VU will have 93% control of the new company, Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUA), which will bring together Universal Studios Group and the USA business. Vivendi will pay USA Networks around… Continue reading Vivendi Consolidates US Position With New Acquisition

New research by Statistical Research has found that a relationship of parallel growth occurs in households with the internet, computers and television. Rather than increasing spending on one to the detriment of others, the 2001 Ownership Report, part of The Home Technology Monitor™, reveals that households with multiple PCs or internet access are more likely… Continue reading PC Households Spend More On Home Entertainment

Vivendi Universal (VU) yesterday sold a third of its stake in BSkyB, leaving it with a 15% share in the satellite television company. It is thought that the money raised from the sale, around £1 billion, will be used to fund further acquisitions by VU. Vivendi’s decision not to offload all its interests in BSkyB… Continue reading Vivendi Offloads BSkyB Shares

United Business Media (UBM) is expecting revenue and profits to finish the year in line with expectations, despite the difficult market conditions. In a pre-close trading statement issued today, chief executive Clive Hollick said the company had achieved a “satisfactory performance in an exceptionally tough year,” adding that, the ‘significant reduction’ in UBM’s cost base… Continue reading UBM Says Profits Will Be As Expected

Year end results for Daily Mail & General Trust plc, released today, revealed a 7% drop in profits despite an overall rise in advertising revenues. Adjusted profit before tax was £178 million compared to £192 million for 2000, turnover was up 6% to £1.96 billion. The last two months have seen a sharp decline in… Continue reading DMGT Results Bring No Respite From Ad Gloom

The FT reports this morning that troubled German media company Kirch have held talks with Liberty Media regarding the group’s debts (see Kirch Group Faces Financial Crisis, Say Reports) and possible ways of raising funds in order to meet loan repayments and satisfy demands from shareholders. In November Liberty boss John Malone met Leo Kirch… Continue reading Kirch In Talks With Liberty Media

Jupiter Media Metrix today released the third instalment of its Online Shopping Index, which revealed that visitors to a sample of around 500 shopping sited increased 50% compared with the same week last year, rising from 34.9 million to 52.4 million unique visitors. The index was up 1% against the previous week, when 51.7 million… Continue reading Jupiter Reports Record High In US Online Shopping