Following months of wrangling and speculation, WPP has conceded its efforts to withdraw from the takeover of Tempus Group and is now prepared to go through with the £434 million deal. Yesterday, the Takeover Panel released a statement detailing its reasons for dismissing WPP’s appeal to withdraw the initial 555p-a-share offer (see Tempus Confirms WPP… Continue reading WPP Will Buy Tempus

Outdoor advertising contractor, JC Decaux, has this morning announced third quarter revenue increases of 11% to E360 million thanks to a strong performance from its Street Furniture division. Revenues for the three months to September were in line with company expectations and rose on a like-for-like basis (excluding acquisitions) by 1.9%. Street Furniture revenues increased… Continue reading JC Decaux Announces Q3 Revenue Increase Of 11%

WPP has announced that its offer for Tempus has been extended to midnight on 12 November 2001. WPP is currently awaiting the details of the Takeover Panel’s decision not to allow it to withdraw its offer (see Takeover Panel Rejects WPP Appeal) before deciding whether or not to continue with the appeal process.

A period of advertising spend decline should not be justification for investors to turn their backs on healthy, major media companies, according to Jack Myers, chief economist of Myers Reports. Reiterating a point that he has stressed a few times recently (see Forecasts), Myers today called for investors to recognise the ongoing value of major… Continue reading Media Industry Is Experiencing Loss Of ‘Dead Weight’ Not Inherent Value, Says Myers

Yesterday, Gartner forecast that by the end of 2001, 32 million Americans will view credit card and other statements online, a 60% increase on the 20 million who did so at the end of 2000. Almost 27 million of these consumers will view credit card accounts online and Gartner expects the number of consumers viewing… Continue reading Increase In Online Billing Boosted By Anthrax Terror, Says Gartner

US newspaper publishing groups could benefit from a substantial fall in newsprint costs in 2002, with a knock-on effect possible for European publishers, according to analysts at ABN Amro. The broker forecasts that print prices may fall by double-digits next year, although advertising visibility remains limited. A decline in newsprint costs would significantly help the… Continue reading European Newspaper Groups Could Benefit From Fall In US Newsprint Costs

Consumers’ first reaction is to reject mobile phone advertising, unless it is of some specific use to them, according to Mobile Advertising: Not as Bad as You Think – a report from Cahners In-Stat originally published in July 2001. The study found that 64% of Cahners’ Wireless Internet Panel (WIP) respondents are not enamoured with… Continue reading Mobile Advertising Growth Contingent On Consumer Benefit, Finds Cahners In-Stat

The Government has reportedly shelved plans to pay for millions of people to switch to digital TV, fuelling speculation that the current 2006-2010 deadline for the switchover will not be met. A report in today’s Financial Times claims that a scheme enabling millions of UK households to go digital was abandoned by the Government last… Continue reading Digital Deadline Thought ‘Optimistic’, Says FT

Reuters reports that following the 11 September attacks in the US, the major TV networks there – ABC, CBS and NBC – lost a combined $880 million in advertising revenue for the third quarter. This represents a 28.6% decline on Q3 2000. The figures, which come from the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association, represent the… Continue reading US TV Networks Lose Record $880m In Q3 Ad Revenue

The Wireless Group (TWG) is to finance the repayment of its remaining bank debt through the sale of Wave 105 FM to Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) for £18.0 million. Following the disposal, TWG will be left with a cash balance of £1 million. The move follows the £25.5 million sale of Scot FM to the… Continue reading Wireless Group Offloads Wave 105 To Scottish Radio In Debt Clearance