Media buying agencies Optimedia and Zenith Media are to be merged by their parent companies, Publicis and Cordiant respectively, creating the world’s fourth-largest media communications group. The resulting business, NewCo, will be UK-based and 75% owned by Publicis and 25% owned by Cordiant. The minimum option price payable for Cordiant’s 25% shareholding in NewCo is… Continue reading Optimedia And Zenith Merged By Parent Companies

Sports.com, a European internet and mobile data provider of sports content, has today announced a further $13 million (£9.3 million) in equity funding from existing investors, including SportsLine.com, Soros Private Equity Partners and IMG. It is expected that the funds will enable Sports.com to continue to implement its business plan and thereby achieve profitability. “Sports.com… Continue reading Sports.com Secures $13m Extra Funding

Two major US newspaper publishers have this week reported declining profits due to fall advertising revenues and a rise in newsprint costs, according to analysts at ABN Amro. Knight Ridder, the second largest newspaper group in the US, saw Q2 profits drop by 85%. The company, which publishes 32 daily titles including the Miami Herald… Continue reading US Newspaper Groups See Profit Falls

In keeping with other analysts and forecasters (see Forecasts), Merrill Lynch has downgraded its ITV revenue forecasts citing “growing evidence of advertiser cutbacks or switching” in the TV advertising market. Merrill now forecast ITV revenue growth at -12.3% to September 2001 and see no reason to expect a recovery until around April 2002. Growth for… Continue reading Merrill Lynch Downgrades Spell Further Misery For ITV

More than half of the UK’s internet users are willing to pay for premium content, possibly paving the way for the widespread introduction of paid -for events and information. According to a new survey by technology consultancy iSTRAT, 52% of respondents said that would be willing to pay for good quality information; 80% of these… Continue reading More Than Half Of UK Web Users Willing To Pay For Premium Content

Although the US has the largest base of mobile phone users in the world, less than $4 billion will be spent on shopping and travel via internet-enabled mobile phones in 2006. This is less than 2% of all online shopping, according to new wireless research by Jupiter Media Metrix (JMM). The survey reports that consumers’… Continue reading Consumer Apathy Hinders Wireless Transactions Growth

The economic downturn and the well-publicised failure of dotcoms have dented the share of those who see the internet as ‘an engine of, economic growth’, down slightly from 82% in October 2000 to 75% in June 2001. However, there has been no significant change in the share of the US public that has a positive… Continue reading Internet Viewed Positively Despite Dotcom Failures

The IPA released it’s Q2 2001 Bellwether report today which drew unsurprising conclusions about UK marketing spend. Leaving aside the much-discussed move away from television (see Forecasts) the IPA reveal a shift towards ‘below-the-line’ activities when decisions are made about marketing spend. Investment in direct marketing in particular showed a significant increase in 2000, taking… Continue reading Q2 Bellwether Report Is Thin On Optimism

The applications server software platform (ASSP) market continued to grow strongly last year, despite the expectations of many that growth would begin to moderate, according to research from IDC. In 1999, worldwide revenues grew by 110% to $957 million. In 2000, revenues grew another 128% and reached almost $2.2 billion. Strong growth is expected to… Continue reading ASSP Market Growth Stronger Than Expected

Internet call waiting, a feature introduced just three years go, now faces serious threats from broadband technologies, according to research from IDC. Internet call waiting allows users who access the internet via a telephone dial-up line to be alerted when another call is incoming. However, broadband access services, such as DSL, use a separate technology… Continue reading Internet Call Waiting Technology Threatened By Broadband