Reports from Reuters suggest that US television network NBC is cutting its airtime prices in order to maintain its share of the advertising ‘pie’. The networks are currently in the midst of their ‘upfront’ advertising sales pitch (see US ‘Upfront’ Autumn TV Airtime Sales To Drop 14%, Says ABN), which often accounts for around three… Continue reading NBC Cuts Airtime Costs To Maintain Share

A definitive symbol of the economic downturn in the US is about to emerge as more than 1,000 companies are expected to issue negative earnings pre-announcements for the second quarter, according the Wall Street Journal. The first quarter record of 935 negative statements look set to be broken, according to the report, as companies realise… Continue reading Record Negative Earnings Announcements Expected In US

Rupert Murdoch is to remove some of the core assets from his digital group, Sky Global, in order to pave the way for a merger with US satellite operator DirecTV, according to a report in the Financial Times this morning. Murdoch is understood to be slimming down Sky Global’s assets in order to reduce the… Continue reading Murdoch Slims Sky Global To Seal DirecTV Deal

Goldman Sachs has downgraded its 2001 and 2002 earnings forecasts for Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, due to concerns about the retracting advertising advertising market, according to reports. The broker has reduced Pearson’s earnings per share (EPS) estimates for this year from 47.8p to 40.0p and for 2002 to 58.3 pence from 71.1p. Particularly… Continue reading Goldman Sachs Downgrades Pearson Figures

Media giants WPP and Gannett have both been making reassuring noises this week designed, no doubt, to allay investors’ fears in these difficult economic times. According to the Guardian, WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell met with analysts last week following the news that profit warnings from other US ad companies had started a run on… Continue reading WPP And Gannett Speak Out To Reassure Investors

April figures from Italy confirm that the advertising recession has now reached the only remaining European market to have been showing growth. An analysis by ABN Amro shows that growth in April was just 1.7%, compared to 6.0% in the first quarter. Techonology and telecommunications adspend halved in the month, mirroring the experiences of the… Continue reading Ad Recession Hits Previously Strong Italian Market

To an assembled audience of advertising honchos in Cannes, Jupiter announced yesterday that it was cutting its global online advertising forecasts for 2001 from 47% growth to just 12% due to the extreme uncertainty of the market. Top advertising executives from around the world are in Cannes for the annual International Advertising Festival to compare… Continue reading Jupiter Slashes Online Ad Forecasts

Despite the current fall-out in the advertising market and creeping negativity toward all things online, the internet is still as compelling a distribution medium this year as it was last. This is one of the findings of a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) – Global Entertainment And Media Outlook: 2001-2005. The research claims that the… Continue reading Spend On Internet Will Lead Global Media And Entertainment Industry, Says PWC

Media giants WPP and Gannett have both been making reassuring noises this week designed, no doubt, to allay investors’ fears in these difficult economic times. According to the Guardian, WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell met with analysts last week following the news that profit warnings from other US ad companies had started a run on… Continue reading WPP And Gannett Speak Out To Reassure Investors

The success of online business may actually be contributing to the sense of economic decline in 2001 in many companies in the US and abroad, according to ActivMedia VP, Harry Wolhandler. He reckons that whilst many of the pure dotcom companies have failed, those that are merging on- and offline commerce are increasingly taking their… Continue reading Ecommerce Successes May Account For Sense Of Economic Decline, Says ActivMedia VP