Global media and market research company Aegis Group is confident of the coming year, despite a broader downturn in the advertising market, according to its financial results this morning. It has reported a rise in pre-tax profits of 21.4% to £78.4 million and turnover of 19.2% to £5.7 billion. The figures are in line with… Continue reading Aegis Confident For 2001 As Profits Rise 21%

IPC Media is set to launch its first technology title. Web User will be available in both print and web form from March 22, targeting the burgeoning home net user sector with straightforward advice and information. The group poached Jim Lennox, editor of Computeractive, to head up the magazine. He said of the launch: “The… Continue reading IPC Unveils Web User Magazine

The New York Times is planning to launch an online copy of the print version of the paper, according to a report on ZDNet yesterday. The paper is hoping to sell electronic reproductions of the print version for people who prefer that format to the current online layout of the title. The electronic paper will… Continue reading New York Times Considers Electronic Sales Of Print Format

Publishing and information group VNU releases it full-year financial results tomorrow and is expected to show a 23% growth in operating profit to €703 million, boosted by the consolidation of Neilsen Media Research (NMR). Net profit before goodwill is expected to rise from €320 million to €398 million. According to the predictions from ABN Amro,… Continue reading VNU Expected To Show Strong Rise In Operating Profit

According to the Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA), the number of subscribers to mobile Internet services in Japan exceeded 30 million at the end of February, Top service providers were NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode with 19.78 million, KDDI Group’s EZweb service with 6.11 million subscribers and by J-Phone group’s J-Sky service (5.52 million). Subscribers for the three… Continue reading Japanese Mobile Internet Population Exceeds 30 Million

Carlton Communications shareholders have formally approved the sale of Technicolor to Thomson multimedia at an Extraordinary General Meeting held this morning. The terms of the disposal value Technicolor at $2.03 billion (£1.41 billion). The sale has received French, EU and US regulatory approval and is expected to be completed on 16 March 2001.

The Wellbeing Network, a joint venture TV channel produced by Granada Media and highstreet pharmacy Boots, is to launch on Wednesday 14 March on the Sky Digital and ONdigital platforms. The venture, which has received an £18m investment from the two companies will initially consist of the channel, broadcasting between 9am and 9pm daily, and… Continue reading Granada Media And Boots Prepare For Wellbeing Network Launch

Reports in the press over the past couple of days suggest that PA Sporting Life may be put on the market by its owners, the Press Association and Trinity Mirror. The price is rumoured to be somewhere in the region of £25 million and would include the subsidiary site totalbet.com, the online betting site 50%… Continue reading PA And Trinity Mirror Propose Sale Of Sportinglife.com

Radio First has entered a five-year broadcasting deal with BSkyB, it has been confirmed this morning. The arrangement will see Radio First’s network of football club-related digital radio stations broadcast, regionally, via Sky Digital. Shares in Radio First were suspended on Friday pending the announcement (see Radio First Suspends Shares Ahead Of Major Agreement). Radio… Continue reading Radio First Confirms 5-Year Deal With BSkyB

US consumer and business magazines advertising volumes fell by almost 10% during February, according to analysis of data from the Publishers Information Bureau by ABN Amro. Whilst ad pages dropped by 9.7% to 18.6 million, revenues were fairly flat at £1.2 billion, down 0.3% year on year. Media, retail, automotive and technology advertising were weak,… Continue reading US Mag Advertising Drops 10% In February