Pan-European newspaper group Mecom has reported a 14% fall in group revenue for the first four months of 2009. Run by former Mirror Group boss David Montgomery, the company also revealed a 22% drop in ad revenue for the period. In a statement it said: “There are now indications that rates of decline have generally… Continue reading Mecom reveals 14% fall in revenue

New research has found that online advertisers believe there is room for improvement in terms of audience measurement. Over 800 executives from advertising agencies, media publishers, ad networks and advertisers across the globe completed the MIA Project Audience and Traffic Measurement survey, a joint initiative between the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) and the Interactive… Continue reading Online audience measurement has “room for improvement”

A new US report from Hitwise indicates that the share of search traffic coming from paid listings is decreasing at the expense of organic traffic. In the four weeks to 9 May 2009, 7.25% of search engine traffic to all categories of websites was from paid clicks, said Hitwise. This compares to 9.84% in the… Continue reading US paid search traffic share down 26%

Havas saw total revenue drop 6% year on year to €325 million in the first quarter of 2009, with organic growth declining by 8.4%. Its UK division showed “good resistance” however, with organic growth down just 1.6% year on year. Net new business was €507 million in Q1 2009, down from €510 million in the… Continue reading Havas sees total revenue fall 6% year on year

Independent News & Media has agreed a financial standstill deal with its principal banks and bondholders, giving it until late June to negotiate the refinancing of its €200 million (£178 million) bond. The standstill period starts today and runs until 26 June. INM said that to aid the negotiations a committee of bondholders has appointed… Continue reading INM agrees financial standstill agreement

Aegis has reported an 11.6% fall in organic revenue growth for the first quarter of 2009. However, the UK media-buying and research group has predicted a “resilient” performance for 2009 overall. The company said that reported group revenues, which include effects such as a significant exchange-rate benefit, grew by 6.5%, while its Aegis Media division… Continue reading Aegis reports 11.6% Q1 fall in organic revenue

UTV Media, owner of the Northern Ireland ITV franchise and talkSPORT, has reported a 19% decline in ad revenues at its TV division and a 15% drop at its radio operation for the first four months of the year. The broadcasting group, which owns more than 20 radio stations across the UK and Ireland, said… Continue reading UTV reports 19% drop in ad revenue

While online UK newspapers draw substantial domestic audiences, most attract even larger international audiences, according to new research from comScore. comScore found that 15.9 million people in the UK visited a newspaper website in March, representing a 43% reach of the country’s online population. According to comScore, The Sun Online was the most popular online… Continue reading UK online newspapers drawing large international audiences

Total social network ad spending in the US will fall 3% to $1.1 billion in 2009, from $1.2 billion in 2008, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. This is a significant turnaround from previous years, when spending grew an estimated 33% in 2008 and 129% in 2007, said eMarketer. The primary reason for the… Continue reading US social networking adspend to fall 3% in 2009

More than half (52%) of mobile phone users are now using the mobile internet with email and social networking the most popular activities, according to new research from UK user experience consultancy Webcredible. The research polled 1,132 visitors to the Webcredible website between February and April 2009 on what they used their mobile phone for… Continue reading Email and social networking most popular mobile internet activities