A merger of Channel 4 and Five would not be approved by competition authorities, according to a new report by Enders Analysis.The report says that if previous rulings are taken into account – such as those on the merger of Carlton and Granada, BSkyB’s 17.9% stake in ITV and Project Kangaroo – it is unlikely… Continue reading Channel4/Five merger “would not be approved”

Lord Carter, the new minister for communications, technology and broadcasting, is expected to recommend the relaxation of rules on local media ownership in order to stop further job losses. One of the main recommendations in Lord Carter’s interim Digital Britain report, due to be published this month, will focus on helping newspaper groups by allowing… Continue reading Local media ownership rules expected to be relaxed

Virgin Media has today unveiled its Samuel L Jackson fronted ad campaign for its 50Mb ultrafast broadband service.A 20 second TV ad will air from tomorrow with its first high profile slot on ITV1 during the FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Preston.The ad showcases the light running through Virgin Media’s fibre optic… Continue reading Virgin Media unveils ad campaign for 50mb broadband

Talks have broken down between Tiscali and BSkyB after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement about the satellite broadcaster’s takeover of the internet business. It is understood that Tiscali was holding out for a figure in the region of £600 million while Sky was considering an offer of around £450 million. In… Continue reading Talks break down between Sky and Tiscali

At the start of December, GroupM forecast that total UK advertising spend would fall by nearly 6% year on year in 2009, the worst of any developed country. GroupM said that UK national newspaper advertising would be down 12% year on year this year, regional titles down 13%, and the business-to-business magazine sector down 14%… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – December 2008

More than $25 billion in advertising revenues will be drained from media companies between January 2008 and December 2010, sparking an “advertising depression”, according to media economist Jack Myers. Total US marketing communication budgets will decline by a staggering $56 billion during the same period – down 2.4% for 2008, -6.7% for 2009 and -2.3%,… Continue reading US ad revenue down -6.7% in 2009

The number of people using their mobiles to access social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace has rocketed this year, according to new research by Orange. The study found that the combination of cheap or unlimited internet access tariffs and advanced handsets, which make it easier for people to log on to their favourite… Continue reading Mobile social networking rockets

ITV1’s New Year’s Eve special will see rock superstar Elton John and special guests perform a spectacular 90-minute show to see in 2009.Elton’s New Year’s Eve Party – Live from The O2 Arena, hosted by Kate Thornton, follows last year’s ITV1 special, Countdown to Midnight: Take That & Guests live at The O2 Arena.The show,… Continue reading Elton John to see in the new year on ITV1

There will be no NewsLine service on Thursday 18 December due to a company event.We will return first thing Friday morning with all the latest industry news and coverage of Thursday’s main media stories.MediaTel Group: 0207 439 7575 www.mediatelgroup.co.uk

eMarketer has cut its forecast for UK online ad spend, predicting that it will grow 7.2% in 2009, down from its May forecast of 17.2%. The online research firm expects UK online ad spend to reach £3.34 billion in 2008 and £3.58 billion in 2009. Karin von Abrams, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the… Continue reading UK online ad spend forecast to grow 7.2% in 2009