French marketing services company Havas has reported a 39% year-on-year increase in operating profit to €168 million (£128 million) for 2007. Havas, which owns media agencies Euro RSCG, Media Planning Group and BLM, also posted a rise in net income of 81% to €83 million (£63.3 million). It recorded 9.8% organic growth in the Q4… Continue reading Havas Reports 39% Rise In Operating Profit

GCap Media’s plans to sell off Digital One, its DAB digital radio multiplex, have reportedly been put on hold as it continues talks with Global Radio about a possible acquisition. Last week, GCap resumed talks with Global Radio after Global made a third and “final” offer for GCap Media, valuing the Capital Radio and Classic… Continue reading GCap Puts Plans To Sell Digital One On Hold

The European Commission has given Google unconditional approval to go ahead with its £1.55 billion takeover of online advertising network DoubleClick. Following an investigation which began last November (see ITV Welcomes Ofcom’s Public Service Proposals), the commission found that the merger would be unlikely to have harmful effects on consumers. Third parties such as Microsoft… Continue reading Google Gets EU Approval For DoubleClick Takeover

Regional media business Archant has announced a 3.4% increase in operating profits to £30.5 million for the full year 2007. In a preliminary statement to shareholders, chairman Richard Jewson identified strengthening advertising revenues, continued progress in the magazines business, and tight cost control as contributors to increase in operating profits, despite the sale of its… Continue reading Archant Announces 3.4% Operating Profits Increase

A consortium of four private equity groups is preparing a bid for Virgin Media worth between $6 billion and $7 billion, according to a weekend report. A report in the Observer said that a private document titled ‘Project Coaxial’ shows that Blackstone, Cinven, KKR and Providence are prepared to approach Virgin Media. The consortium is… Continue reading Private Equity Consortium Prepares Virgin Media Bid

In February, a forecast from eMarketer predicted that 42.8 million Britons will go online in 2012, accounting for about 70% of the population. The UK Internet Users and Usage report said that although the UK is a mature broadband market, penetration is still increasing steadily, with survey data suggesting that 90% of at-home users will… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – February 2008

The BBC iPlayer has now launched on the iPhone and iPod touch, with the BBC’s head of digital media technologies saying that the Corporation is working on making the iPlayer available more browser-enabled devices over the coming months.Anthony Rose said: “We started with iPhone because it is the device most optimised for high quality video… Continue reading iPlayer Launches On iPhone

ITV1 dominated the ratings on Sunday night, with its prime time shows from 6.30pm to 11pm all pulling in an average adult audience in excess of seven million.Dancing On Ice managed to lure the highest number of viewers of the night, with Over 7.9 million tuning in for the main programme and over 7.7 million… Continue reading ITV1 Dominates Sunday Night’s Ratings

The BBC has today launched a new version of bbc.co.uk for mobile devices, which emulates the revamped online version of bbc.co.uk.New content on the site includes a new section for BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat.Matthew Postgate, BBC controller of mobile, said: “The refresh of our mobile browser service comes at a critical moment in the development… Continue reading BBC Launches New Version Of Mobile Website

ITV has signed a deal with Bebo which will give Bebo’s 40 million worldwide users access to premium ITV content.ITV will have a member profile on Bebo, and the ITV profile will host different media channels, each promoting individual programmes.Bebo users will be given the opportunity to become ‘fans’ of programmes, meaning they will be… Continue reading ITV Signs Video Deal With Bebo