The Financial Times is to launch a social networking service for media and technology executives.The FT Media and Technology Executive Membership Forum is being launched with the aim of enabling senior executives to “maintain contact with peers and luminaries operating within the digital, new media, mobile and telecoms sectors”.Forum members will receive complimentary passes for… Continue reading FT Launches Networking Website for Senior Executives

ITV’s online TV service has failed to increase its visitor numbers since November, while the BBC’s iPlayer has been recording strong growth.ITV’s simulcast and catch-up TV service had a peak of around two million views of full length TV shows and clips in January, down by 200,000 views from its peak in November.Full length TV… Continue reading iPlayer Outperforming ITV.com

New research from the Periodical Publishers Association places a value – at a conservative estimate – of around £27 billion on the UK business media industry for 2007. The report says that for 2008, total revenue for UK business media is expected to be in excess of this figure, although only marginally so, given the… Continue reading UK Business Media Industry Worth £27bn

US internet advertising revenues for 2007 are estimated to grow to $21.1 billion, according to preliminary figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This is a 25% increase over the previous revenue record of nearly $16.9 billion for full year 2006. Q4 2007 revenues totaled approximately $5.9 billion, making it the highest… Continue reading US Online Ad Revenues For 2007 Estimated To Reach $21bn

Yahoo!’s shareholders have launched a lawsuit against the board as it faces the challenge of a hostile takeover from Microsoft. According to a report on MediaGuardian.co.uk, the suit, filed by two investment funds from Detroit, accuses Yahoo!’s board of adopting a “just say no to Microsoft” attitude, which has led to “improper defensive measures” and… Continue reading Shareholders Launch Lawsuit Against Yahoo!

Reed Elsevier has put its business-to-business publishing arm, Reed Business Information, up for sale. Sir Crisping Davis, Reed Elsevier chief executive, said that RBI’s advertising model did not fit with the company’s subscription based focus. A potential value of between £1 billion and £1.3 billion has been estimated for RBI, publisher of titles including Variety,… Continue reading Reed Elsevier To Sell B2B Division

England took on France on Saturday evening in the Six Nations rugby tournament, with England running out deserved winners.England won by 24 points to 12 in a hard fought match, with the result owing more to guts and determination than flamboyant displays of skill.A peak of 5.8 million adults (a 27% share of the audience)… Continue reading 5.8m Watch England Triumph Over France

Google has topped a list of the UK’s top 500 business brands, beating Microsoft and BBC Worldwide, according to the latest Superbrands annual report.Google, along with fellow internet giant eBay, is the only brand in the top 50 to have emerged after 1990.The list shows that media brands are having a greater impact than classical… Continue reading Google Named UK’s Top Business Brand

Worldwide sales of digital TV set-top boxes broke through the 100 million barrier for the first time in 2007, according to the latest research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service.The report, Digital TV Set-Top Boxes: Global Market Forecast, found that sales reached 102.4 million units last year, an annual increase of 12%. IPTV’s… Continue reading Popularity Of Digital TV Reaches Record High

Virgin Media is to appeal against the Competition Commission’s ruling that Sky must reduce its stake in ITV, saying that it does not go far enough.In a statement, it said: “While Virgin Media strongly supports the Competition Commission’s conclusions that the acquisition has led to a substantial lessening of competition, it is appealing the Competition… Continue reading Virgin Media Launches Legal Challenge To Sky-ITV Share Ruling