Online auction sites, in particular eBay, are the main retail beneficiaries of the social networking phenomenon, according to new research from Hitwise, receiving 31.4% of all downstream traffic that social networks send to shopping and classifieds sites.The online intelligence service added that the more traditional retail categories – department stores and apparel and accessories sites… Continue reading Online Auction Sites Main Retail Beneficiaries Of Social Networking

GMG Radio is terminating its advertising sales contract with Global Radio after negotiations broke down last week.The sales contracts were inherited by Global Radio when it acquired Chrysalis earlier this year (see Chrysalis Radio To Sell For £170 Million).It now looks likely that GMG will give the contract to GCap Media, which currently sells national… Continue reading GMG Ends Ad Sales Contract With Global Radio

Pearson, which owns the Financial Times and Penguin, has announced that for the first nine months of 2007, underlying sales were 6% higher and operating profits 20% higher than in the same period last year. The group said that for the full year, it remains on course to achieve strong underlying growth on its key… Continue reading Pearson Operating Profits Up 20%

New research from eMarketer has found that consumers from Western European nations such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are among the world’s keenest users of the web. However, eMarketer says that there are still differences in the rates of internet usage and broadband penetration from country to country. Karin von Abrams,… Continue reading Western European Consumers Amongst keenest Web Users

The majority of US web marketers are bullish on social media spending, according to a recent survey of over 50 businesses and organizations conducted by Prospero Technologies, a provider of social media applications for leading brands. According to Prospero’s 2007 Social Media Survey, 59% of respondents reported that social media performance in 2007 met or… Continue reading US Web Marketers Bullish On Social Media Spending

The BBC is set to air more repeats and less original programming, following plans to shrink the size of the corporation.Up to 1,800 staff will also be made redundant – primarily in news, BBC programme-making and regional centres. The BBC will also sell-off its flagship Television Centre, under the plans to make up a £2… Continue reading More Repeats And Job Losses At the BBC

Global Radio has pulled out of a joint venture with BSkyB to launch a radio version of Sky News.A deal was agreed between Sky and Chrysalis in March to rebrand London’s LBC News 1152 as Sky News Radio, however Global Radio, which acquired Chrysalis this summer, has decided not to go ahead with the plans.Sky… Continue reading Sky News Radio Plans Shelved

Channel 4 has signed a content deal with Disney-ABC International Television which will see US shows made available free of charge for 30 days on Channel 4’s video-on-demand channel 4oD.Viewers will be able to watch shows such as Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives with ads on PCs via 4oD for up to 30 days after… Continue reading Channel 4 Signs On-Demand Content Deal

Search engine giant Google has reported a 41.6% rise in third-quarter pre-tax profits to $1.47bn. Google’s revenues for the quarter were $4.23, a 57% increase over third quarter 2006 revenues of $2.69 billion and a 9% increase over second quarter 2007 revenues of $3.87 billion. Revenues from the UK totaled $661 million, whilst total revenues… Continue reading Google’s Pre-Tax Profits Grow 41.6%

WPP has announced that its third quarter revenues rose 4.9% to £1.48 billion, with revenues in constant currencies up 8.1%. It predicts that growth will further accelerate in 2008 with the Beijing Olympics and US Presidential elections. The group reported constant currency growth of 5% in the UK, compared with 3.7% in the first half,… Continue reading WPP Third Quarter Revenues Up 4.9%