Thomson and Reuters have agreed a merger which will see the Canadian news group Thomson pay approximately £8.7 billion for Reuters. The combined business will be named Thomson-Reuters, with Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer becoming chief executive of the merger company. The deal has the backing of the Reuters Founders Share Company which has the… Continue reading Thomson And Reuters Agree Merger

Endemol has been bought by a consortium including John de Mol, Endemol co-founder, and Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister of Italy, for £1.8 billion. Telefonica sold its remaining 75% stake to the consortium and as part of the agreement, Mediaset, Berlusconi’s TV production company, John de Mol and Goldman Sachs have agreed to make a… Continue reading John de Mol Buys Back Endemol

Google has been in the news a lot recently following its acquisition of the online ad company DoubleClick and the announcement of its strong profits increase for the first quarter of the year. In light of Google’s recent manoeuvres, MediaTel INSIGHT spoke to Ovum analyst David Bradshaw about where the search engine giant could be… Continue reading MediaTelINSIGHT Interview:Ovum Analyst Discusses The Future Of Google

A new report from Screen Digest predicts that by 2011 mobile TV revenue will reach €4.7 billion from 140 million subscribers. The new broadcast services, says Screen Digest, which launched in only a handful of markets, are growing rapidly. For instance, Unicast services, delivered over existing 3G networks, have begun to generate real revenues in… Continue reading Mobile TV Revenue To Grow

The latest study from Telephia and comScore on mobile v PC-based internet usage reveals that 5.7 million people in the UK used a mobile device to go online during January 2007 compared to the 30 million people age 15 or older who accessed the web from a PC (either a home or a work machine).… Continue reading 5.7 Million Use Mobile Internet In January In UK

So said Phil Georgiadis, managing partner of Walker Media at the Media Week Media 360 conference in Wales last week. Georgiadis’ point was that this led to advertisers diverting some of the money assigned to marketing their brands into search and away from traditional brand building media.The PR that Google has overtaken Channel 4 is… Continue reading Thoughts On Media 360: “It Is Dangerous To Think Of Google As A Medium”

GCap Media and the Walt Disney company have agreed to part company, with the announcement that digital only radio station Capital Disney is to cease broadcasting at the end of June.A statement was read out on-air this morning – the last day of presenter led live broadcasting will be Friday 1 June, with non-stop music… Continue reading Capital Disney To Close In June

Television start-up Iostar is to reveal today that it is going into liquidation, following its inability to raise £30 million for acquisitions.The company, which Dawn Airey, former head of Channel Five and Sky left at the end of April (see Airey Leaves IostarAirey Leaves IostarAirey Leaves IostarAirey Leaves IostarAirey Leaves Iostar www.iostar.tv

Agencies were left with much to ruminate over at the end of Media Week‘s Media360 conference last week. The position, resources and abilities of media and creative agencies were regularly called into question – and often the criticisms came from within.“I have not yet seen an agency group with a clear view of where digital… Continue reading Thoughts On Media 360: Future Role Of Agencies Examined

Chrysalis has announced a 9.1% decline in radio revenues for the six months from September to February this year. Chrysalis, which owns Heart, LBC and Galaxy, said that the decline was due to poor radio ad takings, adding that revenues for its third quarter are likely to be flat and forward bookings for the fourth… Continue reading Chrysalis Radio Revenues Decline