Johnston Press has successfully completed the acquisition of Archant’s Scottish newspaper division for £11.2 million. The purchase was subject to regulatory clearance from the Office of Fair Trading and Johnston Press said today that all the necessary conditions have been satisfied. The purchase was first announced in January, with Tom Bowdler, CEO of Johnston Press,… Continue reading Johnston Press Completes Purchase Of Archant’s Scottish Titles

IPC Southbank has appointed Isobel McKenzie-Price as editorial director of Ideal Home and the division’s online homes portal launch.McKenzie-Price is currently editor of Time Inc’s All You in the US and this appointment heralds her return to these shores and to IPC Media, where she spent several years in senior editorial roles.Jackie Newcombe, managing director… Continue reading IPC Southbank Appoints Ideal Home Editorial Director

Following on from comments made yesterday by Michael Grade that the government should ensure that HD signals are available through Freeview boxes, Ofcom has said that it will conduct more research into the popularity of HD channels on the platform.Ed Richards, the Ofcom chief executive, said that the regulator is to look at the public… Continue reading Ofcom To Look Again At HD On Freeview

Haymarket Media Group is to invest a further £1.3 million in its digital offerings over the next year, following the £7 million it has already invested so far this year.The money will be spent on recruiting and hiring online project managers, designers, web editors and developers, as well as expanding its online portfolio.Eric Verdon-Roe, Haymarket… Continue reading Haymarket To Make Further Digital Investment

Hitwise has been purchased for $240 million by credit checking company, Experian Group Ltd. Hitwise is a leading marketing intelligence provider which tracks internet usage and reports on almost a million websites a day. Experian wants to shift its emphasis towards the internet following the purchase. Don Robert, Experian’s chief executive, said: “We have been… Continue reading Experian Purchases Information Company Hitwise

Response to Chrysalis’ auction of its radio operations has not reached the demand levels anticipated, according to reports in today’s Financial Times. Bids were expected from UTV as well as several private equity firms, however these have not materialised, while Guardian Media Group ruled themselves out from the bidding last month. Chrysalis had hoped the… Continue reading Little Interest In Chrysalis Auction

Google’s net profits for the first quarter of 2007 were $1 billion (£500 million), a 69% increase on the same period last year. Its revenue was up 63% to $3.6 billion (£1.8 billion) for Q1, including traffic acquisition costs of $1.1 billion, or 31% of advertising revenues. Revenues from the UK totaled $578 million, representing… Continue reading Google Records Strong Profits Increase

WPP reported a 0.7% decline in revenues to £1.3 billion in the first quarter of the year, with the UK the group’s slowest growing region. However, UK revenues were up by over 2%, which WPP said reflected the significance of market research revenues. Much of the blame for the decline in WPP’s revenues rests with… Continue reading Revenues Decline For WPP

European sales of HDTV and video devices will grow by 158% this year, reaching 28.1 million units, according to new research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service. The report, Europe’s High Definition Homes, says that by 2012, 70% of European homes will own at least one HD-capable TV, up from 8% in 2006.… Continue reading European Sales Of HDTV Devices To Reach 28.1 Million Units

A new report from In-Stat says that although social networks have been experiencing massive growth in recent years, their future remains uncertain. The high tech market research firm says that key issues for social networking sites are membership and monetisation and only sites that can dominate these issues will survive. Jill Meyers, In-Stat analyst, said:… Continue reading Uncertain Future For Social Networking Sites