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

According to new figures from Freeview, it is now the most popular way to watch multichannel TV in the UK, overtaking Sky for the first time. Freeview says that it has sold about 1.7 million Freeview TV sets and set-top boxes in Q1 2007, with about 500,000 of those going to houses going digital for… Continue reading Freeview Moves Ahead Of Sky

The BBC has just finished a trial involving the automatic downloading of 50 hours of its programmes on to Freeview digital video recorders.According to reports in the press, the corporation’s future media and technology director, Ashley Highfield, said in his keynote speech at MipTV in Cannes that such a service on Freeview would be an… Continue reading BBC Trials Downloading To Freeview Recorders

Freeview now claims to be the most popular way to watch multichannel television in the UK, having overtaken Sky.According to Freeview, it has sold about 1.7 million set-top boxes and integrated TV sets in the first quarter of 2007, with about 500,000 of those going to houses switching to digital for the first time.These figures… Continue reading Freeview Overtakes Sky

RadioCentre is launching a series of regional seminars, run by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), aimed at helping constituents “harness the power of radio in the digital age”.The first event takes place today in Manchester at the Lowry Hotel, with around 150 commercial stations, advertisers, media planners and buyers from the media and creative sphere.Key… Continue reading RadioCentre Launches Regional Seminars