RTL Group, owner of Five, recorded growth in earnings of 12.3% in 2006, following strong performances in Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Five made a €1 million (£680,000) loss in 2006, which RTL puts down to the slowdown in the advertising market and the cost of launching the two digital channels, Five Life and… Continue reading RTL Records 2006 Earnings Growth

Marston’s, the UK’s largest producers of premium cask ale, is to sponsor Sky’s on-air and online coverage of the cricket World Cup which begins in the Caribbean next week.The sponsorship covers sponsorship credits and break bumpers on Sky Sports broadcast coverage and branding on World Cup sections of skysports.com.Every match is being screened exclusively live… Continue reading Sky Gets Cricket World Cup Sponsor

Nokia has announced that it is to launch two mobile advertising services.Nokia Ad Service is a service for advertisers to conduct targeted advertising on mobile services and applications. Nokia Ad Service consists of a group of mobile publishers forming a mobile ad network and a platform to deploy, manage and optimise mobile advertising campaigns.Nokia has… Continue reading Nokia To Launch Mobile Ad Services

Michael Grade bemoaned ITV’s lack of innovation as the broadcaster announced a decline in full-year pre-tax profits from £311 million to £288 million.In a financial statement released today, Grade said: “There is a lack of innovation in our programming, partly resulting from a fear of ratings failure and the punitive consequences that follow under the… Continue reading Grade Says ITV Lacks Innovation As Profits Decline

Virgin Media is offering discounts to customers thinking of ending their contracts following the dispute which saw Sky’s basic channels removed from the cable platform.Disgruntled customers will be offered discounts on a case by case basis, according to reports in the trade press, with the XL TV package expected to see a discount of around… Continue reading Discounts For Virgin Media Customers

Former Radio 1 DJ Mark Goodier is joining Smooth Radio to present the station’s mid-morning show from March 26.GMG Radio’s Smooth FM changes its name to Smooth Radio on March 26 and Goodier is just one of several presenters lined up for the relaunch (see Collins Goes From Virgin To Smooth).He will be on air… Continue reading Mark Goodier To Join Smooth For Relaunch

ITV has announced that its full-year pre-tax profits slipped from £311 million to £288 million. Turnover for the year to 31 December 2006 was £2.18 billion, compared to £2.19 billion in 2005. Digital channels showed strong growth, with revenue up 41% at £157 million, partly offsetting ITV NAR down 12% at 1.28 million. ITV content… Continue reading ITV’s Profits Decline

Johnston Press has announced that its 2006 pre-tax profits were down 6% to £146.7 million. In a statement released today, the Edinburgh based group said that revenues this year would be similar to those recorded for 2006. Digital revenues at he publisher were up 36% to 11.3 million for 2006. However, it also said that… Continue reading Johnston Press Sees Profits Fall

Aegis has announced that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday 4 April to vote on Vincent Bollore’s nominations to the board. The Aegis board has again advised shareholders to vote against Bollore’s nominations, having seen off two previous attempts to gain representation on the board (see Bollore Fails Again In Aegis Board… Continue reading Aegis Announces EGM Date

The twenty largest cable and telephone providers in the US, who represent about 94% of the market, achieved record high-speed internet additions in 2006, according to new research from Leichtman Research Group (LRG). LRG says that combined net additions for the year totaled over 10.2 million subscribers – a total that exceeded the previous record… Continue reading 2006 Was Record Year For US High-Speed Internet