Merrill Lynch is expecting 1.3% ad growth in the UK this year, a slowdown from last year’s 2.5% growth. Meanwhile, a recent forecast from ZenithOptimedia downgraded expectations for 2006 UK advertising growth by 2.0% points, and also downgraded its expectation for 2007 by 1.1% points (see ZenithOptimedia Downgrades UK Ad Growth Forecast). In the US,… Continue reading Merrill Lynch Lowers Global Ad Forecast

Global sales of mobile phone handsets to top 1.2 billion by 2011, although 2006 will be the last year of massive overall worldwide growth, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media. Starting from 2007, the rate of overall global handset growth is predicted to slow dramatically, with saturation in developed markets beginning… Continue reading Mobile Phone Handset Sales To Top 1.2 Billion

BBC director general Mark Thompson has accused BSkyB of being opposed to the government’s plans for digital switchover and against the development of Freeview.Thomson also suggested in a speech at the Smith Institute in London that BSkyB’s chairman, Rupert Murdoch, was trying to use his influence to get the government to “put a squeeze” on… Continue reading BBC Accuses BSkyB Of Switchover Sabotage

Mobile phone company Nokia booked out every advertising space in the Evening Standard newspaper in London last night, handing out 50,000 free copies in the centre of the capital as part of a promotion for Nokia’s E61 handset.In some parts of central London, Evening Standard vendors handed out free copies of the paper to customers… Continue reading Nokia Boosts The Evening Standard’s Circulation

BT Vision, the communications giant’s IPTV service, will come on to the market next month without a major marketing push, with the company waiting until next spring to fully promote the technology.The launch allows BT to stick to the autumn timetable it previously set, with some saying the subdued arrival of the product is to… Continue reading BT Vision Launches Without Major Marketing Campaign

Chairman of Johnston Press, Roger Parry, has said he will not make an offer for ITV, though he remains in the race to be the broadcaster’s new chief executive.A statement released by Johnston Press today said: “Further to recent press statements, Roger Parry announces that he has no intention to make an offer for ITV.”However,… Continue reading Parry Won’t Make An Offer For ITV

The BBC’s director general, Mark Thompson, is likely to unveil a lower figure for the proposed licence fee bid, during a speech in London to outline the Corporation’s final strategy in the drawn-out process.Earlier this year, the BBC said it needed an above inflation rise in the fee to fund a variety of expenses, including… Continue reading BBC To Revise Down Licence Fee Bid

A London borough is making new free newspapers, thelondonpaper and London Lite, cut the volume of vendors that distribute the titles on its streets.Just 15 vendors for each paper are to be allowed to distribute in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, down from an estimated 60, a council source told the trade press.… Continue reading Free Newspapers Told To Cut Vendors

The Cloud, a Wi-Fi hotspot network operator, has joined VoIP business Skype to enable the first mobile roaming Skype service on Wi-Fi handsets.The partnership gives Skype access to over 8,500 public Wi-Fi hotspots across Europe, including airports, hotels and railway stations.After registering a SMC Wi-Fi phone for Skype online, customers can use it to automatically… Continue reading Skype Goes Mobile

Carphone Warehouse is to buy AOL UK, the UK’s third largest internet provider, for £370 million.The agreement will see Carphone Warehouse acquire AOL’s customer base in the UK with AOL providing co-branded portal, content and other audience services and managing the online advertising sales for Carphone Warehouse’s combined broadband customer base in a revenue sharing… Continue reading Carphone Warehouse To Acquire AOL UK For £370 Million