VNU, the parent company of Nielsen Media Research, has announced that it is proposing to acquire the 39.5% stake in NetRatings that it does not already own. Nielsen is currently increasing its efforts to integrate its TV ratings systems with NetRatings online audience estimates to make a product that would enable advertisers and agencies to… Continue reading VNU Could Acquire Rest Of NetRatings

The proportion of UK households with broadband will almost double, from 34% at the end of 2005, to 64% three years later, according to a new report from Point Topic. Remote rural areas where penetration is lowest at the moment will grow fastest and catch up with the rest of the country to some extent… Continue reading 64% Of UK Households On Broadband By 2008

US terrestrial radio operators experienced a 5% sequential increase in unique visitors to their websites in August, according to the JPMorgan & Co Internet Radio Scorecard. The report shows that internet radio operators were down 3.5% during the month, with unique visitors on internet radio operators’ sites increasing 1.5% each month since August 2005. Meanwhile,… Continue reading Visitors To US Internet Radio Sites Decrease In August

European internet users’ time spent online has overtaken that spent reading newspapers and magazines, according to a new report from JupiterResearch. The report shows that European users now spend an average of four hours per week online, compared with just two hours in 2003, while time spent on newspapers and magazines is just three hours.… Continue reading Europeans Spend More Time Online Than Reading Newspapers

Setanta Sports is to offer a subscription channel on Freeview, meaning that any home with a set top box will be able to receive the channel for a monthly fee.Viewers will be able to take the channel on a stand-alone basis and not have to pay for a package deal, as is the case with… Continue reading Setanta Sports To Offer Channel On Freeview

Google has acquired YouTube, the video sharing website, for $1.65 billion (£884 million) in a stock-for-stock transaction. When the acquisition has been completed, YouTube will retain its brand identity and strengthen and complement Google’s own video business. In a statement, Google said that the number of Google shares to be issued in the transaction will… Continue reading Google Acquires YouTube For $1.65 Billion

Google is continuing negotiations to acquire video-sharing website YouTube, in a deal estimated to be worth $1.6 billion (£857 million). The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the week, with industry figures saying that the acquisition could see Google’s AdWords, its online ad program, incorporated into the YouTube site. Meanwhile, according… Continue reading Google Continues Negotiations To Buy YouTube

Rumours that ITV chairman Sir Peter Burt will quit once Charles Allen’s replacement at the broadcaster has been found have escalated, sources have told the trade press. Sources have said that Burt is not enjoying the role and wants to leave as soon as possible, whilst the ITV board is said to be split over… Continue reading ITV Chairman Expected To Go

Mike Clasper, the former BAA chief executive, has pulled out of the race to take over from former ITV chief executive Charles Allen, and speculation has re-emerged that Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS, has also withdrawn. According to a report in yesterday’s Sunday Times, investors in the broadcaster are increasingly concerned… Continue reading Another Candidate Pulls Out Of Race For ITV Top Job

Two thirds of US online gamers are female, according to Nielsen Interactive Entertainment’s newly released third annual Active Gamer Benchmark study. The research, which puts the total figure for active gamers (those who play for more than one hour per-week) in the US at 117 million, says that 56% of those play online and 64%… Continue reading Two Thirds Of US Online Gamers Are Female