Regional newspaper group, Johnston Press, saw overall revenues for the year reaching £520.2 million, a slight year on year increase of 0.2%, reflecting the recent depression in the market. Operating profit for 2005 was £177.7 million, while underlying earnings per share were up by 2% year on year, reaching 38.62p. Elsewhere, the group’s digital publishing… Continue reading Johnston Trading Affected By Weak UK Advertising Market

Last night saw ITV1’s detective drama Rebus trumped by BBC One’s rival sleuthing series Dalziel and Pascoe, with the Corporation scoring just under 6 million, compared to ITV’s 5.4.The commercial giant outperformed the BBC in other areas, however, scoring over 10 million adult viewers on average for both episodes in a Coronation Street double bill… Continue reading ITV Pipped By BBC Detectives But Stays Strong With Soaps

Strategic communications agency Tonic is to rebrand as Progress, with plans to develop a digital media offering to tackle the next wave of development in electronic media.Progress’ new digital arm will broaden the agency’s abilities, but requires a third partner to join founders Geoff Seeley and Tim Elton.Explaining the rebranding and expansion, Seeley said: “We… Continue reading Tonic Rebrands As Progress Ahead Of Digital Expansion

Emap Advertising’s full marketing communications service, Emap2, has secured its first deal, a six figure promotion for car manufacturer Audi.The campaign, which will run across Emap’s men’s titles Arena, Empire and Q, is designed to target “up-market, intelligent men who are passionate about style, film and music.”Supporting the launch of Audi’s new RS4, the magazines… Continue reading Emap2 Secures First Promo Deal For Audi

The Hallmark Channel has undertaken its first rebranding in five years, replacing its familiar crown logo with a series of dramatic landscape scenes.The new channel idents coincide with the first anniversary of ownership by Sparrowhawk Media, chaired by David Elstein, following the company’s purchase of non-UK Hallmark channels last February (see Elstein Successful In Bid… Continue reading Hallmark Swaps Iconic Crown For Emotive Branding

Media and communications group, Aegis, has reported an increase in revenue of 16.5%, reaching £870.4 million, with underlying profit before tax seeing a jump of 17.1%, hitting £109.8 million. Boosted by superior growth from its unique business mix, Aegis enjoyed organic revenue growth of 7.2% in 2005. The company’s digital network, Isobar, saw revenue double… Continue reading Aegis Sees Revenue Jump Of 16.5% In 2005

Mobile TV services in China look set to enjoy a surge in popularity, with In-Stat forecasting subscriptions to grow to 94 million by 2009, with 2007 expected to be the year that the services gather significant momentum. According to In-Stat’s recent Mobile TV in China: Heading for the Promised Land report, the Chinese government is… Continue reading Mobile TV In China To Reach 94 Million By 2009

Search growth rates are slowing, with paid search in the US expected to increase by 26.2% in 2006, somewhat less than last years 33.2%, according to eMarketer. This trend looks set to continue over the coming years, with the analyst asserting that starting next year and through to the end of the decade, more modest… Continue reading Online Search Growth To Slow

The online French economy is growing at an impressive rate, with the country at the forefront of many internet trends and enjoying one of the most competitive market places. According to a new report from eMarketer, over the past three years French internet users have overwhelmingly switched to broadband and are increasingly subscribing to telephone… Continue reading French Online Industry Pushing Forward

Search engine marketing is only at 10% of its potential size, with Geoff Ramsey, chief executive officer of eMarketer, forecasting the media to double over the next three years. Speaking at the recent Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo, Ramsey predicted that $10 billion would be spent on the advertising channel in 2009, up from… Continue reading Search Engine Marketing To Double By 2009