Media buying and market research firm, Aegis Group, has this morning announced the acquisition of leading French digital agencies Planète Interactive and Webcontents, integrating the new businesses with its existing Isobar network.The purchases, which cost Aegis a combined €9 million, will be payable in cash over three years and subject to strict performance conditions.Planète Interactive… Continue reading Aegis Boosts Isobar With French Digital Agencies

The BBC’s epic historical drama Rome conquered all in its path last night, drawing a massive 6.3 million adults and securing a 28.2% share with its hour long debut at 9pm.Going head to head with ITV’s network premiere of Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, Rome trounced its sci-fi competitor, which averaged a… Continue reading BBC’s Rome Conquers All With 6.3 Million

IPA director general, Hamish Pringle, has called for increased investment from major players in the online industry to fund reliable audience measurement of the web.In an open letter published by Media Week, Pringle claims that ahead of the launch of the IPA Touchpoints survey it is now important to improve online audience measurement.“The lack of… Continue reading IPA Boss Calls For Investment In Online Measurement

ITV failed to outdo the BBC with its football coverage last night, as the UEFA Champions League match between Liverpool and Anderlecht drew an average of 4.1 million adults.The Corporation’s antidote of Holby City and Eastenders proved much more attractive, winning ratings of 6.3 and 9.9 million respectively. However, the final episode of new drama… Continue reading BBC On Top With Soap And Drama

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has announced the purchase of Asserta Holdings, owner of UK property portal Propertyfinder.com, for £14.3 million.The purchase gives News Corp a sizeable stake of the online property market, with the ten year old site currently used by over 2,000 estate agents and visited by around 700,000 house hunters each month.The purchase… Continue reading News Corp Splashes Out £14 Million On Property Site

TV search engine TV Genius is to react to Britain’s growing interest in online video by adding internet TV to its comprehensive and popular guide.The popular TV listings site will now provide users with information on premium online video sources, such as the BBC, Fox, CBS, RooTV, the Internet Archive and Forbes alongside listings for… Continue reading TV Listings Service Recognises Online Programming

News International (NI) has announced the purchase of online property site propertyfinder.com for £14.3 million, with the deal further extending Rupert Murdoch’s presence in the internet arena. Propertyfinder.com was jointly purchased by media group NI and Australian property firm realestate.co.au, with the agreement expected to raise awareness of the propertyfinder brand through NI’s newspapers and… Continue reading NI Buys Online Property Site

US consumers spent a massive $987 million on online content during the first half of 2005, enjoying a 16% increase year on year and reflecting a surge in entertainment spend, according to a new report from the Online Publishers Association. Boosted by rising sales in digital music, the research shows the Entertainment/Lifestyles sector to have… Continue reading Entertainment Industry Boosts Online Usage

The cable television industry is increasingly relying on cable modem services and digital video services, with a new report from In-Stat projecting the total number of world-wide digital cable television subscribers to rise to over 108 million by the end of 2009, up from the current 44 million. The high-tech market research firm also forecasts… Continue reading Cable TV Sector Pushed Forward By Digital Market

New estimates from American analysis Goldman Sachs predict 2005 to be the US newspaper industry’s worst since the last advertising recession, with further gloom forecast for 2006. “2005 is shaping up as the industry’s worst year from a revenue growth perspective since the recession impacted 2001-2002 period,” the analyst claims, adding that growth next year… Continue reading US Newspaper Market Facing ‘Worst Year Since Recession’