Groupe Bollore, headed by Havas chief executive and French entrepreneur Vincent Bollore, is preparing to increase its stake in Aegis, fuelling industry speculation over a possible take-over bid for the media and communications business. According to reports this weekend in the Sunday Times, Bollore intends to push his stake up to almost 20%, after increasing… Continue reading Groupe Bollore To Push Aegis Stake To 20%

During September, internet uptake and consumption was central to the media industry, with a number of reports showing strong growth for the platform and discussing the implications this has on the advertising world. Research published at the beginning of the month by online magazine, Direct claimed that marketers are shifting their adspend onto online, with… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – September 2005

UK advertising expenditure is forecast to rise by 2.3% at current prices this year, with online adspend expected to lead the way in terms growth; up 39.6% according to the latest predictions from the Advertising Association’s (AA) Advertising Forecast. The figures, complied and researched by the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC), cover all media and… Continue reading UK Adspend To Rise By 2.3%

BSkyB is to allow advertisers to sell goods directly to customers through interactive TV advertisements, with viewers able to purchase using a credit or debit card directly via their TV set.Viewers pressing red during an interactive advert will now be able to leave the broadcast stream and be taken to a specially created dedicated advertiser… Continue reading Sky Plans Purchases Through Interactive Ads

UKTV is to launch a dedicated sports channel later this month, according to reports this morning, with the name UKTV Sport being used in a soft launch next week.According to the Guardian, the new channel is the result of extra funding secured by UKTV, which has enabled the project to go ahead after years of… Continue reading UKTV To Launch Sports Channel

ITV chief executive Charles Allen was today branded as the broadcaster’s “architect of decline” in an open letter from John Billett, chairman of consulting and auditing company Billets.The letter from Billett to Campaign magazine paints the ITV boss in a very poor light, stating that his preoccupation with revenues has led to a decline in… Continue reading Allen Is ITV’s ‘Architect Of Decline’ Says Billetts Boss

The Independent on Sunday is to follow its weekday counterpart and publish in tabloid-only format from next week, ending months of speculation over the title’s future in broadsheet format.The shift, which will take place on 16 October, leaves just three Sunday newspapers in broadsheet format, with the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Observer yet to… Continue reading Independent On Sunday To Make Tabloid Switch

French entrepreneur Vincent Bollore has further increased his stake in Aegis, pushing it up to 13.35% and heightening industry speculation of his intentions surrounding the media communications company. The move follows Bollore slowly raising his profile in the firm, gaining share throughout August from 9% just last week. Earlier this week, global advertising agency, WPP,… Continue reading Bollore Pushes Aegis Stake To 13.35%

Online advertising expenditure has overtaken outdoor adspend for the first time this year, reaching £490.8 million in the first half of 2005, an increase of 62%, according to new figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC). Online was shown to achieve a share of 5.8% in the first half of the… Continue reading Online Adspend Over Takes Outdoor

An increasing number of mobile phone users play and download games on their mobile phones, with a new study from NPD Group showing that 27% of users play games on their handsets. Downloading mobile phone games is seen as a potential source of revenue for mobile phone operators, however. According to Telephia 36% of games… Continue reading Mobile Game Downloading On The Rise