The parent group of WPP’s Insight division, Kantar Group, has acquired China’s largest independent market research network, Oracle. Following the acquisition, Oracle will join Kantar’s Added Value network and will be branded as Oracle Added Value. Founded in 1994, Oracle employs 130 people and generated revenues of HK$65 million last year. The purchase, which follows… Continue reading WPP Acquires Oracle Market Research

Competition, falling prices and new regulations are set to spur on the number of high-definition television (HDTV) sets in US households over the next five years, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. The report predicts that by the end of this year there will be 14 million HD enabled sets in US homes,… Continue reading HDTV To Reach 37 Million US Homes By 2008

The impact of personal video recorders (PVR) is expected to hit the UK and more specifically ITV the hardest, says a new report from Merrill Lynch, with television advertising expected to drop in Britain by nearly 4.0% by 2010. The PVR – Rise of The Machines report shows, PVR penetration in the UK is expected… Continue reading UK TV To Be Hit The Hardest By PVRs, Says Merrill Lynch

Broadband is expected to reach 41% of all European homes by the end of 2008, growing from this year’s predicted target of reaching 20% (33.5 million) of all homes, says Strategy Analytics. However, the report Broadband In Europe: Competition Heats Up At Last shows, due to a lack of competition, the smaller ‘more nimble’ countries… Continue reading Broadband To Reach 41% Of European Homes By 2008

BBC Radio Stations Weekly Reach (000s) Year On Year Comparisons Station Survey Period Ending Sep 03 Ending Sep 04 % Ch 1Xtra from the BBC Q 331 312 -5.7 BBC 6 Music Q 154 228 48.1 BBC Asian Network Q 214 171 -20.1 BBC Asian Network UK H 495 473 -4.4 BBC Essex Q 252… Continue reading RAJAR Results Q3 2004: Performance By Ownership

Sky Media has appointed Paul Curtis to the newly created position of deputy managing director, following the departure of Mark Chippendale as head of advertising sales last month.Curtis, currently managing director of Viacom Brand Solutions, will report to Nick Milligan, managing director of Sky Media, with a brief to deliver more integrated solutions to advertisers… Continue reading Sky Picks Curtis As New Advertising Sales Boss

IPC’s veteran music weekly NME has secured Wella ShockWaves as the headline sponsor of its annual awards, which are to be broadcast on Channel 4 early next year.The event will be held on Thursday 17 February in London and will be promoted by a week of programming on Channel 4 featuring highlights from the awards… Continue reading NME Secures ShockWaves To Sponsor Annual Awards

The following tables show the best and worst performers, in terms of weekly reach and share of listening, of the local commercial stations broadcasting outside London. Top/Bottom 10 Weekly Reach (000s) % Change Station Survey Period Ending Sep 2003 Ending Sep 2004 % Change Star 107 (Cambridge/Ely) Y 14 39 178.6 Classic Gold 1431/ 1485… Continue reading RAJAR Results Q3 2004: Local Commercial Stations

Global information and news group, Reuters, has confirmed it is in exclusive talks with telecoms giant, BT about the sale of its financial extranet, Radianz, which was set up as part of a joint venture with communications group, Equant. As part of the deal, Reuters has agreed to purchase Equant’s 49% stake in Radianz for… Continue reading BT To Buy Reuters Financial Extranet

A growing number of households in the US are swapping their landline telephone for a mobile phone, according to a new report from Mediamark Research Inc (MRI), as the number of homes without a landline nearly doubles over the last four years. In 2000, 4.2% of households had no landline but this figure has risen… Continue reading Landlines Losing To Mobile Phones