The BBC has announced that it is ending its £85 million five year carriage agreement with BSkyB and from 30 May it will broadcast its eight TV channels unencrypted on digital satellite.The BBC’s director general, Greg Dyke, said: “This is an important decision for the BBC which will save us a considerable amount of money.… Continue reading BBC Terminates Sky Carriage Deal
The advertising industry and rival commercial broadcasters have welcomed the Government’s decision to refer the proposed merger of broadcasting giants, Carlton and Granada, to the Competition Commission (see ITV Merger To Be Investigated By Competition Commission).ISBA, the voice of British Advertisers, claims that a merger of the broadcasters, which could lead to the unification of… Continue reading Ad Industry Welcomes Scrutiny Of Planned ITV Merger
The BBC is hailing the launch of its new digital entertainment channel, BBC3, a success and is claiming that 2.4 million viewers in its target audience of 25 to 34 year-olds have tuned into the channel in its first month on air.The channel, which launched earlier this year after a series of delays and setbacks… Continue reading BBC Hails New Digital Channel A Success With Youth Audience
UK advertising expenditure rose by 4.9% year on year during the fourth quarter of 2002 to £3.7 billion. This brings total adspend for the year to £13.9 billion, an increase of 0.8% on the previous year. The latest figures compiled by the World Advertising Research Centre for the Advertising Association show that outdoor was the… Continue reading Fourth Quarter Sees Boost To UK Adspend
Carlton Communications and Granada’s proposed £2.6 billion merger has been referred to the Competition Commission on the grounds that it could potentially lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” in the market for television airtime sales. Trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, today confirmed the decision, which will end hopes that a lengthy investigation of… Continue reading ITV Merger Referred To Competition Commission
Sky Active has secured Coca-Cola UK to launch its first ever interactive ad campaign to support its TV and SMS-based “Txt For Music” promotion.The campaign, negotiated by Universal McCann, aims to drive additional registrations to the Coca-Cola SMS database, through a music promotion that offers consumers the chance to win limited edition CDs and tickets… Continue reading Sky Digital Secures Coca-Cola For First Interactive Ad
US advertising spend rose by 4.2%, according to new figures from CMR/TNS Media Intelligence. The group says that this growth was stronger than had been expected. CMR/TNS reports that total ad spending for 2002 came in at $117.3 billion, compared to $112.5 billion in 2001. The growth is a result of “a strong second half… Continue reading US Adspend Rises 4.2% In 2002, Finds CMR
Specialist consumer magazine publisher, Future Network, moved into the black during 2002, posting a £10.7 million pre-tax profit, according to this morning’s financial results. This follows a difficult 2001 when the group made a loss of £121.0 million.Future launched 13 new magazines last year and saw advertising revenues rise by 7% and circulation revenues rise… Continue reading Future Network Moves Into Profit In 2002
2002 was a difficult year for internet businesses in the US and a new report from Webmergers claims that little more than $23 billion was spent on acquisitions, a decline of 70% on the previous year. Increased consolidation in the sector ensured that dealmaking remained active with 1,087 internet companies changing hands. This was equivalent… Continue reading Internet Dealmaking Remains Prevalent In 2002
Around 20% of mobile phone users will soon have handsets capable of receiving multi-media messages (MMS), according to a study by Continental Research.The Winter 2003 Mobile Phone Report shows that 4% of mobile phone users already have phones capable of sending and receiving photo-messages, with a further 14% likely to get the feature when they… Continue reading Multi-Media Messaging Shows Potential For Advertisers
