More Industry News articles

UPC has had its recapitalisation proposals approved by a Dutch court, a major step in the company’s efforts to recover from bankruptcy. The pan-European cable group was seeking authorisation to restructure debts of around €10 billion, the legacy of an ambitious acquisitions policy that took it to the brink of collapse (see UPC Files For… Continue reading UPC Wins Backing For Refinancing Plan

The race for the assets of stricken media group Kirch appears to have come to a head following news that Bauer Verlag is to withdraw from the bidding process. The publisher’s decision leaves US media magnate, Haim Saban, as the only remaining bidder for KirchMedia, which has a majority stake in ProSiebenSAT1, Germany’s largest free… Continue reading German Publisher Abandons Bid For Kirch

Cable operator NTL has announced that James Mooney is to become non-executive chairman. The appointment ends a long search to fill the position which became available last autumn when George Blumenthal, was forced out by bondholders. Mooney was most recently chief operating officer at US mobile operator, Nextel Communications. He will work alongside NTL chief… Continue reading Mooney Answers The Call At NTL

Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness, Stephen Timms, has hinted that the Government is unwilling to reconsider its plans to allow foreign ownership of UK media assets, despite the threat of significant opposition in the House of Lords. Earlier this week, head of the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the Communications Bill, Lord Puttnam, warned… Continue reading Government Unwilling To Budge On Foreign Ownership

Reuters was seen in focus, falling to levels seen last after the crash of October 1987. Persistent concerns over the effect of continued job cuts in the city and competition concerns were seen weighing on the stock, which was seen down 11.98%.The media sector was under pressure yesterday as the London equity market slumped to… Continue reading Sharewatch: Reuters Dives On City Concerns

News that Carlton and Granada’s proposed £2.6 billion merger has been referred to the Competition Commission raises the question: What can we expect to see in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in 2003?Following a raft of M&A activity in 2000, which peaked with the (arguably disastrous) AOL Time Warner deal, the number of high-profile… Continue reading Feature: Is Synergy Still A Dirty Word?

The BBC’s decision to pull out of the conditional access satellite carriage agreement that it has held with BSkyB for the last five years is unlikely to have any material effect on Sky, according to media analysts.The BBC said that it will save £85 million on a five year basis by not paying Sky for… Continue reading BBC’s Exit From Carriage Deal Will Not Hurt Sky

Advertising agencies have done little to help brand owners market their products on a global scale, according to Paul Jackson, managing partner of branding consultancy, Silverfin.Delivering a speech prepared by Globalbrander’s John Murray at ISBA’s Annual Advertising Conference yesterday, Jackson criticised agencies for their reluctance to deliver workable cross-media communications strategies capable of delivering brands… Continue reading Advertising Agencies Hamper Brand Globalisation

A consortium of some of the UK’s largest media organisations has today unveiled the first media neutral planning tool for advertisers.The tool is designed to allow agencies and clients to compare their products with the 170 key media brands outlined in the latest report from the mediaDNA group, which comprises BSkyB, Capital Radio, IPC, News… Continue reading MediaDNA Unveils First Media Neutral Planning Tool

Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness, Stephen Timms, has hinted that the Government is unwilling to reconsider its plans to allow foreign ownership of UK media assets, despite the threat of significant opposition in the House of Lords.Earlier this week, head of the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the Communications Bill, Lord Puttnam, warned the… Continue reading Government Unwilling To Budge On Foreign Ownership