More Industry News articles

After more than two years of investigations, the Office Of Fair Trading (OFT) has concluded that BSkyB, whilst holding a dominant market position, has not been operating in breach of the competition law (see OFT Proposes Ruling Against BSkyB). Margin squeeze The OFT has been investigating complaints from rival pay-TV operators that Sky abuses its… Continue reading BSkyB Has Not Acted Anti-Competitively, Finds OFT

US business-to-business (B2B) advertising spend decreased by 9% in October, whilst advertising page volumes decreased by 10.6%, according to the latest figures from American Business Media (ABM). This is an improvement in the rate of decline, with overall growth this year standing at -16.7%; pages are down by 16.9% in the calendar year. “In spite… Continue reading Decline Eases Slightly In US B2B Advertising

Over 95% of business broadband subscribers in the US connect to the internet via DSL or cable modems, according to a report from In-Stat/MDR. The company stated that in-ground broadband services are expected to retain their hold on the business community with total subscribers set to increase from 4.8 million last year to 15 million… Continue reading US Firms Turning To DSL And Cable Broadband

Freeview could face an uphill struggle over the next year as it competes for audience share with Sky and cable digital services, according to new research from BMRB. The figures show that only 9% of those without digital TV said they would be very interested in buying a £99 set-top box to receive Freeview next… Continue reading Only One In Ten Very Interested In Freeview

“The world wide web is tightening up,” according to a new report from eMarketer, which shows that more and more websites are now charging for access to content and more and more consumers are willing to pay for it. Across the board, from financial data to news to music, the availability of free content is… Continue reading Days Of Free Web Content May Be Numbered, Says eMarketer

Online shopping sales hit the £1 billion mark during November, as customers turned to the web in a bid to avoid the pre-Christmas high-street rush, according to the Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG). The retail monitoring group found that web spending was up 10% on the previous month when £860.5 million was exchanged online… Continue reading Internet Shopping Is A Billion Pound Industry, Says IMRG

NTL has announced that it now has half a million residential broadband internet customers. The cable company launched the new 1-Megabit service earlier this year, claiming that a combination of a powerful cable modem and NTL’s fibre optic network make the service twenty times faster than a normal dial-up internet connection. Commenting on the success… Continue reading NTL Reaches Half A Million Broadband Users

Despite weekend speculation regarding a dispute with a prominent creditor, Telewest is confident that it will complete its financial restructuring early in 2003. The indebted cable firm is currently negotiating a new £2 billion loan that will enable refinancing to take place (see NTL And Telewest Press Ahead With Refinancing Plans). Telewest is planning to… Continue reading Telewest Positive On Restructuring Plan

The ITC has suspended a TV ad for alco-pop WKD on the grounds that it may encourage the teasing and bullying of effeminate men.The ad takes place in a changing room and features a group of football players laughing at a man who they have tricked into standing in an effeminate fashion.The ITC received a… Continue reading ITC Rulings Suggest Increasing Homophobia In Ads

Week on week analysis of the media sector paints a rather grey picture, with stocks falling across the board following the FTSE 100 under the key 4,000 level. Bearish sentiment was compounded by investors’ unwillingness to stake major positions before the Christmas break.Cable & Wireless saw the sector’s most significant loss, down 47.90% week on… Continue reading Sharewatch