John Hardie, commercial director at ITV has unexpectedly quit to take up a position at Walt Disney overseeing the groups TV operations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. DCMS head of strategy and communications, Paul Bolt, has been appointed director of The Broadcasting Standards Commission. David Wheldon has been promoted to the role of… Continue reading Appointments Brief
ITV will issue the tender specifications for its national news contract in the next week and ITN will face competition for the first time.ITN, which is jointly owned by Carlton, Granada, UBM and Reuters will be challenged by Channel 3 News, a consortium formed by BSkyB, CBS, Bloomberg, Chrysalis and Ulster TV.An ITV spokesperson today… Continue reading ITV News Up For Grabs As Bidding Process Begins
UK advertising and PR group, Chime Communications, this morning said it is positive about the outcome for the first half of the year, despite less ‘buoyant’ market conditions. Lord Bell, chairman of Chime Communications, told the company’s AGM that pressure to reduce costs has been increased and that the group’s services have been widened internationally.… Continue reading Chime Communications Sees Positive First Half
Media analyst group ABN Amro has downgraded its global ad forecasts following a “weaker than expected start to 2001”. Estimates for global advertising growth, which had previously stood at 3.4%, have now been reduced to just 1.3%.Amro cites weaknesses in the telecoms and technology markets, shifts in media mix by FMCG companies and the current… Continue reading ABN Amro Downgrades Global Ad Forecasts
Stock in Granada ended yesterday’s trading flat at 167p following the group’s financial results (see Continued Ad Revenue Woe At Granada, But Results Are Top End Of Predictions), but started to fall again this morning over continued worries that there is no visible end to the current advertising downturn. By 10:30am stock was down 6¼p… Continue reading Granada Financial Results – Reaction
After announcing a pre-tax loss of £69m in its interim results yesterday (see Continued Ad Revenue Woe At Granada, But Results Are Top End Of Predictions), shares in Granada remained stable, holding at £1.67.The boat continued to rock for Bright Station with shares plunging 17.2% to close at 7¼p, with a loss of 1½p. This… Continue reading Sharewatch
April figures from Italy confirm that the advertising recession has now reached the only remaining European market to have been showing growth. An analysis by ABN Amro shows that growth in April was just 1.7%, compared to 6.0% in the first quarter. Techonology and telecommunications adspend halved in the month, mirroring the experiences of the… Continue reading Ad Recession Hits Previously Strong Italian Market
Vivendi Universal is to restructure and cut costs at its French television business, Canal+, according to press and analyst reports. Over 200 jobs are likely to go as Vivendi steers towards hitting its broader target of a 35% EBITDA growth at Canal+. ABN Amro believes that Vivendi will miss this target, given that profits at… Continue reading Vivendi To Cut Jobs And Costs At Canal+
Newspaper sales and press advertising revenues grew in many countries last year, according to the World Association of Newspapers’ (WAN) World Press Trends report. Globally, there are more titles and a higher circulation than ten years ago, says the survey. In countries where there has been a recent decline in sales, this has begun to… Continue reading World Newspaper Sales Increase In Many Countries
New figures from Competitive Media Reporting (CMR) report that ad spend in the US is down 5.2% for Q1 2000 when compared to the same period last year. Total ad spend has dropped from the Q1 2000 total of $23.8 billion to $22.6 billion for the first quarter of this year. Top advertisers such as… Continue reading US Q1 Ad Spend Figures From Competitive Media Reporting
