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Newly merged broadcasting giant ITV has announced it is on target to save £100 million in the first set of results to be published since its multi-billion pound merger was completed in February. The results also reveal a 2% drop in the broadcaster’s net advertising revenue for 2003. ITV has blamed this on a reduced… Continue reading ITV On Target To Save £100 Million From Merger

New research from the Branded Content Marketing Association estimates that branded television content will quadruple by the end of 2004 as advertisers search for more cost effective ways to promote their products. The research, which was conducted across major terrestrial and non-terrestrial broadcasters, found that the £5 million spent on branded programming last year could… Continue reading Advertiser Funded Television To Take Off In 2004

Merrill Lynch has upgraded its ad revenue forecast for ITV after the newly-merged TV giant said it has seen “positive signs” in the market. In ITV’s first financial results release yesterday (see ITV On Target To Save £100 Million From Merger), the company said it expects ITV1 advertising in the first quarter of 2004 to… Continue reading Merrill Lynch Upgrades ITV Ad Forecasts

Centaur Communications is expected to be floated on AIM next week following its sale to Numis Securities. A holding company, Centaur Holdings, set up by Numis, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to buy the B2B publisher, which includes The Lawyer and Marketing Week in its portfolio, for £145m. It plans to float… Continue reading Centaur To Float On AIM Next Week

The Barclay brothers are understood to be putting together a new deal to buy the Telegraph titles, which could include finding a private equity partner to launch a bid for all the assets of Hollinger International. The reclusive media moguls were forced to rethink their options last week after a US court scuppered the £260… Continue reading Barclays Seek Equity Partner For Hollinger Bid

The Financial Times posted a loss of £32 million during 2003, as advertising revenues slumped 15% and sales continued to fall. A cost-cutting programme across the business daily has failed to stem losses, which were £9 million higher than in 2002, according to the full-year results of its parent company Pearson released today. The company… Continue reading Losses Widen At FT And Outlook Remains ‘Uncertain’

Rumours of exploratory merger talks between Channel 4 and Five have been confirmed with the possibility of a full merger of the two commercial broadcasters now being discussed. Earlier this month is was suggested that Channel 4 chief executive Mark Thompson and Lord Hollick, chairman of United Business Media, the minority shareholder in the Five… Continue reading Channel 4 Confirms Merger Discussions With Five

Lord Conrad Black was last night described by a US judge as cunning and calculated as a ruling was passed blocking his sale of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph to the Barclay Brothers. The ruling by Delaware’s Court of Chancery could allow Hollinger International to press ahead with the auctioning of its papers to the… Continue reading US Court Blocks Sale Of Hollinger To Barclay Brothers

WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell indicated that an end to the worst advertising downturn in memory is in sight as the company posted a solid 18% increase in pre-tax profit, to more than £473 million for 2003. The global advertising and marketing network, which owns J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather and Young &… Continue reading WPP Takes Bullish Stance As Pre-Tax Profits Rise

Trinity Mirror has announced plans to raise the cover price of its flagship Daily Mirror by 3p to 35p and has revealed that its national newspapers are beginning to see an improvement in advertising revenue. The price of the Daily Mirror will increase from next Monday in an audacious move that will make the paper… Continue reading Daily Mirror Cover Price To Rise As Group Profits Increase