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Culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, has admitted that Lord Puttnam’s last minute plurality test amendment to the Communications Bill was an improvement to the recently passed legislation (see Parliament Finally Green Lights Communications Act). The Government was forced to accept the eleventh hour proposal after a group of rebel peers threatened to vote down the Bill… Continue reading Jowell Admits Plurality Test Improved Communications Act

Global information group, Reuters, has this morning unveiled a first half pre-tax profit of £87 million, following a loss of £10 million for the same period in 2002. This figure is substantially ahead of a £57 million forecast from Merrill Lynch. However, despite the strong pre-tax profit figure, Reuters’ overall revenues were down by 12%… Continue reading Reuters Moves Into Profit As Savings Plan Pays Dividends

Haim Saban, the US media investor, plans to make a second attempt to acquire the assets of the indebted Kirch media empire, according to new reports. Just six weeks after opting out of a €2 billion deal (see Kirch TV Deal Hits The Rocks), Saban has apparently returned with a reduced bid for KirchMedia. He… Continue reading Saban Back In For KirchMedia

The European Commission is prepared to take steps to stop BSkyB retaining exclusive live rights to English Premiership football matches, according to weekend press speculation. Broadcasting contracts are now up for renewal and in a bid to allay charges of anti-competitive behaviour, the Premier League has split the available games into gold, silver and bronze… Continue reading EC Could Obstruct New Sky Football Deal

The UK’s largest newspaper group, Trinity Mirror, is set to axe several hundred jobs in its advertising, administrative and distribution operations, according to reports. The Financial Times believes the job losses will be announced at the end of the month as part of a strategic review by the group’s new chief executive, Sly Bailey. It… Continue reading Trinity Set To Cut Jobs In Strategic Review

United Business Media has added to its stable of construction magazines with the acquisition of Aprovia UK for £79 million. The deal will see Aprovia, which includes The Builder Group and Barbour Index, integrated into UBM’s CMP Information division. It was bought by venture capitalists Cinven, Carlyle and Apax from Vivendi Universal in June 2002.… Continue reading UBM Builds Up Portfolio With Aprovia Acquisition

Nahed Ojjeh, the wealthy Syrian investor who has built up a 10% stake in Cordiant Communications, has received a stern rebuke from the Takeover Panel for failing to declare her acquisitions in a prompt fashion. Cordiant is the subject of a takeover bid by WPP (see WPP Seals £266m Cordiant Takeover) and in such instances,… Continue reading Ojjeh Reprimanded Over Cordiant Dealings

After months of debate and a string of eleventh hour amendments the Government’s long awaited Communications Bill has finally become law, signalling what could be the biggest shake-up of the media industry for decades. The Bill’s eight month passage on to the statute books was far from straight forward and it was feared that disagreements… Continue reading Parliament Finally Green Lights Communications Act

First half revenue growth at UK outdoor advertising company, Maiden Group, is expected to be at the top end of the previously forecast 3-5% range, the group said this morning. However, it also noted that the difficult trading conditions have continued into the second quarter of the year and that forward visibility remains limited, with… Continue reading Maiden Sees Continuing Weak Conditions In First Half

Further trading information from key advertising businesses confirms that Q2 is shaping up to be very similar to Q1, that is to say relatively flat throughout, according to Merrill Lynch analysts. As mentioned earlier this week – when the broker tweaked its US ad growth forecasts (see Merrill Lynch Tweaks Advertising Forecasts) – the US… Continue reading Agencies See Flat To Negative Second Quarter