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Shareholders at UPC, Europe’s largest cable operator, have approved plans to press ahead with a restructuring programme that will enable the group to emerge from bankruptcy protection. At a meeting in Amsterdam, an overwhelming majority of shareholders were in favour of a debt-for-equity swap that should secure the future of the network. UPC wants to… Continue reading UPC On The Road To Recovery

A crisis is brewing at Bertelsmann, the European media giant, following a war of words between the company’s ruling family and senior management. Tensions were stirred up last week when Bertelsmann patriach Reinhard Mohn gave an interview in which he criticised the ‘vanity’ of past managers. This, he said, justified his family’s majority control of… Continue reading New Battle For Power At Bertelsmann

The management of Scholz & Friends, Germany’s largest advertising group, is preparing to bid for the business in a bid to extricate it from the Cordiant Communications network. A report in today’s Financial Times claims that the managers have the backing of private equity groups to buy out Cordiant’s 77% stake in the agency which… Continue reading Cordiant Contemplates Management Buyout At German Agency

There are no signs of recovery in the financial information markets, Reuters CEO Tom Glocer told a news conference this morning, as his group posted heavy losses. Reuters Group as a whole unveiled revenues down by 8% during the year to 31 December 2002, with pre-tax losses coming in at £493 million, largely stemming from… Continue reading Reuters Chief Sees No Signs Of Recovery As Losses Soar

The chief executive of RTL, Europe’s biggest commercial broadcaster, has quit to take charge of the telecoms operator Belgacom. The departure of Didier Bellens throws into doubt the future direction of RTL which has a 65% stake in Channel 5 and interests across the continent. Bellens is credited with guiding the company relatively unscathed through… Continue reading RTL Chief Leaves For Pastures New

Cordiant, the troubled international advertising group, is coming under increasing pressure to sell off assets in a bid to shore up the share price and reduce debts in excess of £200 million. Reports in the weekend press intimated that the new chief executive David Hearn is planning to strip down the company to include only… Continue reading Market Downturn Takes Toll On Cordiant

In an overview of the worldwide market, sixteen companies have been named as the main drivers of digital media and entertainment. In-Stat/MDR set out to produce a report that identifies those organisations at the vanguard of digital broadcasting development. Twelve corporations were classified as Media Mega Companies including AOL Time Warner which despite its recent… Continue reading In-Stat/MDR Reveals ‘Media Megas’ And ‘Influencers’

BSkyB added 244,000 new customers to its digital satellite pay-TV platform in the final three months of 2002, taking the total to 6.6 million, slightly ahead of broker forecasts (see BSkyB Subs To Grow 14% In Q2, Say Merrill Lynch Forecasts). The half-year was a good one financially for Sky, with tight cost controls paying… Continue reading BSkyB Shows Strong Half-Year Figures, On Target For 2003

America Online, the world’s leading ISP faces an uncertain future as US consumers switch to high-speed internet services. That is according to a new study from Strategy Analytics. The report entitled Can AOL Bridge Its Broadband Gap claims that the troubled internet service provider will haemorrhage hundreds of millions in revenue even if it manages… Continue reading AOL Faces Up To Growing Broadband Threat

Havas, the world’s sixth largest advertising group, has reported that revenues fell by 11% during 2002 as austerity measures continued to bite. The company managed to attract more than a €1.6 billion of new business last year but the worsening state of the European market contributed to negative organic growth of 5.8%. Overall revenues were… Continue reading European Downturn Hits Havas Revenues