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Vivendi Universal is believed to be considering a new bid for its US entertainment businesses from the oil tycoon Marvin Davis. It is alleged that Davis held a closed doors meeting with Vivendi boss Jean-René Fourtou last week in which he offered $15 billion for VUE, which includes Universal Studios and Universal Music. He has… Continue reading Davis Makes New Offer For VUE

It seems that the most common phrase emanating from advertising prognosticators at present is ‘cautious optimism’. This could be a brave euphemism for hoping for the best in continuing weak conditions, or it could be a reluctance to get excited about the fact that figures are looking up (just in case they start to fall… Continue reading INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – January 2003

Cordiant Communications has chosen Nigel Stapleton to be the company’s next chairman, replacing Charlie Scott who announced his intention to step down last September (see Cordiant Chairman Follows Bungey And Jumps Ship). Stapleton, who was formerly joint-chairman at Reed Elsevier, will take the helm on March 1. He is charged with the responsibility of reversing… Continue reading Cordiant Appoints New Chairman

Forever Broadcasting, the Newcastle-based independent radio company, today said that it has experienced encouraging trading for its first quarter to 31 December 2002, although no actual growth figures were given. The group pointed to yesterday’s RAJAR figures showing a 9% quarter on quarter and 30% year on year growth in listeners across its stations as… Continue reading Forever Broadcasting In Bid Talks, Trading Strong

Advertising revenues at the New York Times Company increased by 16.7% in December, when compared with the same month in 2001, it was announced yesterday. Growth was particularly pronounced at the flagship New York Times title where ad revenues were up by 21.6% year on year. This was largely the result of an upsurge in… Continue reading New York Times Ends 2002 On A High

Wednesday proved to be another black day for AOL Time Warner as it reported the largest annual loss in corporate history and announced the departure of vice-chairman Ted Turner. Declining revenues at America Online took their toll and management was forced to write down the value of the ISP by $45.5 billion in Q4. This… Continue reading AOL Time Warner Posts Record Loss, Turner To Quit

Radio revenues at GWR Group were flat in the final three months of 2002, despite a 14% increase at the group’s flagship Classic FM station, the company announced in a trading statement this morning. National airtime revenues were also flat, whilst local sales dropped by 4%. Like-for-like revenue figures for January 2003 are expected to… Continue reading GWR Group Sees Flat Revenues, Cautious On Outlook

A slow but steady improvement in sales continued throughout 2002 for outdoor contractor, Maiden Group, although turnover is not likely to achieve the levels anticipated at the release of the group’s financial results in September (see Maiden Pushed Into Red By Tough First Half). The recovery slowed significantly towards the end of 2002, with a… Continue reading Maiden Sees Good Start To 2003, But Demand Is Inconsistent

France Télécom has completed the sale of the Dutch cable operator Casema in a deal worth €665 million. Providence Equity Partners and the Carlyle Group will each take a 46% share of the business with GMT owning the remaining 8%. Casema is the third largest cable television operator in the Netherlands and has approximately 1.3… Continue reading Casema Sold To Private Equity Groups

According to press reports, AOL Time Warner has sold its 8.4% stake in Hughes Electronics, the parent company of DirecTV. The Wall Street Journal claims that a $800 million deal has been brokered with the Bank of America which is expected to sell the shares on the open market. Hughes is a subsidiary of the… Continue reading AOL Sells Hughes Stake For $800 Million