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Jean-René Fourtou, the new chief executive of Vivendi Universal, yesterday met with senior management for a strategic review amid speculation that he is planning to sell off parts of the debt-ridden media group. Vivendi is some E16.7 billion in arrears and talks over a financial rescue package are ongoing. Nonetheless, the FT reports that the… Continue reading Vivendi Assesses Break Up Options

Reports in the weekend press suggest that SMG is considering selling its television arm, which includes both Scottish TV and Grampian TV. According to the Independent on Sunday, SMG is looking to reduce substantial debts and sees the television interests as valuable assets which could raise over £400 million. Carlton Communications has already been linked… Continue reading SMG May Offload TV Business

The two commercial French television stations, TF1 and M6 are set to complete their takeover of the country’s second largest satellite operator, TPS. The duo are buying the 25% stake of the company owned by the utilities group, Suez for E160 million. TF1 will now have a two-thirds share in TPS with M6 owning the… Continue reading French TV Groups Swoop For TPS

AOL Time Warner has been rocked by the resignation of one of its most senior executives as the sense of crisis deepens at the world’s largest media company. The chief operating officer, Robert Pittman has stepped down as head of AOL’s internet arm, a position he only resumed in April. The advertising recession hit the… Continue reading COO Quits AOL Time Warner

RTL Group, which owns Channel 5, says it can see the first shoots of recovery in the UK advertising market. The pan-European broadcaster says that full-year results are in line with analysts’ expectations. RTL says that although advertising conditions in Germany and France remain unfavourable, there are ‘tentative’ signs of a revival in the UK… Continue reading RTL Detects ‘Tentative’ Signs Of Recovery

The president of Viacom has played down speculation that his organisation is preparing to buy a major ITV company, claiming that they are too expensive at the moment. Speaking at a conference in Boston, Mel Karmazin conceded that an approach for either Granada or Carlton Communications was unlikely in the current economic climate. “The stocks… Continue reading ITV Too Costly At Present, Says Viacom Chief

The news and information company, Gannett has announced that overall revenue slipped from $1.63 billion in the second quarter of 2001 to $1.62 billion at the same period this year. Gannett, which owns USA Today as well as regional newspapers in the US and UK, also revealed a 5% year-on-year increase in net profits from… Continue reading Gannett Reveals Q2 Advertising Revenues

The investment firm, Liberty Media has dropped its offer to buy 20% of Telewest’s bonds and withdrawn its three directors from the company’s board. A group of bondholders, unhappy with Liberty’s offer, had already filed an injunction to block the deal claiming that aspects of it were illegal (see Liberty Extends Telewest Tender). The ongoing… Continue reading Liberty Backtracks On Telewest Bid

Advertising revenues at the New York Times Company (NYTC) newspapers fell by 0.9% in June and by 2.1% for the whole of the second quarter, the company announced yesterday. Whilst the slump continues at the US newspaper group, the rate of decline is now falling. NYTC’s Q2 figures are much better than Dow Jones’ –… Continue reading Ad Decline Thrashes NYT Co Profits

Shareholder pressure has finally forced the resignation of Deutsche Telekom’s chief executive, Dr Ron Sommer. The German government, which has a 43% stake in the company, initially put the heat on Summer after a spending spree resulted in debts of E67 million. Dr Sommer announced his decision at a meeting of the company’s supervisory board… Continue reading Deutsche Telekom Chief Exits The Fray