More Media Business articles

The FT reports this morning that debt-laden German media group Kirch has begun the sell off of key assets in order to satisfy demands from its creditors. This includes Formula One, 58% owned by Kirch, which was sold by Bernie Ecclestone to Kirch for £1 billion. It is now thought that the Formula One magnate… Continue reading Kirch Sell Off Begins

The existing US television ownership rules must be reviewed, a US Appeals Court has determined. Currently, TV station ownership is restricted so that no one network can reach more than 35% of US households (see Viacom Networks Leave NAB Over Audience Limit); it also prevents operators from owning cable systems and broadcast TV stations in… Continue reading US Television Ownership Restrictions Must Be Reviewed, Says Court

WPP, the global advertising and communications group, has beaten expectations with its full year financial results showing a pre-tax profit of £490 million, up 29% on the previous year, despite the prevailing tough advertising market conditions. Despite the strong performance, WPP says that it expects advertising growth to remain flat in 2002, with no predicted… Continue reading WPP Results Beat Expectations, But Shares Dip

The proposed £50 million merger between internet research group NetRatings and its main rival Jupiter Media Metrix has collapsed following opposition from US anti-competition authorities, it has emerged. NetRatings, which is 64% owned by VNU, announced last October that it planned to acquire Jupiter MMXI’s global operation and integrate it with its own online research… Continue reading £50m Internet Measurement Merger Collapses

Capital Radio has bought Greater Manchester’s Big AM analogue and digital licences from the Wireless Group for £250,000. The licences will be rebranded as Capital Gold, increasing the potential audience of the Capital Gold Network from 15.8 million to 18.1 million adults. The deal builds Capital Radio’s presence in the ‘lucrative’ North West region. The… Continue reading Wireless Group Sells Manchester’s Big AM Licences To Capital

Advertising expenditure in Japan fell by 0.9% in 2001 year on year, according to figures released by Dentsu, the country’s largest ad agency, as reported by ABN Amro today. Adspend for the year was Yen6,058 billion. The decline follows an increase of 7.2% in 2000 – the first gain for the industry in three years,… Continue reading Japan Advertising Falls 0.9% In 2001

Liberty Media’s agreed E5.5 billion deal to acquire six cable franchises from German media group Deutsche Telekom looks set be approved by the country’s Government, despite speculation that it might be blocked on competition grounds (see Liberty Media’s Deutsche Telekom Cable Deal Hits Regulatory Snags). The German Cartel Office is known to be concerned that… Continue reading German Government Set To Allow Liberty’s Cable Acquisition

There is a strong interest among UK digital TV subscribers in sending and receiving messages such as voicemail, short messages (SMS), email and instant messaging on their TV sets, according to research conducted by Continental Research on behalf of Comverse. The findings indicate a large potential for TVUM (unified messaging over TV), says Comverse. The… Continue reading UK DTV Customers Would Pay For TV Messaging Services, Finds Comverse

A new report from Andersen, focusing on mobile applications using digital content, forecasts a market worth E18.9 billion by 2006. The report, commissioned by the European Commission DG Information Society, forecasts that the mobile digital content market in western Europe will rise to E18 billion over the next 4 years. Currently the mobile market is… Continue reading Mobile Digital Content Will Be Worth E18.9 Billion By 2006

Capital Radio and UBC Media Group have announced the formation of a joint venture to develop digital radio data services in the UK. Capital owns regional and local digital radio licences and UBC controls data capacity on the digital multiplexes owned by the MXR consortium. Under the terms of the new venture, Capital and UBC… Continue reading Capital Radio And UBC Team Up To Push Digital Radio Multimedia Content