More Media Business articles

A new survey by Landor has established that the performance of a company’s stock price does not necessarily impact on the public perception of that company. Landor questioned over 11,000 internet users in 10 countries and asked them to rank seven aspects of technology companies in terms of positive or negative impact on brand strength.… Continue reading Strong Companies Will Survive Share Price Drops

US publishing giant Hearst Corporation is backing a $1 billion (€1.17 billion) bid for the consumer magazine division of Dutch publisher VNU, according to the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ says that Hearst, publisher of Esquire and Cosmopolitan in the US, is backing a joint bid already on the table from Moscow’s Independent Media and… Continue reading Hearst Joins Bid For VNU Mags

The success of online business may actually be contributing to the sense of economic decline in 2001 in many companies in the US and abroad, according to ActivMedia VP, Harry Wolhandler. He reckons that whilst many of the pure dotcom companies have failed, those that are merging on- and offline commerce are increasingly taking their… Continue reading Ecommerce Successes May Account For Sense Of Economic Decline, Says ActivMedia VP

Rupert Murdoch is to remove some of the core assets from his digital group, Sky Global, in order to pave the way for a merger with US satellite operator DirecTV, according to a report in the Financial Times this morning. Murdoch is understood to be slimming down Sky Global’s assets in order to reduce the… Continue reading Murdoch Slims Sky Global To Seal DirecTV Deal

Goldman Sachs has downgraded its 2001 and 2002 earnings forecasts for Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, due to concerns about the retracting advertising advertising market, according to reports. The broker has reduced Pearson’s earnings per share (EPS) estimates for this year from 47.8p to 40.0p and for 2002 to 58.3 pence from 71.1p. Particularly… Continue reading Goldman Sachs Downgrades Pearson Figures

Media giants WPP and Gannett have both been making reassuring noises this week designed, no doubt, to allay investors’ fears in these difficult economic times. According to the Guardian, WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell met with analysts last week following the news that profit warnings from other US ad companies had started a run on… Continue reading WPP And Gannett Speak Out To Reassure Investors

Reports this morning suggest that talks between AOL Time Warner and IPC (see AOL Time Warner May Bid For IPC) have fallen through. The valuation of the company is thought to have been the reason for the breakdown as IPC and its largest shareholder, Cinven, deemed the offer price, of between $1.2 billion and $1.5… Continue reading AOL Time Warner Scraps Talks With IPC

Granada and Carlton Communications have hit a stumbling block in plans to bring their pay-TV businesses under the umbrella ITV brand (see Granada And Carlton Bring ONdigital Under ITV Brand), following discussions with some of the Network’s smaller franchise holders. Although all the parties involved have so far declined to comment on the talks, press… Continue reading Granada And Carlton Meet Opposition To ITV Brand Plans, Say Reports

French outdoor media company JC Decaux has delayed its IPO on the French stock market (see JC Decaux To Fund Growth With IPO On French Stock Market) following media scepticism and concerns over investor demand. The announcement follows a week of uncertainty in the French advertising industry as share prices fell following profit warnings from… Continue reading JC Decaux Cuts Price Of IPO

Two US publishing groups – Dow Jones and Knight Ridder – have announced that they are to make a number of job cuts in order to meet financial targets. Knight Ridder, the second largest newspaper group in the US, is to axe 1,700 jobs, costing the group $75 million in redundancy pay-outs. Late last year,… Continue reading US Newspaper Groups Cut More Jobs