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United Business Media (UBM) and BT have this morning announced the immediate sale of their jointly-owned portal and internet service provider (ISP), LineOne, to Tiscali S.p.A, an Italian telecommunications company. Tiscali is paying €100 million (£63 million) for the LineOne business; €20 million in cash and the rest in around 5.4 million Tiscali shares. In… Continue reading UBM And BT Sell LineOne For £63m

Anne Robinson-hosted elimination quiz show, The Weakest Link, has been exported to the NBC television network in the US, where it is currently pulling in large audiences. According to an analysis of Nielsen Media Research viewing figures by Mediaweek.com, NBC achieve the highest primetime ratings in the Adults 18-49 and 25-54 categories; each grew by… Continue reading Weakest Link Proves Early Hit For NBC

Media communications group WPP has this morning posted first quarter organic revenue growth of 6% – including, for the first time, the Young & Rubicam network. This is lower than the 10% analysts at ABN Amro had expected and well below the 13.8% growth posted by rival network Omnicom yesterday (see Omnicom Shows Strong US… Continue reading WPP Q1 Results Disappoint Market And Brokers

Christopher Bland is quitting his position as chairman of the BBC to take up the same role at British Telecom. He will replace the out-going BT chairman Iain Vallance on May 1 but will keep his role at the BBC until a suitable successor is found.Keeping both jobs could lead to a conflict of interest… Continue reading Bland To Step Down From BBC Chairman Role

Media communications group WPP has this morning posted first quarter organic revenue growth of 6% – including, for the first time, the Young & Rubicam network. This is lower than the 10% analysts at ABN Amro had expected and well below the 13.8% growth posted by rival network Omnicom yesterday.Regionally, North American revenues were up… Continue reading WPP Q1 Results Disappoint Market And Brokers

Emap Elan’s Looks magazine is to be relaunched with an increased celebrity focus, a new logo and the title Celebrity Looks from the June issue this year.Since its launch in 1985 the magazine has been a fashion and beauty title aimed at 16-25 year olds. Its circulation, which began around the 130,000 mark, peaked at… Continue reading Emap Moves Looks Into Celebrity Territory

Channel 4 has promised to “encourage a younger generation in the values of public service broadcasting” with its programming priorities for 2001/2002. Commenting on the statement of intent his channel submitted to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) this week, director of programmes Tim Gardam commented, “Too often regulation has become an arid calculation of the… Continue reading Channel 4 Statement Of Intent To Continue Innovation And Quality

The new president of the IPA has warned that the advertising industry in the UK is losing its creative touch. Addressing the IPA members’ lunch with his inaugural speech this week, Bruce Haines warned that hard work was needed to stay ahead.“We need to do much, much more to promote the quality of our work… Continue reading New IPA President Tells Industry To Embrace Creativity

Goldman Sachs lowered its 12 month price target for BSkyB yesterday, causing shares in the satellite broadcaster to fall 36½p to £8.45. Terrestrial TV companies Carlton and Granada also had a bad day, as the market remained unconvinced by its revamp plans for ONdigital (see Prebble Heads Up An Integrated ITV). Carlton shares ended the… Continue reading Sharewatch

“Forecasting industry trends and revenues is far more challenging this year than at any other time in recent history. The margin of error cannot be determined through statistical analysis. The degree of uncertainty in the market is extraordinary, impacting so many different areas of media and advertising.” This is according to Jack Myers, chief economist… Continue reading Myers Prefers To Err On The Pessimistic Side In His Forecasting