The board of AOL Time Warner has elected Dick Parsons to both the post of chairman and chief executive, following the departure of Steve Case (see AOL Chairman Quits Following Shareholder Unrest).Analysts have suggested the decision reflects a shift in the balance of power within the company, as Case who headed up the America Online… Continue reading AOL Time Warner Puts Faith In Old Media
Peter Shea is relinquishing his role as director of sales at Sky Media to make way for his deputy, Mark Chippendale.Shea is to remain at the broadcaster in a consultancy role and it is believed he will be managing Sky’s relationships with industry associations.Chippendale will report directly to Airey and is the second appointment since… Continue reading Airey Continues Shake-Up At Sky
The Radio Authority has upheld complaints against Emap’s Manchester-based Key 103 station after it invited listeners to participate in a sweepstake to predict the time of death of notorious Moors murderer Myra Hindley.The Authority received three complaints over the competition, which was felt to be in bad taste and immoral. The complainants said they had… Continue reading Radio Authority Raps Emap Over Death Sweepstake
News Corporation has made conciliatory overtones to Brussels in a bid to gain regulatory approval for its takeover of Telepiù, the Italian pay-TV arm of Vivendi Universal. Rupert Murdoch has agreed to pay in the region of E900 million for the operator which he plans to merge with News Corp’s own pay-TV venture, Stream to… Continue reading Murdoch Makes Concessions On Telepi
The media sector was under pressure on Wednesday as three brokers inflicted heavy downgrades on the already fragile sector.Goldman Sachs forecast that the sector would continue to be dogged by uncertainty. The broker cited muted advertising prospects, geopolitical fears and high valuations.Dresdner KW downgraded Carlton and Granada, claiming that although merger upside and an ad… Continue reading Sharewatch
The current advertising outlook is one of cautious optimism, with most forecasters predicting the start of a slow and steady improvement in growth rates this year. In the US, revenue growth is on course to outperform the global average, leading the way to recovery. Radio has had a very good recent run and television is… Continue reading Current Ad Growth Bubble May Not Hold, Warns Myers
Channel 4’s chief executive, Mark Thompson, has emphasised the channel’s commitment to public service broadcasting, by promising greater investment in British programming, riskier scheduling and more commitment to new talent over the coming year.Thompson told delegates at yesterday’s Oxford Media Convention that defining and delivering its version of public service broadcasting is the single most… Continue reading Thompson Confirms Channel 4’s Public Service Commitment
Home broadband access grew by 59% in the US during 2002 as an increasing number of internet users made the switch from dial-up services. Nielsen//NetRatings estimates that 33.6 million Americans now access the net via a high-speed connection in the domicile. Narrowband users still make up the majority of the internet population but last year… Continue reading US Web Users Move Into The Fast Lane
Advertising and public relations company, Chime Communications, has announced it is to sell 49% of its Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury (HHCL) advertising agency to WPP.WPP will pay £3.5 million in cash for the stake in HHCL, which will become part of WPP’s international Red Cell network. Chime will have the option of selling the remaining… Continue reading Chime Communications Sells 49% Of HHCL To WPP
ITV airtime revenue could be down by as much as 10% year on year in February and March, according to estimates from Merrill Lynch analysts. The dip is partly due to advertisers’ reluctance to spend whilst there are large uncertainties over the short-term future of consumer spend. However, the ‘great irony’, as Merrill points out,… Continue reading ITV Revenues Drop As Audiences Improve
