More Uk articles

Telewest Communications has sold its 16.9% shareholding in SMG to institutional investors for 85p per share, the group confirmed this afternoon. The sale, which was given the go ahead by shareholders in September (see Telewest Set For SMG Disposal, Denies More Redundancies), raised £45.1 million for the UK cable operator. This money will be put… Continue reading Telewest Raises £45m From Sale Of SMG Stake

A consortium of German magazine group, Bauer Verlag, and Bavarian bank, HVB Group AG, has emerged as the successful suitor to the KirchMedia business, following months of bidding (see Kirch Move Prompts World Cup Rights Auction). KirchMedia, the insolvent arm of the now-collapsed KirchGruppe empire (see Kirch Investors Abandon Rescue Plans), is now in exclusive… Continue reading Bauer Consortium Takes KirchMedia

Vivendi Universal, the troubled media giant, admitted yesterday that it is under scrutiny in the United States over its accounting practices. The US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York has opened a criminal investigation and will work in conjunction with the Miami office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is carrying… Continue reading Vivendi Facing US Probe

New research from comScore has revealed that online sales of recorded music fell sharply in the first nine months of 2002, rekindling fears that consumers are flocking in droves to online file-sharing services (see Fall In US Music Sales Blamed On Internet Downloaders). comScore recently found that US e-commerce revenues totalled $18 billion in the… Continue reading Online Music Sales Hit A Low Note

Advertising revenues at many major US newspaper groups have just seen their first quarterly gain after six consecutive quarters of decline, according to estimates by Merrill Lynch. This is consistent with the pattern of recovery that was seen following the recession of 1990-1991, say analysts. Total advertising revenues fell by 9% during the full year… Continue reading US Newspapers Show First Positive Quarter Since Q4 2000

Although consumer take-up of video-on-demand (VOD) has been limited so far, cable companies are eager to promote the technology and a new study from The Yankee Group estimates that revenues will total $2.8 billion in 2006. The report, Video-on-Demand: Sustained MSO Commitment Drives Rapid Growth, claims that the leading cable operators have been swift to… Continue reading Cable Operators Throw Weight Behind VOD

Monday’s media sector experienced a substantial rally, following the broader London equity market upwards, after some bullish guidance from investment banks and a mighty surge on Wall Street late in trading on Friday.BSkyB was the sector’s biggest riser up 9.74% after chief executive, Tony Ball, talked subscriber targets up in the weekend press. The stock… Continue reading Sharewatch

SMG is currently outperforming the market in its television, radio, outdoor and cinema businesses, leading Merrill Lynch to upgrade its investor recommendation on the Scottish media company from neutral to buy.The broker says that SMG is gaining share amongst the ITV franchises, whilst the company’s Virgin Radio station is showing revenue growth year on year… Continue reading Solid Performance At SMG Gains Merrill Lynch Upgrade

With just 50 days to go until Christmas, Sky Active has launched a new shopping service dedicated to all things festive.The channel will be called ‘Christmas Gifts’ and is available to all Sky Digital subscribers. It will stock a wide variety of products from around 60 high street retailers.Sky will be running a number of… Continue reading Sky Launches Christmas Channel

Classic FM has secured a £650,000 sponsorship deal with Baxters soup for its Classic FM Lunchtime Request Show.The sponsorship, which begins this week, will last for six months and include trails on the show and links on Classic FM’s website. The strapline for the campaign will be: “Lunchtime request in association with Baxters Soup –… Continue reading Classic FM Secures Baxters Sponsorship