The worst performance in yesterday’s media market came from SMG, which saw shares fall 8.03% to close at £1.37˝ following speculation that the company was about to quit Scottish Radio at a loss.Carlton and Granada saw stock fall yesterday after Deloitte & Touche confirmed that it is preparing ITV Digital for sale (see ITV Digital… Continue reading Sharewatch
Debt-laden cable company NTL (see NTL Rejects Liberty, But Merger With Telewest Could Still Make Sense) announced this morning that a deal with bondholders had been agreed in principle which would see operations divided between two companies in order to facilitate recapitalisation. NTL said that agreement had been reached “in principle on recapitalisation terms with… Continue reading NTL Rescue Plans Revealed
The IPA’s quarterly Bellwether report, published today in the Financial Times, has given more credence to the argument that the media recession is coming to an end, revealing that more of the 200 advertisers surveyed raised their current year marketing budgets in the first three months of this year, rather than cutting them.Of those advertisers… Continue reading Hope For Recession End From IPA Bellwether
Real terms advertising growth will not return in the UK until 2004, according to the latest ad forecasts from Zenith Media, released today. Real term growth The figures show that the five major European ad markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK will show a combined real terms growth (after accounting for inflation)… Continue reading UK Will Not See Real Terms Ad Growth Until 2004, Say Zenith Forecasts
The Mirror has dropped its red masthead and has reverted back to its original title, the Daily Mirror, as part of a revamp to position itself as a “serious” newspaper.The new look paper, which debuts today, features a new masthead with white letters underlined in red, while a picture takes up the whole of the… Continue reading Mirror Drops Red Top For New Look
Marketing and advertising optimism may be on the up in the UK, as the first quarter 2002 IPA Bellwether Report shows that current marketing budgets are being revised upwards for the first time since Q2 2000. Budget revisions When asked if pre-set budgets for the coming financial year have been increased, reduced or left the… Continue reading Insight Analysis: Latest Bellwether Report Indicates Mixed Feelings
The Wireless Group (TWG) and Emap have formed a joint venture to apply for the local digital multiplex radio licences in Swansea and Stoke-on-Trent.The arrangement will see TWG take a 70% stake in the venture, while Emap takes on the remaining 30%. As part of the agreement Emap will also take a 20% stake in… Continue reading Emap And TWG Team Up For Multiplex Bids
ABN AMRO this morning reports that Zenith will downgrade its ad spend forecasts for 2002 citing a ‘lag’ in US spending as adspend struggles to catch up with the improving economy. Zenith now believes that the advertising market will not recover until Q4 2002. The new figures from Zenith compare with those from ABN AMRO… Continue reading Zenith Downgrades ‘Overly Optimistic’ 2002 Forecasts
The ITC has published its annual report and accounts for 2001. In it, the Commission looks at what it terms the “severe financial pressures on the commercial sector”, evaluates its public commitments to produce a rich genre mix of high quality programming and assesses the changes in public tastes.Introducing the report, Sir Robin Biggam, ITC… Continue reading ITC Publishes 2001 Report And Accounts
According to analysis of March circulation figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), the overall circulation for national newspapers fell 0.9% compared to February.The heaviest loss in percentage terms was at the Daily Express, which saw a 4.9% decrease compared to the previous month. In numbers terms, the biggest fall was at leading daily… Continue reading ABC National Newspaper Round-Up – March 2002
