The deal to create digital horseracing and betting channel, Go Racing, could be in jeopardy as the British Horseracing Board (BHB) has so far failed to fulfil a major condition of the arrangement in a move the Go Racing CEO has described as “plainly ludicrous.”Having reached an agreement with the majority of British racecourses (see… Continue reading Go Racing Deal Could Be Halted By Pre-Race Data Problem
Vivendi Universal is to restructure and cut costs at its French television business, Canal+, according to press and analyst reports. Over 200 jobs are likely to go as Vivendi steers towards hitting its broader target of a 35% EBITDA growth at Canal+. ABN Amro believes that Vivendi will miss this target, given that profits at… Continue reading Vivendi To Cut Jobs And Costs At Canal+
John Hardie, commercial director at ITV has unexpectedly quit to take up a position at Walt Disney overseeing the groups TV operations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. DCMS head of strategy and communications, Paul Bolt, has been appointed director of The Broadcasting Standards Commission. David Wheldon has been promoted to the role of… Continue reading Appointments Brief
Newspaper sales and press advertising revenues grew in many countries last year, according to the World Association of Newspapers’ (WAN) World Press Trends report. Globally, there are more titles and a higher circulation than ten years ago, says the survey. In countries where there has been a recent decline in sales, this has begun to… Continue reading World Newspaper Sales Increase In Many Countries
ITV will issue the tender specifications for its national news contract in the next week and ITN will face competition for the first time.ITN, which is jointly owned by Carlton, Granada, UBM and Reuters will be challenged by Channel 3 News, a consortium formed by BSkyB, CBS, Bloomberg, Chrysalis and Ulster TV.An ITV spokesperson today… Continue reading ITV News Up For Grabs As Bidding Process Begins
Granada has confirmed a gloomy outlook for TV revenues in the coming months with the release of its interim results today. In the face of a 5.4% drop in broadcast advertising revenue for the first half, the company is has warned of cost cutting measures, including, it is believed, the loss of 100 jobs, in… Continue reading Granada Confirms Difficult Market With Interim Results
Leading media analysts at ABN Amro have downgraded their global ad forecasts following a “weaker than expected start to 2001”. Estimates for global advertising growth, which had previously stood at 3.4%, have now been reduced to just 1.3%. Amro cites weaknesses in the telecoms and technology markets, shifts in media mix by FMCG companies and… Continue reading ABN Amro Downgrades Global Ad Forecasts
Dr Kim Howells has been appointed Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting as the Blair government settles in for a second term. Howells, MP for Pontypridd, has been given the role of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), now headed up by Tessa Jowell (see Smith Replaced… Continue reading New Minister For Tourism, Film And Broadcasting Appointed
It seems that hopes of an advertising recovery in the second half are rapidly diminishing. ITV giant Granada this morning admitted it could see no end to the downturn (see Continued Ad Revenue Woe At Granada, But Results Are Top End Of Predictions), echoing comments made by Carlton Communications a few weeks ago (see Carlton… Continue reading Insight Analysis: Ad Downturn Could Get Worse Before It Gets Better
As expected, Granada dropped into loss during the first half of this year, mainly due to the continued downturn in ITV advertising volumes .Pre-tax loss for the six months to 31 March, after exceptionals, digital spend and goodwill, came in at £69 million. This is dramatically down on the £239 million profit the company made… Continue reading Continued Ad Revenue Woe At Granada, But Results Are Top End Of Predictions
