The Conservatives are set to pile pressure on the government to consider alternatives to the BBC license fee during the third reading of the Communications Bill today.Commenting, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, John Whittingdale MP said: “The Licence fee is a regressive tax which bears most heavily on those on… Continue reading Conservatives Press For Reform Of BBC Licence Fee
Contrary to general opinion, the advertising market is thriving and the US economy is in better shape than many observers realise. This is according to the latest analysis from Jack Myers Report.Also On MediaTel Insight Today…Broadband Boost To UK ConnectivityUK internet subscriptions increased by 7.4% during 2002, according to figures from the Office Of National… Continue reading MediaTel Insight: US Ad Economy In Good Health, Insists Myers
A group of university academics has urged the Government to rethink proposals in the forthcoming Communications Bill that will allow Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to buy terrestrial television station Five.Writing in a letter to the Financial Times, academics from London Business School, Goldsmiths College, the University of Westminster and the London School of Economics, say… Continue reading Academics Call For Five Protection In Comms Bill
Carlton and Granada were seen in focus, after City bank Morgan Stanley warned the success of Freeview could hit their revenues hard (see Freeview Launch Hits ITV Harder Than Expected). The stocks were seen down 7.84% and 7.85% week on week respectively.Elsewhere, it was a turbulent week for Cordiant, which is holding talks with bankers… Continue reading Sharewatch: ITV Partners Suffer After Broker Comments
Granada has hired John Bridgeman, a former director general of the Office Of Fair Trading (OFT), to advise it on the tricky regulatory path to its proposed merger with ITV partner, Carlton (see ITV Merger Set For Competition Commission Referral).It is understood that Bridgeman is one of a number of influential figures to have spoken… Continue reading Former OFT Director To Advise On ITV Merger
TalkSPORT has secured L’Oreal for a special promotional campaign on its No Nonsense Sports Breakfast show.The campaign will centre around daily competitions where listeners will be invited to guess the identity of a Premiership footballer who has flat, boring and thinning hair. Listeners will be invited to enter the competition by text message.The competition will… Continue reading TalkSPORT Secures L’Oreal For New Campaign
Achieving the right cross-media balance in an ad campaign increases brand sales impact by 10 to 15%, according to new research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).The research, based on analysis of campaigns for Kleenex tissues and Colgate toothpaste, aims to give marketers a formula for the optimal mix of interactive, TV, radio and print… Continue reading IAB Research Recommends Cross-Media Campaigns
Express Newspapers has entered the celebrity magazine market, with the launch of New magazine, which is set to hit the newstands today with a price tag of 60p.The group has remained tight-lipped about the project, which was incorrectly outed in the trade press earlier this month as Wow! magazine.Commenting in the Sunday Express, the editor… Continue reading Express Enters Celebrity Market
The UK’s top ten advertising agencies saw their combined billings revenue fall by 1.1% – or £27.1 million – in 2002, according to the new top 300 table published by Campaign.The figures, compiled by Nielsen Media Research, show that whilst the advertising downturn has pushed the top agencies’ revenues into negative growth for the year,… Continue reading Top 10 Ad Agencies See Billings Drop, Whilst Media Agencies Rise
Pre-tax profits at advertising and communications giant, WPP, tumbled by 50% to £205.4 million in the year ended 31 December 2002, indicating the severity of the worldwide recession and its impact on advertising and marketing services.The group this morning said that conditions are to remain tough throughout the remainder of this year. Budgets are anticipating… Continue reading WPP Profits Fall 50% In The Face Of Recession
