MediaCommunications

MediaCom View: This £30m buyout would essentially be seen as a land grab. A deal like this would include valuable capacity on Freeview used by Emap for the broadcast of its music channel The Hits. Unlike satellite, digital terrestrial bandwidth is limited so this would be a smart move by C4 given C4+1 will soon take over from Film4+1. Secondly, this would open up opportunities in the satellite arena for Channel 4. And finally, given the scrutiny surrounding C4’s PSB requirements and their recent statements suggesting they require subsidising, we shall see how civil servants and potential buyers of Channel 4 will react.

MediaCom View: NRS have made the decision not to publish the long awaited first set of readership figures for the London evening free sheet market. This is the second piece of bad news in two weeks for News International and Associated following Westminster Councils decision that circulation will be curtailed if an agreement on waste disposal can not be reached. The decision not to publish was made following concerns that NRS had only interviewed an extremely small number of readers for both titles. This calls into question the ability of the NRS to accurately measure young, time poor, London based professionals who are traditionally unwilling to sit interviews. NRS are hoping the results of self completion questionnaires will remedy this issue and have set a new release date of the 13th September.

MediaCom View: Radio groups are reporting double-digit growth in revenues for the summer months, as a new-found faith in radio advertising takes effect. GCap, Chrysalis, Virgin and GMG said they anticipated an increase in revenues year on year for June, July and August. Sales directors say the figures indicate a resurgence of confidence in Radio. With the newly formed Radiocentre improving the profile of the medium, award winning Channel 4 entering the radio market with the second digital multiplex and Charles Allen's Global Radio buying Heart FM's parent company Chrysalis Radio, the industry is looking forward to a re-appraisal of the importance of Radio advertising. There is more econometric evidence of the responsiveness and effectiveness of Radio advertising and non-spot activity and this combined with tighter targeting through niche interest digital stations like Oneword, Gaydar and Planet Rock has created a positive buzz for the Radio business as a whole. Digital radio listening and penetration of DAB receivers is growing and despite being a 'traditional' medium, Radio has shown that it is moving with the times by offering Dabverts, Podcast audio content, music downloads direct from Radio to mobile (Cliq) and the first digital radio EPG. The Radio groups can't relax yet but things are certainly looking up at present.

MediaCom View: While this statistic is impressive it actually doesn't tell the whole story. Regular users of the messenger service (the key driver of the volume) will know that the application generally sits open far longer than it is actually used, as it can sit idle behind other applications until a message is received. So 'time spent' in this case is not a necessarily a proxy for 'engagement'.