MediaCommunications

MediaCom View: Radio advertising revenue increased by 3.5% in the second quarter of 2006 due to investment in what the industry is now calling 'branded content'. This term refers to sponsorships, promotions and other advertising that is above and beyond conventional 'spot' airtime. The growth in this area is not surprising with advertisers constantly seeking new ways of targeting listeners that provide more cut through. The way that radio is developing may also have something to do with the change, as with listeners now able to access radio via different platforms such as DTV and the Internet, advertisers are keen to develop more integrated and creative solutions that fit with these new radio 'TouchPoints'.

MediaCom View: The analyst and consulting company Ovum predicts that China will have 79m users by the end of 2007, rising to 139m by 2010, overtaking the US to become the world's largest broadband market. With over a hundred million Chinese accessing foreign and non government sourced material through high speed internet connections it will become increasingly difficult for authorities to control access and maintain current levels of censorship - the so called 'Great Firewall of China'. Ironically, the sweeping economic reforms that have produced this new Middle Class with an appetite for the outside world, may also have created a situation where the government's tight control over the media is slowly being undermined.

MediaCom View: Following Charles Allen's Mactaggart lecture outburst towards Channel 4's finances, Ofcom have confirmed they have appointed advisers who are tasked with examining Channel 4's finances and assessing the delivery of its public service remit. Channel 4 is currently in the awkward position of arguing for more government funds in order to fund the switch to digital whilst ad revenues and profits at its channels have risen.

MediaCom View: The highly anticipated battle of the two London papers got off to a shaky start with both papers experiencing distribution problems. News International's 'thelondonpaper' and Associated's 'London Lite' both officially launched on Monday the 4th September. Each title hired distributors to hand out 400,000 copies of the newspaper to young, urbanites across the Capital. However, both papers experienced teething problems in key areas such as Sloane Street and Victoria Station which cater for the core bulk of the target audience. Both papers are aiming to reach the same group of people; therefore the editorial content is going to be crucial to their success. It is early days, but judging by the first few editions, 'thelondonpaper' appears to be a stronger proposition.