GCAP merger could mean disposal of stations...
MediaComment: A key Ofcom requirement is the 'two plus one rule' that there must be at least 2 separate commercial radio operators plus the BBC in a given licence area. Incredibly, it is thought that despite the future combined group having six stations in London, including Heart 106.2 and 95.8 Capital FM, it will not present regulatory problems because there is a sufficient choice of stations in the capital that are owned by Global's competitors. MediaCom are waiting to see whether the deal is agreed before passing comment but our initial concern is the potential for the new group to syndicate programming and not allow enough diversity of content across UK radio. This could mean that the strength of local radio to reach the consumer is greatly diminished as listeners find alternative routes to local content.
Outdoor advertising spend up 7.2% in fourth quarter...
MediaComment: It was reported this week that AOL has purchased Bebo for £417m, and it would seem like the perfect time for the couple that set up the social networking site to sell up! One of the largest sites in the UK and with more than 40 million members world-wide viewing an average of 78 pages per day, It's difficult to see how much more Bebo could grow. Furthermore, traffic to other large social networking sites seem to be stagnating (or, insome cases, falling) as users migrate to the more niche social networking experiences offered by sites such as eons.com or asmallworld.net
