Archive - Dec 9, 2003

Date

Report: U.S. Ad Market Continues Rebound; 'Net Ads Outpace Overall Growth

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:16am.
New York -- The U.S. advertising market totaled $89.6 billion during the first three quarters of 2003 -- a 7% increase over the same period in 2002 -- with Internet advertising showing an even greater 13.8% growth rate for the period, according to data released on Tuesday by New York-based analyst firm TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. Total Internet advertising for the first three quarters of 2003 totaled $4.74 billion, up from $4.2 billion for the same period in 2002. Internet advertising growth outpaced the overall broadcast (4.5%) and print (9.1%) advertising sectors, but could not keep pace with growth in either cable TV (17%) or Spanish language TV (18.3%) advertising sectors for 2003. "The consistent increase in spending this year speaks to the overall health of the ad market," said TNS Media Intelligence/CMR president and CEO Steven Fredericks.
tags: Reports | U.S | Growth | Rebound | Outpace |

Video Game Industry Gets "B" Rating from Family Watchdog Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:16am.
Washington -- The National Institute on Media and the Family, a public interest group focusing on the effects that video games have on children, on Monday released its 2003 report card for the industry, giving the overall industry a "B" rating for its efforts to label games that contain violent or sexual content, educate parents on the ratings system, and prevent minors from purchasing such titles. The report included a survey of grade school and high school students, which found that 87% of students are regular gamers, with 77% of boys reporting they own an "M" or "Mature"-rated game. Only one in five reported ever having his parents stop him from buying a game based on its rating. "The survey finds boys are not only playing M-rated video games, but are playing them for greater amounts of time without their parents' knowledge. Children's access to these "killographic" games, parents' lack of knowledge of ratings, and kid's game-playing habits, are all major contributors to the increase in casual violence and the culture of disrespect among our children," said Institute founder David Walsh. Following the release of the report, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA), a trade group of video game retailers, announced it will institute an ID check process at its member retailers by the end of 2004 to ensure that "M" rated games are not sold to minors under the age of 17.
tags: Ratings | Video Game | Watchdog |

Report: 3.5 Million MP3 Players Will Be Shipped in 2003

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:15am.
New York -- The number of MP3 digital music players shipped to retailers is expected to almost double in 2003 to over 3.5 million, and will continue to grow almost 50% per year for the next three years, according to a report from New York-based research firm Jupitermedia. The firm also predicts that demand for MP3 players with hard drives will outstrip demand for those with flash memory starting in 2004, and that by 2006, the installed base of MP3 players will top 26 million, establishing a critical mass of users that will help spur digital music sales. Jupitermedia credited the successful launch of Apple's iTunes Store and accompanying iPod player, new entries from HP and Dell for the MP3 player market, and the new crop of download stores from Napster, Musicmatch and others, for the device category's rise in popularity. "They're not quite this season's DVD player, but portable music players, combined with online music stores and services, will be a strong holiday shopping combination," said Jupiter Research vice president and research director David Card.
tags: Reports | Releases | MP3 Players |

Sirius Satellite Radio Reaches 200,000 Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:14am.
New York -- Sirius Satellite Radio, provider of a nationwide, satellite-delivered digital radio service, announced on Tuesday that it has surpassed 200,000 subscribers for its service. The company projected in October that it would have over 200,000 by the end of 2003, down from an estimate of 300,000 made earlier in the year. Rival XM Satellite Radio announced in October that it had surpassed 1 million subscribers, and expects to count over 1.2 million by the end of the year.
tags: Satellite Radio | Subscribers | Sirius |

Report: Mobile Gambling Revenue Could Reach $16 Billion by 2008

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:12am.
Dallas -- Worldwide revenue from wagers placed with a cell phone has the potential to reach $16 billion by 2008, if the industry is able to overcome some significant regulatory and legal hurdles, according to a report released on Tuesday by Dallas-based research firm Alexander Resources. The report divides the mobile gambling market into three categories: mobile casino-style gambling, where users play video poker or other games against the house or other players -- which is expected to generate $6 billion by 2008; mobile lotteries, forecasted to bring in $5 billion; and mobile sports betting, where micropayments and real-time betting on live events will spur the market to revenues of $5 billion by 2008. "While holding great promise, certain user, payment, security, privacy, regulatory and technology challenges could at worst stymie this market even before it gains traction or at best could heavily influence the amount of revenues forecasted," the firm said. Most, if not all of this revenue will be generated in the U.K. and other countries overseas, as most phone- and Internet-based gambling is currently prohibited in the U.S.
tags: Mobile | Gambling | Reports |

Paris Commercial Court Postpones Decision on Messier Payment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:12am.
Paris -- The Paris Commercial Court has rescheduled a hearing on a highly controversial severance package for former Vivendi Universal CEO Jean-Marie Messier. The court -- which has ordered the French media and entertainment conglomerate to produce additional documentation -- said it needed more time to determine whether or not the court had jurisdiction over the case. The court also said that it could possibly make a final ruling on the matter by March 1, once testimony has been heard. Messier is demanding a more than $24 million severance package from the company that sacked him last year.
tags: Law | Paris | Postpones | Messier Payment |