Hot Topic - Bertelsmann/RTL
It’s far from uncommon for politicians to call meetings with key media executives, particularly with elections on the horizon. It’s different in the UK, as we’ve seen, where Rupert Murdoch calls in the politicians. This meeting was a bit different, some witnesses calling it "strange."
A great revival in media mergers and acquisitions seems ever so much closer. Financial markets are still fat with cash as are the big global media groups. Yet huge deals, big enough to rearrange the dinner table, remain just a shout away.
With media buyers spending on television like wild people and new channels blooming like spring flowers, the television business has drawn a sigh of relief from the bad days still fresh in the memory. Business is good. New media has been put in its place. Caution remains.
Yet more evidence pours in; that nasty recession is over. Or maybe it’s mostly over. In any case, television – advertising included – is still hot.
Austerity cost cutting and a little creative accounting saved media giant Bertelsmann from the revenue demons of 2009. Dividends were cut in half but things will “significantly improve” this year. The “course for growth” is digital.
In the front lines of the media world there’s no need for another expert reporting the obvious. Each week brings another irritatingly real story of causalities where media and money intersect. Big media is still big, says a new study; just a bit less so.
A certain coolness is flowing across the Northern Hemisphere, even as summer keeps its tentative grip. The tough vice of economic chill and advertiser wariness (or weariness) is clamping hard on media companies big and small.
See also in ftm Knowledge...
Bertelsmann/RTL - Europe's Biggest
Few media groups have the scale and dynamics of Bertelsmann. From austere beginnings as a hymnal publisher, it has become the dominant European publisher and broadcaster through subsidiaries RTL and Gruner + Jahr. And it's arms reach around the world. ftm explores Bertelsmann and RTL. 30 pages. PDF (April 2010)
Media in Germany
Home to Europe's biggest broadcasters and publishers, Germany is a highly competitive media market. Transition to digital television was easy, other media not so simple, unsuprising with Germany's complex regulation and business structures. This Knowledge file reports on media leaders and followers. Includes Resources 143 pages PDF (April 2011)
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Media Laws-Digital Dividend – new
Lawmakers and lawyers are challlenged by the new digital reality. We've seen new rules proposed, enacted, dismissed and changed as quickly as technology takes a new turn. The ftm Knowledge file looks at the grand plans and their consequences. 76 pages PDF April 2013
Europe’s Radio – Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe’s radio writes new rules. In fact, most everything about radio in this region is new... and changes often. The ftm Knowledge file reports on Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. 159 pages PDF (April 2013)
Social Media Matures (...maybe...)
Hundreds of millions use social media. It has spawned revolutions, excited investors and confounded traditional media. With all that attention a business model remains unclear or it's simply so different many can't see it. What is clear is that there's no turning back. 68 pages, PDF (February 2013)
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