Mike Butcher

Sarah Simon, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, says: “Freeview has implications for the entire UK television market. We think traditional channels will be fragmented, and existing pay-television channels may also be threatened if they are not on the platform.” This is an excellent report on the subject – recommended reading.

The Playboy site made losses of $5.1 million in the last quarter of 2001, which fell to $284,000 for the same period last year. The site enjoyed a small operating profit of $83,000, excluding a $6.6 million one-off charge. Playboy predicts that this year its online revenue will increase, while its publishing division revenue will be stable. TV revenues are likely fall in 2003. For 2002, Playboy Enterprises Inc.’s net losses fell to $17.1 million from the $33.5 million loss of the previous year.

The report also finds that

* Marketers plan a long-term shift away from traditional
media-based advertising

* Advertisers will turn toward new forms of online ads: bigger
banners, skyscrapers, and large ad swatches.

* Rich media is poised to take off.

* Advertisers are starting to move back to branding after a
shift toward direct response marketing.

* The demand for online marketing will increase as mainstream
shoppers increasingly turn to e-commerce.

Unfortunately, since the band is already open for use in the United States, Japan and Europe and more than 50 manufacturers make products that operate in these bands, it might be a bit late to address these concerns. Oh dear.

The other factor to consider is that the Wireless Lan market is set to soar, reports VNUnet. Analyst are predicting sales growth of more than 60 per cent through to 2006.

Furthermore, CNET reported this week that Cisco Systems is to share key technology at no cost with chipmakers and computer companies to help drive the use of wireless networks within corporations.