DOCSLIB.ORG

UTV Media Plc (“UTV” Or “The Company” Or “The Group”)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
UTV Media Plc (“UTV” Or “The Company” Or “The Group”) UTV Media plc (“UTV” or “the Company” or “the Group”) Belfast, London & Dublin – 18 March 2015: UTV Media plc today announces preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2014 Financial highlights on continuing operations* . Group revenue of £116.0m (2013 restated: £107.2m) . Pre-tax profits of £17.2m (2013 restated: £17.0m) . Group operating profit of £19.7m (2013: £20.1m) – 2014 includes UTV Ireland start-up costs of £3.0m . Net debt £46.2m (2013: £49.6m) . Diluted adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations of 14.56p (2013 restated: 14.32p) . Proposed final dividend of 5.43p giving a full year dividend of 7.25p (2013: 7.00p) * As appropriate, references to profit include associate income but exclude discontinued operations Operational highlights . Improving macroeconomic environment in the UK and Ireland . Strong audience performances across Radio and Television . talkSPORT revenues of £29.7m (2013: £24.3m) boosted by World Cup . Strategic focus on radio and television – UTV Connect, PropertyPal, UTV Drive and Recruit NI now divested . UTV Ireland launched successfully on 1 January 2015 Prospects highlights . Radio Ireland revenue (local currency) flat (down 10% after adjusting for foreign exchange), Radio GB revenue flat against strong 2014 comparison and Television revenue (excluding UTV Ireland) up 4% . UTV Ireland performance impacted by delays to EPG positions, agency negotiations and slower than expected audience build. Losses for year now anticipated to be in the region of £6M . Foreign exchange headwinds impacting profitability in Ireland John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc, said: “Record audiences for talkSPORT and market leading audiences in both Irish Radio and Television underpin these results, providing confidence that our new venture UTV Ireland, will emulate its older siblings and over time, build a stronger audience base. The significant uplift in GB Radio’s profitability together with the recovery in Irish Radio and Television advertising are particularly pleasing.” 1 Key dates . 14 May 2015 – Annual General Meeting & Interim Management Statement . 29 May 2015 – Record date for payment of dividends . 15 July 2015 – Payment of dividends . 28 August 2015 – Interim Results Announcement For further information contact: Investor Enquiries www.utvmedia.com/investors John McCann, Group CEO +44 (0) 28 9032 8122 Norman McKeown, Group Finance Director +44 (0) 28 9032 8122 Media Enquiries Orla McKibbin, Director of Communications +44 (0) 28 9026 2188 / +44 (0) 7879 666 427 Maitland Martin Barrow +44 (0) 20 7379 5151 / +44 (0) 7843 068 912 2 UTV Media plc Chairman’s Statement Overview Your company made considerable progress during 2014, with turnover growing to £116.0M (2013: £107.2M) and pre-tax profits increasing to £17.2M (2013: £17.0M) even after absorbing pre-operational losses of £3.0M (2013: £0.1M) on our new television station, UTV Ireland, which successfully launched on 1 January 2015. Profit growth of 45% in our GB radio division was particularly strong and it was pleasing to record a return to profit growth in our Irish radio division. Despite the investment in UTV Ireland, which included a lower than budgeted capital expenditure of £5.6M, group net debt reduced by £3.4M. Results and dividends for the year* Group operating profit of £19.7M (2013: £20.1M) was after accounting for pre-operational losses on UTV Ireland of £3.0M (2013: £0.1M). After charging lower net interest costs of £2.4M (2013: £2.9M) and foreign exchange losses of £0.1M (2013: £0.2M), group profit before taxation was £17.2 M (2013: £17.0M). Group net debt was lower at £46.2M (2013: £49.6M). Dividends amounting to £6.8M (2013: £6.7M) were paid during the year, representing a final ordinary dividend for 2014 of 5.25p per share and an interim ordinary dividend for 2014 of 1.82p per share as shown in note 12. A final dividend of £5.2M representing 5.43p per share is proposed for approval at the Annual General Meeting. If approved, warrants in respect of it will be despatched on 15 July 2015 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 29 May 2015. Review of activities With our renewed focus on broadcasting, preparations for the launch of UTV Ireland took centre stage in 2014. A licence was agreed with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, programming was acquired and commissioned, staff were recruited and trained, studio premises were fitted out and agreements were reached with all major platform providers. Although our new channel’s licence is not that of a public service broadcaster, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources designated it as having public service characteristics which facilitated carriage on the DTT platform, thus ensuring universal coverage in Ireland, and prominence on Electronic Programme Guides. Universal coverage and EPG prominence are prerequisites to achieving our ambition that UTV Ireland will be the second most watched channel, after state broadcaster RTE 1, within 2 years of launching. Pre-eminent audience delivery is at the heart of our broadcasting strategy and the Group’s track record in delivering market leading positions in radio in Ireland and in television in Northern Ireland, is already well known, as is its achievement in significantly increasing the audience to talkSPORT. In a statement to the market on 9 January 2015, we confirmed that a review of our strategic options in respect of our GB local radio stations was under way and advised that it may, or may not, lead to the disposal of some, or all, of our GB local radio stations. We also advised that any disposal would not include talkSPORT, Sport Magazine, talkSPORT International and any of our Irish radio stations. Our Irish radio stations continued to deliver impressive audience performances, occupying the number one slot in each of the major urban areas in which we operate, including Dublin. This strong audience delivery mitigated the worst effects of the extremely deep advertising recession which Ireland experienced over the past few years. More importantly, it provides firm foundations for growth as the Irish advertising market recovers. This recovery started to appear as we moved through 2014, though the euro exchange rate provided some headwind to growth. With the tailwind of the FIFA World Cup, talkSPORT performed strongly in 2014, both in terms of audience and financial performance. talkSPORT was the only UK broadcaster to broadcast live commentary of every single World Cup match, a total of 64 games. Audience reach achieved a record high of 3.3M weekly, 50% greater than ten years ago and underlining the continuing popularity of good quality radio. The station’s pure sport focus means that more than four fifths of all talkSPORT listeners are now male and over half are ABC1, underlining its unique appeal to advertisers. Our television channel in Northern Ireland maintained its long-standing position as market leader. Its audience success is built on the well-established formula of high quality local programming packaged around an attractive network schedule within a strong regional brand. Our share of the peaktime audience in Northern Ireland in *as appropriate, references to operating profit include income from associates and joint ventures but exclude discontinued operations. 3 UTV Media plc Chairman’s Statement 2014 was 24.7%, significantly higher than the ITV network average of 21.3% and more than 4 times greater than our nearest commercial competitor, C4. *as appropriate, references to operating profit include income from associates and joint ventures but exclude discontinued operations. 4 UTV Media plc Chairman’s Statement Prospects The year has started in line with our expectations for our established broadcasting assets. talkSPORT’s excellent audience performance underpinned our initiative to seek our advertisers’ support for improved airtime pricing. This should help us to maintain talkSPORT’s profitability in 2015 at the levels achieved in the 2014 FIFA World Cup year. In Q1, talkSPORT’s revenues are expected to be down by 2%. Our GB local radio stations continue to perform well, with 19% growth in listening hours being recorded in the most recent RAJAR research. Q1 airtime revenues are expected to be up by 4%. The recovery in the Irish radio advertising market now seems to be under way although growth is, as yet, reasonably modest. Our stations over time have consistently outperformed the market due to their excellent listenership positions. In the first quarter of 2015, we expect our Irish radio advertising revenues to be broadly flat with further weakening of the euro reducing this to around 10% down. The UK television advertising market is enjoying good growth in Q1 2015 and television advertising revenue derived from London to our Northern Ireland television division, UTV, is expected to be up by 8% in the first quarter. Growth from our Dublin office to UTV is also forecast to be positive at 9% up in Q1. There continues to be some weakness in the Belfast marketplace where budget cuts recently introduced by the Northern Ireland Assembly are depressing government advertising expenditure, leading to a forecast 13% decline in revenue from that office. Overall, UTV Northern Ireland’s television advertising is expected to be up by 3% in Q1. UTV Ireland We were delighted that UTV Ireland met its goal of launching across the Republic of Ireland on 1 January 2015, which it achieved well within budget, in spite of a number of challenges along the critical path. It took us substantially longer than we had anticipated to receive the designation of the channel’s “public service” character which meant that we had very little time before the launch date for engagement with our prospective audience about EPG positions and, where necessary, retuning of DTT boxes.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Media Nations 2019
    Media nations: UK 2019 Published 7 August 2019 Overview This is Ofcom’s second annual Media Nations report. It reviews key trends in the television and online video sectors as well as the radio and other audio sectors. Accompanying this narrative report is an interactive report which includes an extensive range of data. There are also separate reports for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Media Nations report is a reference publication for industry, policy makers, academics and consumers. This year’s publication is particularly important as it provides evidence to inform discussions around the future of public service broadcasting, supporting the nationwide forum which Ofcom launched in July 2019: Small Screen: Big Debate. We publish this report to support our regulatory goal to research markets and to remain at the forefront of technological understanding. It addresses the requirement to undertake and make public our consumer research (as set out in Sections 14 and 15 of the Communications Act 2003). It also meets the requirements on Ofcom under Section 358 of the Communications Act 2003 to publish an annual factual and statistical report on the TV and radio sector. This year we have structured the findings into four chapters. • The total video chapter looks at trends across all types of video including traditional broadcast TV, video-on-demand services and online video. • In the second chapter, we take a deeper look at public service broadcasting and some wider aspects of broadcast TV. • The third chapter is about online video. This is where we examine in greater depth subscription video on demand and YouTube.
    [Show full text]
  • Resolution No. 118 Authorizing an Agreement with Insite Wireless Group for Distributed Antenna System for the Times Union Center
    RESOLUTION NO. 118 AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH INSITE WIRELESS GROUP FOR DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR THE TIMES UNION CENTER Introduced: 4/12/17 By Civic Center Committee: WHEREAS, The Department of General Services through the Purchasing Agent issued a Request for Proposals regarding a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) for the Times Union Center, and WHEREAS, Four Proposals were received and representatives of the Department of General Services reviewed said Proposals and recommended awarding the contract to InSite Wireless Group as the lowest responsible bidder, and WHEREAS, The Commissioner of the Department of General Services indicated that the Times Union Center and Albany Capital Center will split the projected revenues of $500,000 over a ten year period, guaranteed by InSite Wireless Group with the Times Union Center will retain seventy-five percent of revenues and the Albany Capital Center will retain twenty-five percent of revenues collected and paid by InSite Wireless Group, and WHEREAS, The Commissioner of the Department of General Services has proposed to enter into an agreement with InSite Wireless Group for the DAS project to combine services at the Times Union Center and the Albany Capital Center with InSite Wireless Group is responsible for funding of the project, now, therefore be it RESOLVED, By the Albany County Legislature that the County Executive is authorized to enter into an agreement with InSite Wireless Group regarding a Distributed Antenna System, in collaboration with the Times Union Center and Albany Capital Center for a term commencing May 1, 2017 and ending April 30, 2027, and, be it further RESOLVED, That the County Attorney is authorized to approve said agreement as to form and content, and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the County Legislature is directed to forward certified copies of this resolution to the appropriate County Officials.
    [Show full text]
  • FTSE Factsheet
    FTSE COMPANY REPORT Share price analysis relative to sector and index performance Data as at: 14 September 2016 CDialogues CDOG Media — GBP 0.65 at close 14 September 2016 Absolute Relative to FTSE UK All-Share Sector Relative to FTSE UK All-Share Index PERFORMANCE 14-Sep-2016 14-Sep-2016 14-Sep-2016 3.5 100 100 1D WTD MTD YTD 90 90 Absolute 31.3 31.3 31.3 -23.5 3 Rel.Sector 31.5 33.0 33.2 -24.0 80 80 Rel.Market 31.2 33.3 33.2 -27.8 2.5 70 70 60 60 VALUATION 2 (local currency) (local 50 50 Trailing 1.5 Relative Price 40 Relative Price 40 PE 2.8 30 30 Absolute Price Price Absolute 1 EV/EBITDA - 20 20 0.5 PCF 1.0 10 10 PB 0.5 0 0 0 Price/Sales 0.3 Sep-2015 Dec-2015 Mar-2016 Jun-2016 Sep-2016 Sep-2015 Dec-2015 Mar-2016 Jun-2016 Sep-2016 Sep-2015 Dec-2015 Mar-2016 Jun-2016 Sep-2016 Div Yield - Absolute Price 4-wk mov.avg. 13-wk mov.avg. Relative Price 4-wk mov.avg. 13-wk mov.avg. Relative Price 4-wk mov.avg. 13-wk mov.avg. Div Payout 29.4 100 100 100 ROE 17.7 90 90 90 Net Debt/Equity 0.0 80 80 80 70 70 70 60 60 60 DESCRIPTION 50 50 50 The principal activity of the Company is provides 40 40 40 RSI (Absolute) RSI specialised marketing services to mobile network 30 30 30 operators ("MNOs" ), with a particular focus on 20 20 20 emerging markets.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendices for Section 1
    INTERIM REPORT 3G SPECTRUM STUDY 2500-2690 MHz BAND APPENDICES FOR SECTION 1 A-1 APPENDIX 1.1 PLAN TO SELECT SPECTRUM FOR THIRD GENERATION (3G) WIRELESS SYSTEMS in the UNITED STATES October 20, 2000 I. PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM (PM) President Clinton signed a memorandum dated October 13, 2000, (Attachment 1) that states the need and urgency for the United States to select radio frequency spectrum to satisfy the future needs of the citizens and businesses for mobile voice, high speed data, and Internet accessible wireless capability; the guiding principles to be used for the development of 3G wireless systems; and the direction to the Federal agencies to carry out the selection of spectrum. In summary, the President directed · the Secretary of Commerce in cooperation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: · develop a plan by October 20, 2000, for the identification and analysis of possible spectrum bands for 3G services that would enable the FCC to select specific frequencies by July 2001 for 3G and complete the auction for licensing 3G wireless providers by September 30, 2002. · issue an interim report by November 15, 2000, on the current spectrum uses, and the potential for the sharing or segmenting, of two of the bands identified at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-2000) for 3G wireless use, 1755-1850 MHz and 2500-2690 MHz, about which the United States does not have sufficient knowledge at present to make a considered decision about allocation. · work with government and industry representatives through a series of public meetings to develop recommendations and plans for identifying spectrum for 3G wireless systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Media Nations 2020 UK Report
    Media Nations 2020 UK report Published 5 August 2020 Contents Section Overview 3 1. Covid-19 media trends: consumer behaviour 6 2. Covid-19 media trends: industry impact and response 44 3. Production trends 78 4. Advertising trends 90 2 Media Nations 2020 Overview This is Ofcom’s third annual Media Nations, a research report for industry, policy makers, academics and consumers. It reviews key trends in the TV and online video sectors, as well as radio and other audio sectors. Accompanying this report is an interactive report that includes an extensive range of data. There are also separate reports for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This year’s publication comes during a particularly eventful and challenging period for the UK media industry. The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown period has changed consumer behaviour significantly and caused disruption across broadcasting, production, advertising and other related sectors. Our report focuses in large part on these recent developments and their implications for the future. It sets them against the backdrop of longer-term trends, as laid out in our five-year review of public service broadcasting (PSB) published in February, part of our Small Screen: Big Debate review of public service media. Media Nations provides further evidence to inform this, as well as assessing the broader industry landscape. We have therefore dedicated two chapters of this report to analysis of Covid-19 media trends, and two chapters to wider market dynamics in key areas that are shaping the industry: • The consumer behaviour chapter examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on media consumption trends across television and online video, and radio and online audio.
    [Show full text]
  • Wireless Group Plc
    WIRELESS GROUP PLC Contents Summary of Results 2 Chairman’s Statement 3 Who We Are 5 • Radio GB 6 • Radio Ireland 8 • Digital Services 9 Strategic Report 10 Board of Directors 26 Corporate Governance 29 Corporate Social Responsibility 41 Report of the Board on Directors’ Remuneration 48 Report of the Directors 62 Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities in relation to the Group Financial Statements 65 Directors’ Statement of Responsibility under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules 65 Report of the Auditors on the Group Financial Statements 66 Group Income Statement 74 Group Statement of Comprehensive Income 75 Group Balance Sheet 76 Group Cash Flow Statement 77 Group Statement of Changes in Equity 78 Notes to the Group Financial Statements 79 Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities in relation to the Parent Company Financial Statements 124 Company Balance Sheet 125 Company Statement of Changes in Equity 126 Notes to the Company Financial Statements 127 Registered Office and Advisers 132 Report & Accounts 2015 1 WIRELESS WIRELESS GROUP PLC GROUP PLC Summary of Results Chairman’s Statement Financial highlights “The launch and establishment of our three new recently launched national radio Continuing operations* stations on D2 is a key priority for 2016. talkSPORT 2 and talkRADIO will leverage • Group revenue of £75.1m (2014 restated: £82.4m) talkSPORT’s brand heritage while Virgin Radio will have instant brand recognition.” • Group operating profit of £13.0m (2014 restated: £14.1m) • Pre-tax profits of £10.7m (2014 restated: £11.9m) Richard
    [Show full text]
  • A Report on Market Structure, Dynamics and Developments in Irish Media
    Broadcasting Authority of Ireland A report on market structure, dynamics and developments in Irish media Supplied in support of the BAI’s consultation on its Broadcasting Services Strategy December 2017 Mediatique Limited 65 Chandos Place London WC2N 4HG United Kingdom www.mediatique.co.uk BAI – Market structure, dynamics and developments Executive summary Introduction ° The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (‘BAI’) is the regulator of the Irish broadcasting market. ° Among other statutory duties under the Broadcasting Act (2009), the BAI is required to prepare a Broadcasting Services Strategy (‘BSS’) covering the provision of broadcasting services in Ireland. The BAI's current BSS was agreed in 2011. The new BSS will reflect the current Strategy Statement in force (2017-19) covering the BAI’s key objectives around plurality, diversity, support for indigenous content and promotion of content in the Irish language. ° Mediatique was commissioned to provide a detailed overview of current and future developments in the Irish broadcasting landscape, and to consider the likely trajectory over the next five years. This work is aimed at informing the new BSS and, in particular, helping the BAI define its approach to regulation in the light of market dynamics over time. ° Our brief included consideration of consumer behaviour, platform and distribution developments, changes in technology and evolving business models associated with broadcasting. ° We were asked specifically to analyse the sustainability of revenues that underpin expenditure on audio and visual content, particularly Irish content, and to consider whether the current regulatory framework needs to evolve in line with market dynamics. ° Within our wider work, the BAI has asked for analysis on two specific topics – prospects for the launch of commercial digital terrestrial multiplexes carrying TV channels to supplement those already available on Saorview; and whether the BAI, working with industry and Government, should seek to promote digital audio broadcasting (‘DAB’).
    [Show full text]
  • Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
    Broadcasting Authority of Ireland REPORT ON OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF MEDIA BUSINESSES IN IRELAND 2015-2017 Introduction Section 28M (1) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 20141 (“the 2014 Act”) requires the BAI to prepare a report (the “Report”) that: i. describes the ownership and control arrangements for undertakings carrying on a media business in the State; ii. describes the changes to ownership and control arrangements of such undertakings over the past three years and iii. provides an analysis of the effects of such changes on plurality of the media in the State as defined in the 2014 Act. The BAI must furnish the Report to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment (“the Minister”) who shall lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas and publish it on the internet. In accordance with this statutory requirement the BAI submits this Report on Ownership and Control of Media Businesses in Ireland 2015-2017 to the Minister for consideration. This is the second such iteration of the Report, following on and building on the “Report on Ownership and Control of Media Businesses in Ireland 2012-2014”.2 Section 28M (4) of the 2014 Act also requires the BAI to carry out further periodic methodological research in relation to plurality and to publish the results of such research. The BAI, in partnership with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and with Dublin City University (DCU), has been involved in the development and publication of The Reuters Institute Digital News Reports (Ireland) on an annual basis since 2015.
    [Show full text]
  • United States Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, D.C
    UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 June 30, 2016 DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED) NEWS CORPORATION (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER) Delaware 001-35769 46-2950970 (STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION (COMMISSION FILE NO.) (IRS EMPLOYER OF INCORPORATION) IDENTIFICATION NO.) 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036 (ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES, INCLUDING ZIP CODE) (212) 416-3400 (REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions: ☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) ☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Item 8.01 Other Events. On June 30, 2016, News Corporation (the "Company") announced that it had reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer to be made by its subsidiary, News Corp UK & Ireland Limited, to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Wireless Group plc (the "Offer"), a publicly-traded company listed on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges, at a purchase price of 315 pence per share in cash.
    [Show full text]
  • Case M.8354 - FOX / SKY
    EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition Case M.8354 - FOX / SKY Only the English text is available and authentic. REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 07/04/2017 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 7.04.2017 C(2017)2451 final In the published version of this decision, some information has been omitted pursuant to Article 17(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 concerning non-disclosure of business secrets and other confidential information. The omissions are PUBLIC VERSION shown thus […]. Where possible the information omitted has been replaced by ranges of figures or a general description. To the notifying party: Subject: Case M.8354 - FOX / SKY Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council 1 Regulation No 139/2004 and Article 57 of the Agreement on the 2 European Economic Area Dear Sir or Madam, (1) On 3 March 2017, the European Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 3 139/2004 by which Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc ("21CF" or the "Notifying Party", US) proposes to acquire the remaining shares that it does not currently own in Sky Plc ("Sky", UK, and the "Proposed Transaction"). 21CF and Sky are collectively referred to as the "Parties". 1 OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the "Merger Regulation"). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ('TFEU') has introduced certain changes, such as the replacement of 'Community' by 'Union' and 'common market' by 'internal market'. The terminology of the TFEU will be used throughout this decision.
    [Show full text]
  • The UK Speech Radio Sector
    Assessing the impact of the BBC’s public service activities Assessing the impact of proposed changes to the BBC’s public service activities Distribution of BBC public services Wireless Group response to Ofcom’s consultations – February 2017 Executive summary 1. This submission constitutes Wireless Group’s response to three of the consultations published by Ofcom as it prepares to assume its new duties in relation to regulation of the BBC. These are: Assessing the impact of the BBC’s public service activities; Assessing the impact of proposed changes to the BBC’s public service activities; and Distribution of BBC public services. 2. Our submission is framed in the context of the BBC’s dominance of the speech radio sector – a sector in which it is estimated to enjoy in excess of 80% of funding, and in which it enjoys an 84% share of sectoral listening. Given the heightened risk of negative impacts associated with the BBC’s dominant market position, it is important that speech radio activities are subject to proper external scrutiny and regulatory enforcement. 3. Wireless Group welcomes the appointment of Ofcom to regulate the BBC. In our view, Ofcom’s analysis of the risks associated with the BBC’s public services activities as set out in the above three consultations is well-informed. In each case the proposed procedures appear to be broadly fit for purpose. 4. One area of concern, however, relates to the circumstances in which BBC activity which be classified as “material”, prompting the envisaged procedures to be deployed. This concern runs across all three consultations.
    [Show full text]
  • Ulster Television
    Interim Report for the 6 months to 30 June 2016 22 August 2016 Wireless Group plc ("WLG" or "the Company" or "the Group") Wireless Group plc today announces interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2016. Financial highlights* Disposal of TV business to ITV for a purchase price of £100m completed in February 2016 Profit on disposal of £79.2m and associated return of capital of £55.0m Group revenue from continuing operations of £38.2m (2015 restated: £37.0m) Group operating profit of £4.7m (2015 restated: £6.1m) Group operating profit includes £1.8m start-up losses for D2 Pre-tax profits from continuing operations of £4.5m (2015 restated: £5.0m) Reported profit for the period of £82.1m (2015 restated: loss of £0.5m) Diluted adjusted earnings per share of 4.4p (2015 restated: 3.6p) Net debt reduced to £1.6m (2015: £46.9m) Recommended cash offer of 315p per share from News Corporation (“News Corp”), totalling £220m No interim dividend declared in light of News Corp offer Operational highlights Strong performance by talkSPORT assisted by the European Football Championships Three packages won for Premier League live audio rights for next three seasons Advertising slowdown in Q2 in both the UK and Ireland impacted local radio performance Successful launch of three new digital channels on the D2 multiplex, with strong audiences recorded in first RAJAR results Richard Huntingford, Chairman, Wireless Group plc, said: “Wireless Group – and especially talkSPORT – has performed well in the first six months of the year. After a competitive bidding process, we were also delighted to be awarded three packages for Premier League live audio rights which will further underpin the outlook for talkSPORT going forward.
    [Show full text]