AP R I L 2 0 1 0 (Continued from Page 8) and usurped the top Hindi general entertainment ratings slot from Star. In response, Star is planning a Bollywood awards show, which will feature the genre’s top stars and hopefully prove to be a ratings juggernaut. Meanwhile, Colors, a co-venture with India’s Network18, is launching a variety of reality shows based on the Indian Premier League of cricket. The channel has also secured licensing for the IPL cricket tournament and has its own Bollywood-inspired series in the works. In addition to Star and Colors, the Indian branches of Sony and Warner Bros.’ Turner are competing for a piece of the Indian TV market pie. Their attempts to garner ratings have lately consisted of Bollywood-style soaps and reality shows. ITV Reports Profits For ’09 U.K. broadcaster ITV reported an annual profit of £25million (about U.S. $37.4 million) in 2009. The profit represents a drastic rebound for the company, which lost £2.7 billion (about U.S. $4 billion) in 2008, which many are calling the worst year for TV advertising on record. Now, however, things seemto be turning around. The network reported a seven percent improvement in ad revenues in the first three months of 2010 and predicts even greater growth on the horizon. Interim chief executive John Cresswell forecast that ad revenue will bounce back by 15 or 20 percent in April, driven by a recovery in retail and food advertising. Nevertheless, ITV remains £612 million in debt (U.S. $915 million). In other ITV news, the broadcaster also announced an official start date for its new chief executive Adam Crozier. Crozier, who is currently the chief executive of Royal Mail, will officially take his post on April 26. He replaces former executive chairman Michael Grade. ITV also has a new management team led by ArchieNorman, another new hire who assumed his role in January. Famous Quotes “Reporting on the entertainment business is one of the most bewildering tasks in journalism: no one talks” Vanessa Grigoriadis reviewing “Star,” a book on Warren Beatty for The New York Times Book Review. Letters “With your publication I get all the news I need on a daily basis and it has become a must read every day.” Michel Zgarka Montreal, Canada piece together information from a variety of firms. comScore and its many rivals hope to develop a system to fill this void. Viacom, News Corp Now Vie For India Hot on the heels of Disney, Sony andWarnerBros.,U.S.- based media conglomerates Viacom and News Corp are stepping up the competition for supremacy in the Indian television market. Both companies are now tackling two cultural mainstays: cricket and Bollywood. News Corp’s Star Plus has been in the region for nine years, and its forecasted revenue for 2010 is the equivalent of U.S. $180 million. Recently, Viacom’s Indian company, Colors, swooped in as vice president of Television Sales and Business Development — is a radio and TV ratings company with many locations throughout the U.S. It is well known for its radio research and for having provided data services to NBC Universal during the Olympics. Analysts are speculating that Fitzgerald’s appointment represents comScore’s desire to break into the cable, satellite, telco and set-topmaker researchmarkets in order to challenge Nielsen Co. as the leading media measurement firm. However, if comScore is to take aim at Nielson, it may take more than hiring experienced professionals. TheU.S. market for measurement companies has recently been flooded with competitors, some of whom already gather data from more than 70 million set-top boxes. On the other hand, since the rise of the Internet, one streamlined method for gathering viewer data has yet to emerge. In their marketing research, companies currently comScore Takes Aim At Nielsen ComScore, a Virginia-based Webmeasurement and marketing research company with offices all over the world, has expanded its team with the hire of former Arbitron executive Joan Fitzgerald. Arbitron — where Fitzgerald served V I D E O • A G E 10
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