Europe Media Sectors: A Company and Industry Analysis (July 2008) Highlights the Pace at Which the Media Industry Continued to Grow over the Past Six Months

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/708216/europe_media_secto) has announced the addition of the "Europe Media Sectors : A Company and Industry Analysis (July 2008)" report to their offering.

This report updates the previous European media report, focusing on the markets in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom

Current Environment - Key Points

- The European media industry continued to grow over the past six months, albeit at a slower pace than over the past two years

Financially, most leading companies turned in weaker performances over the period

- The print media segment continued to see declines in circulations, readership and revenues

The efforts of diversifying into non-print and non-media businesses helped soften the impact of the decline

- Broadcast media fared much better and took advantage of the rise of new and online media, which continued to commercialize on an increasing scale

- The share prices of leading European companies reflected the poor financial performances over the past six months

All nine of the largest media companies in Europe saw their share prices decrease over the period

- Over the past six months, the M&A environment for the European media industry continued to be highly active

The IPO market on the other hand continued to be subdued, a trend that has continued for the past two years

Industry Profile - Key Points

- Europe's media industry is among the most liberal and diverse in the world, catering to populations from many different backgrounds, ethnic groups and religions

Legislation governing the industry is viewed as foreign investment friendly, with media ownership laws very lax

- Pay-TV is highly popular in Europe, with a handful of companies like BSkyB and Sky Italia dominating the segment

Content created by these pay-TV companies are available worldwide and the number of pay-TV subscribers are expected to hit 94.4 million by the end of 2008

- According to official EU figures, the European print media industry contributes around 0.5% of the total annual EU gross domestic product (GDP) and is worth approximately -121 billion (US$188.76 billion) annually

- Media companies are increasingly utilizing new and online technologies to further their business aims

One example is French broadcaster TF1, which signed a contract with Ascent Media to design and build a new tape-less production system for all of TF1's programs

Market Trends and Outlook - Key Points

- Over the past few years, the European media industry has experience vast rapid technological changes, which has opened up new regulatory challenges

European authorities are getting tougher on copyright and intellectual property violations

- While IPTV was introduced into Europe a number of years ago, more and more media companies are holding trials in an effort to commercialize the potentially lucrative service on a large scale

- As mobile hardware technologies continue to advance, more and more mobile phones are being equipped with third generation (3-G) functionality that facilitates and supports media content viewing and listening

- The outlook for the print media segment across Europe continues to be bleak

Past efforts made by print media companies to introduce new publication formats, free newspapers, as well as offering news online have not reaped the results hoped for

This trend is expected to dominate the industry over the next six months

- Broadcasting companies are expected to continue to work with new and online media companies to explore new market segments and opportunities.

Key Topics Covered:

Current Environment - Sector Overview - Sector Performance - Leading Companies - Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliance Activities - Initial Public Offerings Industry Profile - Industry Overview - New Technologies - Policy and Regulatory Environment Market Trends and Outlook - Authorities Get Tough on Copyright and Intellectual Property Violation - Internet Protocol Television Moves Towards Commercialization - Mobile Media Technology Continues to Develop - Market Outlook Country Profiles - France - Germany - Italy - Netherlands - Sweden - United Kingdom Currency Conversion Table The Scope of this Report Key References Comparative Data Reports Coverage

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/708216/europe_media_secto