The last three years have seen huge concentration in the marketing services industry. One source suggests that 56% of the world’s advertising billings now pass through just seven buying groups, up from 32% in 1999. Though the advertising recession in major economies shows little sign of abating, the major groups continue to grow by acquisition, often financed by debt. At the same time, media planning and media buying have moved to the centre of these groups after a century of being little more than a clerical activity at the periphery of their business.

The last few weeks have seen several enthusiastic announcements from telecom operators eager to start public Wi-Fi services. In this note we look at the prospects for public Wi-Fi. Our analysis suggests that Wi-Fi is likely to suffer from three major problems

Our central projection – that about 50% of households will have access to multi-channel TV in 2006 – is far lower than other forecasters. Indeed, if we are wrong, it will probably be because we are too pessimistic. However, more sanguine observers should note that Zenith, probably the most quoted industry analyst, has quietly reduced its digital TV penetration forecasts by 5 million homes (over 20% of UK households) in the past year.

Camera phones represent the best hope of the mobile operators. Proven demand in Japan gives European operators reason for optimism that cameras will increase ARPU. Handset manufacturers believe it will ignite replacement demand.

This report provides our analysis of the main factors in the evolution of the global music market in the period 2002-2006.

This report provides an insight into the effect on consumers of the significant changes in retail pricing and promotion of broadband, as well as an update on the size and dynamics of the UK Internet population. The main points:

Analysts are predicting substantial declines in mobile industry capital expenditure when expressed as a percentage of turnover. These improvements are supposed to be driven by (a) declining growth in call minutes; (b) decreasing prices of capital equipment; and (c) better 'capital efficiency' in the 3G era.

The continuing success of the industry has derived partly from its position at the meeting point of several important social trends – the decline in the reading of books, the gradual fall in the total circulation of newspapers, increased attention paid to celebrities and fashion and, most important, the increasing amount of disposable income available to the people under 35. Improvements in printing costs and distribution have allowed publishers to make money, even though the average sales per magazine have fallen substantially.

This report addresses four principal questions:

In The Digital Bomb II (2002-21), we asserted that the worldwide switch to digital TV would take place more slowly than most commentators expect. We base this view on our assessment that there is no financial incentive for the operator to make the switch from analogue to digital TV.

1. The evidence of a rapid slowing of the growth in multichannel homes is increasingly clear. We predict that Sky will miss its target of 7 million subscribers by the end of 2003 by 300,000 homes, if current trends continue.

2. TV viewing levels appear to have returned to 2001 levels, after a fall in the first months of this year. The evidence for a secular decline in overall viewing is weak. But ITV1 continues to plummet.

Digital terrestrial television in the UK and elsewhere faces three enormous problems: (1) the paucity of attractive programming available for free distribution; (2) the uncertainty of the coverage and picture quality; and (3) the low channel capacity compared to satellite and cable. The four bids for the UK DTT licences try to address these problems, but with limited success. In the next two weeks the Independent Television Commission will try to choose the least worst proposal.

The rationale behind the deal appears to be that management needed to demonstrate their continued commitment to building a successful US business, an ambition that all EMI managers have had for the last twenty years. Robbie Williams has never sold well in the US, and we regard EMI’s public commitment to make him in a star in America as an extremely testing challenge. Robbie’s brand of cheery mainstream pop is not as attractive to US record buyers as, say, Radiohead’s gloomy rock. And the market for European music in the US has rarely been weaker.

Are resellers with ‘stretchy brands’ going to succeed where others have failed in dislodging BT from a dominant position in the fixed residential market for calls? Stretchy brands are widely touted as the next challengers because they have large and easily marketed customer bases, and their brand can be used to wean the fearful telecoms customer from BT.