The completion of analogue switch-off and digital switchover (DSO) has run to schedule, come in under budget and been an unqualified success

The steady progress of digital TV growth over the last 14 years has had limited impact on the status quo of the main broadcasting groups

We expect the status quo to remain stable in the era of digital convergence, while the significance of DSO completion lies in its policy implications for public service broadcasting

The last of our four reports on specialist advertising focuses on business directories, probably the most rapidly changing marketplace of them all

The transition from listings to marketing services seems to be unfolding as quickly as the transition from print listings to digital listings that preceded it

While listings advertising expenditure is collapsing, the 'marketplace' for local business communications is expanding and being competed for by a much wider range of businesses. Hibu (Yell) has positioned itself well as a '360 degree' solution

Google’s income in Q3 was hit by fx headwinds and a rise in traffic acquisition costs (TAC) for its ad business as well as by higher than expected losses at Motorola

Headline growth in gross advertising revenue continued to slide, primarily due to the effect of the strong dollar; of more concern, rising TAC cut gross margin by 3 ppts

Mobile now accounts for the majority of growth in ad revenue, which should improve as mobile ad yields rise, though net margin could decline if Google has to pay out a greater share to partners such as Apple

The third of our four reports on specialist advertising focuses on the automotive sector and AutoTrader's role at the heart of the dealer ecosystem

The used car market has been remarkably resilient in recent years, but as with many classified categories the core trend in digital is diversification to a suite of services from a core listings model

AutoTrader's owners Apax Partners and Guardian Media Group will of course be considering their options in terms of an exit from their investment

The second of our four reports on specialist advertising focuses on the property sector, and specifically assesses the implications for Rightmove and the sector generally of the merger of Zoopla with DMGT's property portfolio, which includes Find a Property and Prime Location The merger creates a market duopoly that will put print media under further pressure, though Estate Agents remain attracted to the lead-generation and attractive branding benefits of print distribution and layout Meanwhile, the sector has rebased in scale: while house prices are in aggregate very stable, transaction volumes are still only a little more than half the market peak in 2007

Since the onset of the recession in 2008-09, the revenues and profitability of the recruiters, auto dealers and estate agents which purchase print and online advertising media have been impaired by lower transaction volumes, putting pressure on advertising budgets. New digital marketing and communications requirements have further claimed budgets previously allocated to print, which will continue to decline in absolute and relative terms

Recruitment has been the classified vertical with the most rapid print-to-digital transition, to the detriment of regional newspapers mainly. Online offers national reach at a fraction of the cost per listing

Unlike autos or property, recruitment is a fragmented vertical across a number of large job boards and niche sites serving identifiable professions

Facebook now has more than one billion users but future commercial success depends on monetising the growing consumption via mobile devices, which are replacing the PC as the main method of access

Facebook’s new mobile ads are newsfeed based Sponsored Stories and Promoted Posts rather than banners; early agency performance feedback is positive

Rapid growth in mobile ads will not be sufficient to offset slowing growth from PC-based advertising in 2012 and 2013, but revenue growth should pick up in 2014 as mobile ad volumes ramp up and other initiatives kick in

Global Radio’s acquisition of GMG Radio has cemented its dominant position in the commercial radio sector, giving it a 51% share of revenues and a 47% share of listening.

If approved by the Competition Commission, the deal will allow Global to extend the Heart brand to the North of England and Scotland, helping to establish a stable listener base ahead of the digital switchover.

We believe there is scope for further consolidation, which is likely to focus around Planet Rock and Absolute Radio – two groups that are leading the way on digital platforms.

The broadcast and online success of the London Olympics and Paralympics, though never in doubt, was beyond expectations.

Despite the large growth in mobile devices and rise in social media, audience data underlined the importance of live viewing on the TV set in the living room.

Although commercial audiences (other than Channel 4) took a battering, the Olympics/Paralympics was a blip and unlikely to harm budgets across the full year or have significant knock-on consequences in 2013.

Lord Justice Leveson’s report to the Coalition Government is likely to recommend a new independent press regulator set up by an ‘enabling’ statute, in order to better protect individuals from press intrusion and maltreatment.

David Cameron and the Conservatives appear set to reject any use of statute, preferring to see the industry proposal for ‘contractual self-regulation’ implemented.

If a ‘Leveson Act’ is ever to be passed, it will have to be either a joint Liberal Democrat/Labour effort, or one undertaken by another Prime Minister after 2015.