The distribution business was slightly weak despite good like-for-like store sales, due to the lower quality ‘off-the-page’ newspaper advertisement business being successfully cut back by the mobile operators

On 27th July the BBC will open access to the iPlayer to UK internet users, en route to a hard launch later this summer. This PC-based application allows the user to download BBC TV content after broadcast to view on the PC for a limited time, and provides a TV-like display on the PC. Delays to the launch will mean the iPlayer enters a field already crowded by other broadcasters, including Channel 4's 4oD service, ITV's broadband portal, Sky Anytime, as well as content aggregators such as Joost and Babelgum (both currently in beta)

The European Commission has backed DVB-H as the common standard for mobile TV in an attempt to boost investment and rollout of services

The UK recorded music industry now has certainty on the royalty regime for online music services until 2009 as a result of the ruling issued last week by the UK Copyright Tribunal, with little impact on underlying business models

Trinity Mirror has sold 39 of the more than 130 regional newspapers on the block, and looks set to generate £550-£570 million from its disposals by the end of Q3 2007, just shy of its £600 million target

Vodafone’s European operations revenue growth dropped, but not as much as various regulatory interventions would have warranted, implying a strong operational performance

US music shoppers continue to shun the CD, whilst increasing digital music sales are not filling the gap – we estimate the market’s volume was down 10.3% in H1 2007 year-over-year, in keeping with our forecast of an 8% decline in 2007

Mobile service revenue growth in the top five European markets was 3.6%, a decline of 0.5pps from the previous quarter, although this was substantially driven by the Bersani Decree in Italy outlawing mobile top-up charges from the beginning of March

Another record quarter of subscriber growth testifies again to the strengths of Sky’s marketing strategy and its successful entry into the telecommunications arena. The target of 10 million subscribers by the end of 2010 looks increasingly likely

TM is now looking at a sales target of £450 million instead of £600 million, though the revised target may still be too high, with the sale taking place at a time when regional newspaper fortunes are at a low ebb

Other results present a mixed picture: some improvements in costs, some progress online, but persisting doubts about TM’s ability to match its competitors over national newspaper sales and advertising revenues

True to its reputation for innovation, France’s No. 2 ISP Free has launched TV Perso, a user-generated video-on-demand service, to its 1.5 million TV-over-DSL subscribers. Users will contribute uploads, emulating YouTube’s popular web-based model, as well as live broadcasts