The Berlin strategy consultant Goldmedia is to undertake a web TV survey, commissioned by BLM, the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting. Known as Web TV Monitor 2010, it will provide a market overview of internet TV in Germany for the first time.

The study is based on comprehensive primary data research obtained via a survey of all internet TV providers in Germany. The survey for Web TV Monitor 2010 has just been launched, and the research results will be presented at the 2010 Munich Media Fair (Medientage München) on October 15, 2010. [...]

German sports clubs could be the big winners from the EU overturning Berlin's gambling monopoly. Private betting companies would be able to take advantage of a huge market, if they were allowed in.

[...]

This weeks' ruling by the European Court of Justice overturning Germany's gambling monopoly centered on whether Berlin's consumer-protection argument was valid or not. But the consequences from the decision by the Luxembourg court is expected to be felt first and foremost in a seemingly unrelated field - advertising revenues.
 
"We're talking about a huge market here, for this includes both advertising revenue from foreign companies and also online betting operators in Germany," Michael Schmid of media consultancy Goldmedia told Deutsche Welle.

The highest court in the European Union ruled Wednesday that Germany’s efforts to protect state-run gambling monopolies violated E.U. laws. The ruling gives a boost to private betting companies that are eager to break into the lucrative German market. [...]

Analysts said the decision would speed the demise of the German monopoly system. The Europea Union has already been pushing Germany and other E.U. members to open the market up, and a revision of the restrictions, set to expire at the end of next year, has already been under discussion among the German federal states, which oversee gambling. [...]

“I think now, with this decision, we will soon have a liberalized market,” said Michael Schmid, senior consultant at Goldmedia, a research firm in Berlin. “It will be very hard to maintain a monopoly in the future.”

On the afternoon of 10 August 2010, a group of radio people from Germany, Austria and Luxembourg gathered in Erfurt, Germany to discuss the future of radio in the digital age. [...]

This year, the final conference session tackled the topic ‘Radio and the day after tomorrow: new possibilities for distribution and exploitation of radio content on the internet’. A presentation by Dr. Klaus Goldhammer, managing director of the Goldmedia Group in Berlin, included the assertion:

“Radio broadcasting and internet radio are different markets.” [...]

German soccer clubs may tap into revenue from the nation’s 7.8-billion euro ($10 billion) betting market when the European Court of Justice decides on the legality of the nation’s sports gambling laws next week. [...]

Unregulated online betting currently accounts for 3.9 billion euros, or about half of Germany’s sports gambling market, according to a study by media research company Goldmedia GmbH. [...]

Pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland announced it will raise 340 million euros in new capital as profits remain out of reach. Consumers in Germany have not embraced pay-TV as they have in the UK and France.

Sky Deutschland plans to raise 340 million euros ($448 million) in fresh cash in its seventh share sale since 2005 as the troubled broadcaster continues chasing elusive profits and tries to convince reluctant Germans to pay more for television content. [...]

The mentality is different in France and the UK, where around 42 percent and 47 percent of households respectively pay for extra TV services similar to Sky Deutschland. In Germany, that number is closer to 10 percent.

That has to do with history, according to Mathias Birkel, a senior consultant at Goldmedia. While in the not-too-distant past, French and British TV viewers were limited to four or five free channels, Germans have long been able to choose from around 20.

"If the French or British wanted more, they had to pay. Germans never did," Birkel told Deutsche Welle.

THERE are plenty of things to buy in a German supermarket, but little that is truly appealing or expensive. So it is with German television. Dozens of free channels carry a mixture of home-grown stuff and dubbed Hollywood imports. They strike most people as good enough. As many investors have painfully discovered, it is perhaps harder to sell pay-television in Germany than in any other rich country. Yet they keep trying.

In a sense, Germans do pay for television. Public broadcasters levy compulsory fees of €18 ($23) per month on every TV-owning household, a quarter more than Britain’s BBC. Many viewers also receive free television via satellite or cable. Analogue cable connections are cheap—about €10 per month—and often bundled into apartment rents. Only 5.4m households plump for true pay-TV, according to Goldmedia, a consultancy. That works out to less than 15% of all television-owning homes. In America, it is more than 85%.

One in five of all TV sets sold in Germany during 2010 will be a connected TV set, according to research from Gold Media in Berlin. By 2015, there should be 23 million hybrid TV sets in German households.

The research firm also said that by 2015, one in every three TV homes will access television via the web. Consumer electronics manufacturers, game consoles, computer companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple and Google are all in the race to get access to hybrid TV sets. [...]

“In the short term there will not be a revolution in the living room,” said Gold Media senior advisor Mathias Birkel. “And we do not expect the TV set to replace the PC for a typical internet applications. For the use environments are too different. And yet: just as in the mobile world uses the internet, internet TV applications will also contribute to total TV viewing time. With more hybrid TV content complementing TV programmes, the internet may increasingly become part of the daily TV routine. “ [...]

As television services become more sophisticated, enabling consumers to access content from across their home network and even from the Internet, as well as offering expanding VOD and catch-up services, content discovery is going to become critical. [...]

[...] Mathias Birkel, Senior Consultant at Goldmedia, highlights the role of the EPG, which he says is evolving into an interactive personalized and integrated entertainment guide.

“There are already hundreds of TV channels in many homes that are battling for market share. Competition can only increase while these channels are vying for the attention of the consumers with catch-up TV and VOD archives,” he points out. “Further variety is created by countless Internet TV services, video sharing platforms and content saved in personal home libraries – and all this on one connected platform.

“With such an extensive range of programming and content, the EPG is taking over the increasingly important function of an entertainment guide in the digital living room.” [...]

A new study on sports betting and online casinos in Germany has revealed that the country’s State Treaty on Gambling approved in 2008 is backfiring in terms of all-important revenue. Unregulated online casinos are increasing taking a bigger share of the German gaming market and the government is feeling the effects in a lack of funds.

According to the study “Betting & Gambling Market Germany 2015” undertaken by Berlin-based consultant firm Goldmedia, unregulated segments had a 20% share of the German online gambling market and that this is set to increase to 33% by 2015. 

[...] The German state government, by Goldmedia calculations, has lost €2.4 billion due to improper regulation since 2005.

Goldmedia also reported that “significant market shares, varying among segments, are captured by foreign providers.” [...]

Nevertheless, study author Dr. Michael Schmid still found some cause for optimism – if the German government fulfills certain conditions. “The upcoming renewal of Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling in 2011 provides an opportunity to correct the law’s undesirable effects, especially in the rapidly-expanding online gambling segment. The state will lose control of this market if the current prohibition on online gambling is continued.”

In Germany, the German State Treaty mandates that most forms of gambling be done through state owned monopolies. Online gambling through private operators is prohibited, except for horse racing. Advertising of gambling services is completely banned. [...]

[...] New market research on German gambling was carried out by Goldmedia. Deutsche Welle quotes from the Goldmedia report. "Of the €7.8 billion that Germans wagered in 2009, only €240 million went to the state-owned sports betting operators and €250 million to the horseracing operators." 94% of the bets were placed with private operators outside Germany.

Goldmedia analyst Michael Schmid said that there are 2.2 million online gambling fans in Germany. He said that a large number of these are the more Internet savvy younger generation and therefore the numbers will grow. Because these players find it easy to access the better online options offered by offshore operators, the state run operations will continue to suffer. [...]

Don't bet on Germany fully liberalizing its state-run gambling monopoly anytime soon. But there is a good chance the country will amend its restrictive gambling legislation to boost revenue and its control of the sector. [...]

Of the 7.8 billion euros that Germans wagered in 2009, only 240 million euros went to the state-owned sports betting operators and 250 million to the horseracing operators, according to new market research by Goldmedia. Some 94 percent of the market went to private companies outside Germany. [...]

Sky Deutschland epitomizes challenges abroad. Pity Brian Sullivan. As the new CEO of Sky Deutschland, Sullivan, who took over Thursday, has to do what no one in 20 years has managed: Make pay TV work in Germany.

Sullivan's bosses at News Corp. have a lot at stake. Analysts estimate that the company has sunk as much as $1 billion into German pay TV, buying a 45.4% stake in market leader Premiere, which they rebranded Sky, and investing in a costly marketing campaign to win subscribers. [...]

"Premiere's marketing and customer service were a textbook example of how not to sell pay TV to German subscribers," says Klaus Goldhammer, managing director of Berlin-based consultant Goldmedia. "There is huge scope for improvement there." [...]

Telekom has exploited its strengths by packaging pay TV as part of triple-play offerings: Customers sign up for Internet, cable TV and phone service, and DT throws in Entertain for next to nothing. Existing Telekom customers can upgrade to pay TV for less than $10, less than half the entry price for Sky.

"It's a head-to-head race between Telekom and Sky," Goldhammer says. "Both are deep-pocketed, global companies, so it's more a question of who can keep their head above water long enough to make money out of pay TV in Germany. Rupert Murdoch was willing to lose a lot of money at BSkyB before he turned it around, but I wouldn't want to be Sky Deutschland's boss right now." [...]

3D Eye Solutions, Inc. (Pink Sheets: TDEY) is pleased to announce that the Company is targeting the $1 Billion UK digital signage market through the signing of a licensing agreement with IMD Dimensions Ltd., a British consulting firm experienced in providing innovative digital signage solutions throughout the United Kingdom. [...]

The company offers digital signage displays and e-poster solutions ideal for public places. According to a new report produced by media analysts Screen Digest and Goldmedia, 'Digital Signage in Europe. The opportunities for digital out-of-home advertising', the digital signage advertising market and out-of-home market in Europe will quadruple over the next 5 years from $230 million in 2007 to just under $1 billion in 2012. Today digital screens account for 3.1% of total out-of-the-home expenditure, and this will grow over the period to around 10%. Out-of-home advertising revenues as a whole are expected to increase from over $6.8 billion in 2007 to approximately $10 billion in 2012. [...]

COLOGNE, Germany -- Goldmedia, a Berlin-based media research company, has developed a computerized model to forecast the boxoffice performance of German-language films.

Film forecasting models are nothing new to Hollywood but are alien to the European film industry, which fancies itself more artistic than commercially driven. Europe's generous film subsidy system also means that producers here often can get their films financed without worrying about the boxoffice.

But German film is becoming and increasingly lucrative business. Last year, nearly a third (27%) of tickets sold in the territory were for local productions. The majors are already in the business of making German movies -- see Fox International Productions getting behind "Auf Und Davon," the German-language directorial debut of Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz. [...]

Radio is supposed to be television’s starving sister, right? Well, according to a study by Goldmedia commissioned by the Bavarian media authority BLM salaried employees at radio stations make about 6% more than TV station employees. And salaries for radio people rose slightly more than salaries for TV people since 2002. [...]

HDTV will make "significant gains" in Germany in 2010, gaining appeal for the mass market and propelling the digitisation process forward, according to a new report from German consultancy Goldmedia. [...]

Amazon aims to kick up Kindle sales in Germany on Oct. 19. But publishers are leery, so don't expect many books to be available online [...] 

The German book industry is a stranger to this new digital world. According to the estimates of Goldmedia, 10,000 readers have already been sold in Germany.

E-books have revolutionized both publishing and reading the world over. But in Germany, publishers would rather not go digital. Is it, as they claim, an effort to protect writers and bookstores, or is it a deeply ingrained fear of technology?. [...] 

The German book industry is a stranger to this new digital world. According to the estimates of Goldmedia, 10,000 readers have already been sold in Germany. But, according to the GfK Group, a leading market-research company, in the first six months of 2009, only 65,000 e-books were sold, excluding specialist works.The German book industry is a stranger to this new digital world. According to the estimates of Goldmedia, 10,000 readers have already been sold in Germany. But, according to the GfK Group, a leading market-research company, in the first six months of 2009, only 65,000 e-books were sold, excluding specialist works. 

The number of German online radio stations has sharply risen in the past years. By April 2009, there were 1,914 online radios. By the end of 2009, the number will increase to approx. 2,200 – a five-fold increase in stations since 2006 (when there were around 450). Nearly four fifths of German online radio stations are available only on the internet. The others are live streams of FM radio stations (so called
simulcast streams). Online radio presents significant opportunities for FM stations. They can extend their scope and obtain completely new target groups through specialised web offerings. By now, over 120 online channels from FM radio stations exist in Germany. [...]

On June 17, 2009, the board of WDR Broadcasting Council reported that it had selected experts to evaluate the market effects of WDR’s online services, www.sport.ARD.de, and www.einsfestival.de. Based on the July 1st decision of the Broadcasting Board, the board’s chairman, Reinhard Grätz, selected companies to provide expert evaluation. “The decision was difficult. We had many good offers on the table. It was -- and is -- especially important to us that the method for market research of online offerings is scientifically based,” says Grätz. This ensures that the expert evaluation meets all legal requirements and is accepted by the EU Commission. Goldmedia GmbH, the European Economic & Marketing Consultants GmbH, and Ludwigs Medienarchitekten GmbH & Co. KG were commissioned with the expert evaluation. [...]

In its meeting of July 9, 2009, the Broadcasting Board of RBB, the public broadcaster in Berlin and Brandenburg, decided to commission Goldmedia GmbH and Solon Management Consulting GmbH & Co. KG as experts to evaluate the market effects of RBB’s online services. [...]

As such, a line is drawn between old and new media. There are others. [...]

The article includes information on the new Goldmedia report IPTV 2014.

IPTV services become economically viable for operators in Austria, Germany and Switzerland when they reach a customer base of 2.5 million, according to a study by Goldmedia. This milestone is currently only reachable for the former incumbents in those countries: Telekom Austria, Deutsche Telekom and Swisscom. [...]

In the world of IPTV, the German market is still the online equivalent of public access cable. Lacking the 800-pound gorilla that is Hulu in the U.S. or BBC's iPlayer in the U.K., the online video business in Europe's No. 1 TV market remains in its infancy. An upcoming study by Berlin-based consultancy Goldmedia found that by 2014, less than 8% of German households will use Internet TV, suggesting it will remain a niche market here for some time to come. [...]

The construction and operation of an independent IPTV platform is economically viable only for telecoms companies with at least 2.5mn broadband customers, according to a new study by Berlin-based consulting company Goldmedia.

The study, entitled 'Business models and prognoses for IPTV platforms in Germany, Switzerland and Austria', states that an IPTV platform built by a telco with this many subscribers can expect to break even after five years. [...]

In contrast to pure, ad hoc, ambient media formats, digital formats have the potential to become one of the leading out-of-home (OOH) advertising typical standard formats in the future. Following is an extract from Goldmedia and Screen Digest's latest report on the sector: "Digital Signage in Europe".

The number of digital out-of-home networks has dramatically increased

over the past months, mostly because of the decreasing hardware costs: large

flat-panel screen prices have dropped in recent years, as well as costs for data distribution and data storage. [...]

­TV shopping is growing rapidly, with predictions of a 54 per cent increase in revenue over the next five years.

According to analysis by Goldmedia and Screen Digest ('supported' by the TV shopping industry), the market value of shopping from the television will top €6.4 billion by 2012.

Western Europe boasts a staggering 65 shopping channels including auction and travel shopping. [...]

­While store groups across Europe are bracing themselves for tough trading conditions, shopping over the television is forecast to boom over the next few years, according to a report published on Thursday.

Media analysts Screen Digest and Goldmedia forecast that revenues from television shopping would jump by 54 percent to 6.4 billion euros ($8.1 billion) by 2012, fuelled by growth in digital and Internet TV. [...]

­By the year 2012 more than 60% of mobile phones in Germany will function with UMTS and therefore provide their users with fast internet access, is the prediction by the German Association for Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM). Turnover generated by mobile data services in Germany without taking into account SMS and MMS services is therefore going to almost triple from 1.6 billion Euros in the year 2007 to 5.7 billion Euros in 2012. This is the finding of a study called “Mobile Life 2012? which was carried out jointly by BITKOM and the Goldmedia consulting firm. [...]

­The report 'Digital Signage in Europe: opportunities for digital out-of-home advertising', produced in partnership with German research company Goldmedia, examines the fast-growing market for digital out-of-home media in Western Europe. [...]

­A report from Goldmedia says that 3G penetration rates will reach 60% in Germany by 2012 and revenues from data services on mobile devices, not including those from SMS and MMS, are expected to more than triple to Euro 5.7bn by 2012 from Euro 1.6bn in 2007. [...]

In the next few years, more and more people will have access to ultra-fast Internet on their handsets via UMTS (3G). 3G penetration in Germany will exceed 60 per cent by 2012. Revenues from data services on mobile devices, not including those from SMS and MMS, are expected to more than triple to Euro 5.7bn by 2012 from Euro 1.6bn in 2007. Data Services are the main driver for the mobile Internet. These are the results of the new report MOBILE LIFE 2012, from the Berlin-based media consultancy GOLDMEDIA.[...]

Berlin-based Goldmedia’s new report Mobile Life 2012 says 3G penetration of over 60 per cent will drive the rise in revenues.

The total is mostly comprised of data tarriff revenue, with mobile video, games, music and mobile advertising contributing 740m euros by 2012.

With a population of 82m and mobile penetration at 125 per cent, Germany is Europe’s biggest telecommunications market. [...]

Revenue from data services on mobile devices in Germany is expected to more than triple to 5.7 billion euros ($8.3 billion) by 2012 and sales from mobile advertising are seen rising at the same rate, according to the findings of an industry study.

German IT association Bitkom and Berlin consultancy Goldmedia said on Wednesday sales from mobile data, which hit 1.6 billion euros last year, will soar in particular thanks to mobile business services as well as mobile entertainment.

[...]

Digital outdoor media is gaining momentum across Western European according to the new report produced in collaboration by media analysts Screen Digest and Goldmedia. The platform is already widely established in UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland but is now on the rise across the whole of the region.

The report ‘Digital Signage in Europe – The opportunities for digital out-of-home advertising’ examines the emerging market for digital out-of-home media in Western Europe – advertising on digital displays installed at various locations, e.g. airports, stations, trains, supermarkets and other public places. Screen Digest forecast that digital out-of-home net advertising revenues in Western Europe will quadruple over the next five years from €158m in 2007 to a forecast of €626m by 2012. This equals a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent.

Video could boost German ecommerce by up to 4.1 bln Euro.

The extensive use of video will help eCommerce platforms

to unleash untapped potential, winning more customers and convincing

people to buy more goods online.

Grande attesa per l’uscita del primo studio congiunto di EMCA (European Media Consulting Association), prevista per mercoledì 23 aprile. Si tratta di “Digital Switch Over - Status quo and outlook” che analizza la situazione attuale in Europa sulla transizione alla televisione digitale. [...]

I membri EMCA sono società di consulenza leader provenienti da diversi paesi europei con comprovata esperienza nelle aree dei nuovi media e dei media digitali, tlc ed entertainment. Membri attuali sono: 3 Vision nel Regno Unito; Asset Media Consulting in Spagna; Goldmedia in Germania; ITMedia Consulting in Italia; NPA conseil in Francia.

La Asociación Europea de Consultoras de Medios, EMCA, nace como una alianza estratégica internacional de consultoría para medios, entretenimiento y telecomunicaciones.

EMCA está formada por miembros de Alemania, Francia, Reino Unido, Italia y España. Su primer proyecto en colaboración de esta red internacional se centra en el "Estado actual y panorama del encendido digital" y ofrece una visión de la situación que atraviesa Europa en el proceso actual de transición hacia el mundo de la televisión digital. [...]

Los miembros de EMCA son empresas de consultoría y asesoramiento europeas líderes en sus respectivos mercados con una larga trayectoria y conocimiento sobre los nuevos medios digitales, el mercado de las telecomunicaciones y el entretenimiento. Sus actuales miembros son: 3Vision en el Reino Unido, Asset Media Consulting en España, Goldmedia en Alemania, ITMedia Consulting en Italia y NPA Conseil en Francia.

According to a study conducted by consultancy Goldmedia and supported by the German Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media, there will be 2.5 million homes subscribing to IPTV services in Germany by the year 2012. Annual turnover generated by IPTV services in Germany is expected to reach €420m by 2012.

Germany is currently behind other European countries in terms of IPTV subscriber numbers. There are currently around two million subscribers in France. An appeal has been made for policymakers inGermany not to suffocate the new market with over-regulation. Policymakers must bear in mind the fact that legislation for traditional broadcasting cannot be applied to telcos offering IPTV.

To European broadcasters, they have become vital sources of income in times of sinking advertising revenue. To critics, they represent the very worst in television programming - cheaply made shows designed to rip off viewers.

Now, on the heels of fraud allegations, quiz shows are coming under the scrutiny of regulators across Europe. The allegations of fraud and deception circulating in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany recall the quiz show scandals that rocked 1950s America, but they have a decidedly digital bent. Programs asking viewers to respond using premium-rate phone lines, text messages or interactive TV services are also under scrutiny.

In Germany, call-in shows earned broadcasters revenues of €450 million, or $611 million, in 2005, according to the Berlin-based consulting firm Goldmedia, while quiz shows contributed up to 43 percent of the total revenue in 2005 for the German sports channel DSF. The largest British commercial broadcaster, ITV, took in nearly £100 million, or $200 million, from such programs last year, Goldmedia said.

COLOGNE, Germany -- Mobile TV could prove a lucrative new market in Germany, with mobile TV viewers topping 8.7 million in the territory by 2012, according to a new study by media analysts Goldmedia.

Mobile television -- TV broadcast directly to mobile phones -- is still in the test stages in Germany but local telecoms, mobile carriers and traditional broadcasters are scrambling to submit proposals for nationwide DVB-H licenses.

According to Goldmedia, there is huge potential in the new mobile market.

"Before mobile text messaging was launched, no one would have thought that it would become a mass-market product," said Goldmedia analyst Michael Schmid, one of the authors of the new study.

Schmid believes that mobile TV could prove a similar success story provided the new services "(have) clear marketing strategy, a well-defined target audience and offer significantly more than 10 distinct programs or channels."

The Goldmedia study, backed by NBC Universal Global Networks, based its findings on field studies and official Digital Video Broadcast Handheld trials in such German urban centers as Berlin.

Mobile TV based on the DVB-H standard may have got off to a slow start in Germany, but a mainstream audience for the services will gather momentum beginning next year, according to a new study by Goldmedia. The study, in cooperation with NBC UNIVERSAL Global Networks, estimates about 8.7 million – or 10 percent of mobile subscribers in Germany - would use mobile TV by 2012. The figure is based on the positive results of recent mobile TV trials in Berlin and Munich, Michael Schmid, consultant and author of the study, told me in an interview.

Television via Internet Protocol – in short IPTV – will make the breakthrough in Germany in 2007, prognosticates Mathias Birkel, Analyst at Goldmedia in the interview with Digitalmagazin.....

...presented by market researcher Goldmedia and the German association for ICT and new media Bitkom....

...BITKOM citing research from Goldmedia market research institute. If new private operators can...

...alone, according to a report by Goldmedia. DVD rental services will see their sales shrink....

In Western Europe and North America alone, a sales volume of 1.8 billion Euros is predicted up to 2007 (Source: Screen Digest/Goldmedia). All market research institutes see Europe in particular as a growth market. According to Informa the six billion US-Dollar mark will be reached in 2010 on the international market.

In 2005, Germans spent around 3.3 billion euros gambling and betting online, 35 percent more than the previous year. Their neighbors in Austria spent 1.3 billion euros, while the Swiss only spent 0.3 billion euros according to a study conducted by consulting firm Goldmedia on the market potential of lotteries, casino games, and betting on the Internet in the "DACH" region (Deutschland, Austria, Canton Helvetia).

In 2005, Germans spent around 3.3 billion euros gambling and betting online, 35 percent more than the previous year. Their neighbors in Austria spent 1.3 billion euros, while the Swiss only spent 0.3 billion euros according to a study conducted by consulting firm Goldmedia on the market potential of lotteries, casino games, and betting on the Internet in the "DACH" region (Deutschland, Austria, Canton Helvetia).

The consultancy firm Goldmedia, which specializes in media, entertainment and telecommunications, predicts a marked growth for teleshopping. Whereas, in 2003, the net turnover of the direct mar-keting channels broadcasting daily in Germany was about 777 million Euro, it is set to rise to about 1.5 billion by 2009....

Klaus Goldhammer, owner of Goldmedia, a Berlin research company that tracks media companies, said Mr. Saban had little choice but to hold on to ProSiebenSat.1.

The Axel Springer decision, Mr. Goldhammer said, showed that no German investor was likely to win antitrust approval to buy the operation.

"And apparently there are no foreign buyers ready to pay the same price as Axel Springer," he added.

On Feb. 17, Zeiler removed his hand-picked successor to run RTL Germany, the former RTL programming executive Marc Conrad, after just 100 days on the job.

"From the outside, it looks like chaos in the upper ranks," said Klaus Goldhammer, the owner of Goldmedia, a research company based in Berlin.

Selon une étude publiée ce mercredi, le marché du téléachat devrait doubler d’ici 2008 et représenter ainsi 8,8 milliards d’euros du fait de l’augmentation des abonnements à des services de télévision numérique par les foyers. Le rapport des chercheurs de Screen Digest et de Goldmedia a ainsi souligné que le Royaume-Uni est le pays leader en la matière avec pas moins de 40 chaînes. L’Allemagne et la France sont respectivement deuxième et troisième de ce classement.

UK television viewers are the most likely to buy merchandise from shopping channels, arrange travel services and spend money gambling over the tube. German and French viewers took second and third place, respectively, said media researchers Screen Digest and Goldmedia.

"RTL, and broadcasting in general, is continuing to play a greater role at Bertelsmann," said Klaus Goldhammer, managing director of GoldMedia, a German media industry research company in Berlin. "The growth potential in broadcasting is higher now than in traditional publishing, and TV advertising is starting to pick up again after a long lull."

Goldmedia GmbH in Berlin, a company that specialises in market research in the broadcasting sector, investigated the competition situation and market potential in the Swiss radio sector.

"T-commerce" is set to take off in Germany, according to a study conducted by Berlin media consultancy GoldMedia Consulting & Research. T-commerce involves revenue models that use television as a transaction channel, including Pay-TV, pay-per-view, teleshopping and Direct Response TV commercials. In 2001, more than EUR1.8 million was generated through t-commerce services in the German market, according to GoldMedia, and that figure is set to grow to EUR4.3 billion in 2007.