British broadcaster ITV sees advertising boost ahead

By Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) - ITV, Britain's largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, said it expected demand for advertising to bounce back strongly this summer after it suffered from having no Olympics coverage a year ago.

Chief Executive Adam Crozier said his talks with advertisers indicated that they were becoming more confident about spending.

"While that sentiment has shifted I don't think that has quite yet turned into actual behaviour," he said. "But I think it would be fair to say the fear of the downside seems to have largely diluted and people are now looking more positively."

The company posted a better-than-expected 16 percent rise in first-half profit, year-on-year, as its production business offset weaker ad demand.

Income from advertising across its channels, which feature shows such as "Coronation Street" and "Broadchurch", fell by an expected 3 percent in the half, the broadcaster said, but was coming back strongly.

It was expected to rise 12 percent in July, 20 percent in August and to be flat in September, compared with the same months in 2012, which would produce a broadly flat first nine months of the year, ITV said, sending shares to a 12-year high.

Crozier said last year advertising was affected by the coverage of major sporting events. ITV showed the Euro 2012 soccer tournament last June, but had no coverage of the London Olympics in July and August.

"This year is a mirror issue of last year," he said. "Last year because of the Euros and the Olympics people brought advertising out of July and August into June, and this year it shifted back the other way."

He said telecoms group BT was stepping up promotion around the launch of its sports channel, while its competitor pay-TV company BSkyB was also increasing advertising. Supermarkets, carmakers and the government were also spending more, he said.

MR SELFRIDGE

ITV has been building its production business, both by making more programmes for its own channels and other broadcasters, and by acquisitions in Britain and abroad.

Revenues in its production arm, which makes dramas such as "Mr Selfridge" and "The Psychopath Next Door", rose 11 percent to 395 million pounds, out of a overall company total of 1.3 billion pounds, while earnings from the unit increased 26 percent to 63 million pounds.

Shares in ITV rose to a new 12-year high of 166.5 pence in early trading. They were trading up 4 percent at 163.5 pence by 1036 GMT, the second-highest riser in the FTSE 100 index.

Analysts at Numis said the results were slightly ahead of its forecasts, and it raised its outlook for full-year ad revenue from flat to 1.5 percent and its pretax profit forecast to around 530 million pounds ($814 million) from 515 million pounds.

"We remain firm supporters of ITV, which is executing well on rebalancing the group by deploying cash flow into building (its production business) ITV Studios, while we view it as a natural play on UK macro recovery," they said.

Crozier shrugged off the impact of the merger between major ads groups Publicis and Omnicom on ITV, announced at the weekend.

"The media buying side is pretty consolidated anyway," he said. "We are perfectly capable given our of scale of handling ourselves in that market."

ITV reported first-half adjusted pretax profit of 270 million pounds, up 16 percent, on revenue up 2 percent to 1.3 billion pounds.

Analysts at Citi were expecting ITV to report revenues of 1.13 billion pounds and adjusted pretax profit of 256 million pounds, against consensus of 1.11 billion pounds and 263 million pounds.

(Editing by Sarah Young and Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-broadcaster-itv-sees-advertising-boost-ahead-110058355.html

lizzie borden iona taylor allderdice mixtape andrew bogut monta ellis wiz khalifa taylor allderdice mixtape reggie wayne

The Audiophile Next Door Shows Off His Suburban Playground of Sound

Plucking an old jazz album from his imposing wall of wax, Mike Grellman points to a smoke-stained edge on the front cover. The day he bought the record, Grellman asked the store?s owner about the stains on it and a ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/Lc8Vc3zjSTo/

Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes

Robin Thicke: 'Blurred Lines' like 'great art'

Performances

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

7 hours ago

You can run, but you can't hide from "Blurred Lines," the song that has turned out to be the surprise hit of Summer 2013. The song spent 7 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, while also generating a certain amount of controversy for its lyrics.

Thicke took the plaza's stage (holding a shiny gold microphone) to sing the tune, along with "Take It Easy On Me" and to chat with TODAY's Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday. Oh, and they also addressed the debate over the song's lyrics.

"When we made the song we had nothing but the most respect for women," said the 36-year-old singer, who releases his sixth album, also called "Blurred Lines," on Tuesday.

"I've been with the same woman since I was a teenager," he added. "Sometimes the lyrics can get misconstrued when you're just trying to put people on the dance floor and have a good time. But we had no idea it would stir this much controversy.... We only had the best intentions."

Anyway, he says, controversy is good: "That's what great art does, it's supposed to stir conversation, it's supposed to make us talk about what's important."

Well, whether you think "Blurred Lines" is "great art" or not, it sure is a catchy tune. Be sure to check out the videos of Thicke's performances from TODAY and the great tweets, Vines and Instagrams from our fans and TODAY anchors.

Source: http://www.today.com/toyotaconcertseries/robin-thicke-blurred-lines-great-art-thats-supposed-stir-conversation-6C10796002

columbus day Stacy Dash Amber Tamblyn Lilit Avagyan Nashville TV Show VP debate sandusky

Gays Willing To Destroy The Church And Jail Christians For ?The Way They Do Sex? Says Robertson

Pat Robertson says that gay people are willing to destroy the church, the military, businesses, and marriage itself, all to gain affirmation for ?the way they do sex.? The octogenarian multi-millionaire televangelist says loving Christians are required to try to stem ?sexual immorality,? and thus required to stop gay people from being gay.

Gay people, Robertson falsely states, are ?willing to destroy the church if need be, then to destroy the military if need be, then to destroy marriage if need be, then to destroy businesses if need be,? in order to have an affirmation of the fact that the way they perform sex acts is acceptable by the society.?

Ironically, Robertson says he worries Christians will be jailed for these acts of ?love.? Fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, from the American Family Association?s Bryan Fischer to Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli have called for the jailing of gay people for their acts of love too, waging campaigns to jail Americans for having same-sex sex.

?If you see somebody who is not going to go to Heaven and you really love him you want to do what it takes to get him into Heaven, if you don?t care about him you let him go to Hell,? Robertson said. ?We are people who love, and yet now your love is going to put you in jail, because the people who are going to Hell through their lifestyle think, ?well, we want to be affirmed.??

Hat tip: Right Wing Watch

Tagged as: American Family Association, bryan fischer, Gay Marriage, ken cuccinelli, lgbt, Marriage Equality, Pat Robertson, Same-Sex Marriage, Video

Friends:

We invite you to sign up for our new mailing list, and?subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email or RSS.

Also, please?like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter!

Source: http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/gays-willing-to-destroy-the-church-and-jail-christians-for-the-way-they-do-sex-says-robertson/discrimination/2013/07/29/72029

Airport Terminal easter bunny easter april fools pranks atlanta braves Happy Easter Game Of Thrones Season 3

Cold French winter shores up EDFs' H1 profit

PARIS (AP) ? France's state controlled nuclear power giant EDF says its net profit rose 3.5 percent in the first half as a result of a cold winter and high electricity prices.

The company, which runs all France's 58 nuclear power plants and has a stake in one of the U.S.'s biggest nuclear power companies, made 2.88 billion euros ($3.8 billion) during the period, up from 2.78 billion euros a year earlier.

Profits were driven mainly by its home market, though earnings were solid in Italy and Britain too. EDF owns British Energy, Britain's largest electricity producer. In Italy it owns Edison, the country's second largest electricity producer.

EDF says operating profit should rise "at least" 3 percent this year on an organic basis, excluding Edison, down from 4.6 percent achieved last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cold-french-winter-shores-edfs-h1-profit-072314289.html

Sanya Richards Ross decathlon Honey Boo Boo Child Nathan Adrian London 2012 Synchronized Swimming London 2012 hurdles Taylor Kinney

2013 MVPs Selected & Named: 9 Individuals in 7 ... - Franchising.com

Franchising is a tough business, and succeeding even tougher. But with a keen eye on the bottom line, customer service, and community involvement, there are a handful of multi-unit franchisees who rise to the top. We like to call them superstars and once a year Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine recognizes a select few with our Annual MVP Awards. This year we carefully selected 9 individuals who have demonstrated character, innovation, and sacrifice within their markets and brands. We'd also like to thank our sponsor, Comcast, for their support in making these awards possible. Here's a little more about each of this year's winners. Their full profiles follow.

William Ray Bruce
Noble Cause
Abundant Brands; Subway, Costa Vida, Roxberry Juice, and Big Al's BBQ

William Ray Bruce has always had a "do good vibe" philosophy to business. Abundant Brands is comprised of more than 280 Subways, Costa Vidas, Roxberry Juice, and Big Al's BBQ in Utah. So it's perhaps not surprising that in 2012 he teamed up with The Rescue Mission of Salt Lake City to provide meals to the hungry and homeless one day a week. He was inspired to donate the extra food for meals at the shelter after seeing a documentary about hungry people in the U.S. "diving" into trash bins to subsist on what is discarded daily by restaurants. He began the program in February of 2012. He delivers enough for about 450 meals every Thursday. More recently, he has begun "Subway Tuesdays" where he uses leftover bread and meats to feed those in need. His "do good vibe" is the cornerstone of his 280-plus franchise units.

---

Guillermo Perales
American Dream
Sun Holdings; Burger King, Popeyes, Arby's, Golden Corral, and CiCi's

Guillermo Perales thinks big. He's about to pass 400 units and he provides jobs to more than 10,000 employees. The native of Mexico came to America in search of success and he found it. His Sun Holdings, LLC was ranked among top 10 in the Restaurant Finance Monitor in 2012 and he is the largest Latino restaurant franchisee in the U.S. He also co-founded the Latin American/DFW Fund to raise money for Latino-based programs and initiatives. And he supports education by providing incentives for Latino students to stay in school. His Certificate of Achievement Award program provides five million free meal certificates every year to local students through the program. He also recognizes armed services veterans with free meals at his restaurants on Veteran's Day each year.

---

Danny Sonenshine
Spirit of Franchising
Far West Restaurant Group; Wingstop

Danny Sonenshine operates 21 Wingstop restaurants in Southern California. He opened one of the very first locations in Los Angeles (there are now 60 locations in the market) and recently opened the second test concept Wingstop Sports location in the country. He serves as president of the Wingstop Southern California Advertising Co-op and the Wingstop Franchise Advisory Council. Now he's got his sights set on Hawaii and Guam, where he has the rights to develop. He loves being a part of his community and spearheading things like a Wingstop SoCal sponsorship with the LA Lakers, Dodgers, and Angels. He provides a great example for how franchisees can get involved in their communities and be successful business operators.

---

Steve Baliva
Noble Cause
Partner, of Metz Culinary; TGI Friday's, Ruth's Chris Steak House, and Wolfgang Puck Express

Steve Baliva brings consistency to operations and focuses on bottom line profitability in all 3 of his brands. He has 13 T.G.I. Friday's; 1 Ruth's Chris Steak House; 1Wolfgang Puck Express; and 1 Lucky's Sporthouse. His team and communication skills have helped to build a strong, healthy business, that is characterized by growth. He believes it's important not just to operate a successful business but to be involved in the community, and he demonstrated that during the recent Hurricane Sandy that struck the east coast. During the natural disaster, two of his stores lost power but that didn't stop him. He was in the middle of things helping his employees move the food to other locations, working shifts to help fill in, donating and delivering endless amounts of food from their TGIF to shelters of those affected - including his employees.

---

Samantha Goldsmith
Influencer
Goldsmith Companies; Red Mango

It's taken 25-year-old Samantha Goldsmith less than three years to open 10 Red Mango locations on her native Long Island. That quick start approach makes her the healthy yogurt system's youngest franchisee and largest multi-unit owner, and has made Long Island the single largest market for the brand. She's loved the brand's healthy products since day one and is a big believer in marketing. She has used Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare accounts to promote her store growth. She's something of a rock star at her store grand openings and the recipient of the Influencer Award. "It's great when young people come to the manager and ask if I'm there because they want to talk to me about being successful in business," she says.

---

Joe Hertzman
Innovation
The Radcliff Group; Rally's

Joe Hertzman opened his first Rally's restaurant 28 years ago. Today he operates 24 Papa John's; 13 Rally's; and 7 Long John Silver's. He's always been a bit of an innovator. Last year he played a critical role in developing the brand's Peak 150 program to improve lunch performance. He also advocated a waffle cone be added to the chain's new Cold Creations menu; a product that has differentiated Checkers/Rally's from its competition, wowed guests, and driven sales.

He's an influential leader on the Franchise Advisory Council, and in 2012, won the Sustained Sales Growth award for achieving 41 percent sales growth on a five-year basis across his entire business. But it's his innovative spirit that has earned him the Franchisee of the Year Award from Rally's/Checkers.

---

Spencer Smith
Role Model
The Smith Group; Aaron's

Not all role models are flashy and charismatic. Sometimes the best ones are thoughtful and soft-spoken. Spencer Smith is such a leader. The Colorado multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee has earned his success by "following the program" and the Golden Rule. And it's all paid off. A staunch family man who grew up working at his father's tire store and on the family farm, believes that you can diligently follow the franchise system and have a spirit of innovation or entrepreneurship. Smith, who opened 39 Aaron's stores in eight years and nine months, also owns two Big O Tires. He succeeds by treating his employees and customers the same way he would want to be treated coupled with execution and delivery of service.

---

Kevin and Laurel Wilkerson
Veteran Entrepreneurship Award
Marco's Pizza

Kevin and Laurel Wilkerson served a combined 44 years in the U.S. Army. That, they say, prepared them for life in franchising. They've been in the Marco's Pizza system for 3-and-a-half years now and are getting results. In September 2012, they had the highest opening sales of any Marco's in the country. In April 2013, they had the second highest opening sales of any Marco's in the U.S. In 2011, Kevin was selected as the Area Representative of the Year for Marco's. And in 2012, one of their units was acknowledged for being in the top 10 in sales for the year. The couple rely on tools like gorilla marketing and direct mail to build business at their 7 locations. Kevin served as the inaugural President of the Area Rep Leadership Council (ARLC) and worked with the franchisor to create meaningful and lasting improvements to the system. He has also been instrumental in training many new franchisees for the Marcos system, even attending many of the new franchisees' store openings to lend a helping hand.

---

2013 Multi-Unit 50 Rankings

Looking for a new brand? Don't miss this year's "Multi-Unit 50" lists, ranking brands by (1) greatest number, and (2) percentage of multi-unit franchisees in their system.

Social Reach:

Viewer Response:

Source: http://www.franchising.com/articles/2013_mvps_selected__named_9_individuals_in_7_categories.html

Nicole Murphy Riley Keough Franz Kafka Homer Bailey Being Mary Jane Kate Stoltzfus Sloane Stephens

TX: Members of the Islamic community in Killeen celebrate the breaking of their...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/posts/10151589415042695

Fun ll cool j Presidents Day 2013 jack white wiz khalifa 2013 Grammys kelly clarkson