Pay-TV, B2B Publishers Likely to Weather Downturn

LONDON: Pay-TV platforms, business-to-business publishers and diversified media agencies are "best placed" to weather the current economic downturn, according to the Ernst & Young report Media and Entertainment…By the Numbers.

The report indicates that for many traditional media companies, cutting costs may not be enough: "To succeed, companies need to rethink their underlying business and operating models. Can they deliver their services in a different and cheaper way. Can they transfer their business model online?"

Pay-TV companies and diversified B2B publishers are in a good position, the report continues, due to low exposure to advertising and large subscriber bases. Commercial TV and radio, meanwhile, are "highly exposed" due to "their high reliance on advertising and their primarily domestic exposure."

Ernst & Young also forecasts that the British ad market will return to growth in the first half of 2010. "With the recovery, many advertisers will see some traditional platforms (e.g. TV) as good value for money."