If you chose to view or download these documents you must accept that they are not presented to you as any form of investment advice and should not be used to support investment decisions of any kind. Following an outstanding year for the European broadcasting industry in 2000, this review outlines how the sector will fare in 2001 and beyond. Given the relatively high fixed cost bases of both television and radio operators, revenue downgrades are flowing through to the bottom line. However, valuations are now back at compelling levels, reinforced by robust corporate balance sheets. The auction of UMTS licences has transformed the outlook for much of Europe's telecommunications industry.
Many large operators are now heavily indebted and have little prospect of early re-financing.
Further widespread rationalisation is inevitable. There were 100 million net new mobile phone subscribers in Western Europe last year. There can t be many more years like that, and the market leaders will turn more and more of their efforts to building customer retention. As the handset evolves from Mr Bell s invention to a window on the internet, telcos will start selling things that aren t voice. This report focuses on the strengths inherent in the best European publishers and how this positions them for the new media age.