Media

Radio stations in America have shaved a full minute off commercial loads, according to broadcast data company Media Monitors, LLC, in a new study revealed this morning at the annual Interep Radio Symposium held at Bear Stearns headquarters in New York City.

Grupo Televisa, S.A. is disappointed about the outcome of the Univision auction. Televisa stated that after repeated offers to discuss all aspects of the proposal including price, Univision and its advisers refused to enter into any discussions with Televisa after they submitted their initial bid. Televisa stated that they will vigorously pursue other options in the growing U.S. Hispanic marketplace.

Univision Communications Inc. and a group including Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Saban Capital Group, today announced they have signed a definitive agreement under which the group will acquire Univision for $36.25 per share in cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including the assumption of $1.4 billion in debt.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) announced the release of Best Practices for Online Advertising and Affiliate Marketing Networks.

The document will assist marketers to protect and grow their brands in the online environment and provide prescriptive guidance to marketers employing affiliate marketing in their media plans.

According to a study conducted by Compete Inc., Hispanic shoppers are more likely to look for music-enabled phones online than other shoppers and Hispanic mobile phone users more likely to purchase downloadable content such as ringtones, graphics and ringback tones.

A Burst Media survey of more than 1,800 web users 13-17 years has revealed that almost 69 percent said that if they had no Internet access outside of school it would “ruin” or make their day “not as good.”