30th Jul 2007 07:00
Media Corporation plc ("Media Corp" or the "Group") Business Update The Board of Media Corporation plc, a leading internet media and advertisingCompany focused on web site publishing, internet search and media agency sales,is pleased to provide a business update. Highlights -- Successful re-launch of www.onthebox.com and www.creditcardexpert.co.uk leading to significant revenue growth -- Planned Re-launch of major portals including www.gambling.com and www.casino.co.uk during August and early September 2007 -- Expansion in advertising agency Eyeconomy with new staff and recently launched Manchester office -- Advanced negotiations on Casino.co.uk sale With a strong pipeline of new advertising campaigns and clients in the comingmonths combined with the redevelopment and re-launch of all of our majorconsumer websites, the Directors believe the outlook is now very positive forthe Group. Gambling.com Having reached the bottom of the fallout experienced over the US Gamblinglegislation, the business has seen average International cost per clickadvertising rates increasing from approximately US $7.50 in the 3 months fromApril to June to over US $12.50 in July. Based on customer feedback the Boardbelieves that this positive trend will continue as the industry gains momentum. The site is currently undergoing a major re-launch with the aim of providing themost comprehensive information site for online gambling and related services onthe internet. The new site will incorporate sophisticated web functionalityincluding consumer generated content, tournament games and user profiling withcontent ranging from sports results to poker jackpots. In addition to theenhanced content and functionality the site will aim to grow its member base of18,000 premium registered users who receive the Gambling.com magazine and200,000 members who receive the regular Gambling.com newsletter by offeringwinning tips and strategies from the World's leading Gambling experts. Casino.co.uk The website is currently undergoing a complete re-design which will fullyoptimise the site for users, advertisers and search engines. The advertisingdelivery system is being redeveloped to provide accurate real time data foradvertisers looking to target specific geographic or demographic markets.Although advanced negotiations are ongoing with a potential buyer ofCasino.co.uk the decision has been taken to fully redevelop the website with theaim of significantly growing the revenues generated, pending conclusion ofnegotiations. Onthebox.com The re-launch of the Onthebox.com website in June has been a considerablesuccess with a 30% increase in daily traffic and registrations. The new site hasenhanced functionality and content including user generated programme commentsand SMS alerts. Having attracted no significant advertising in the past, thesite has billed over £25,000 during July 2007 from advertisers including Channel4 and Channel 5. With a strong pipeline of advertising bookings the Boardbelieves that further growth can be anticipated. In addition, there are ongoing negotiations with a major media group to providesite sponsorship and streaming television content to Onthebox.com users. Thesite now receives over 1.2 million monthly visitors compared to 900,000 beforethe re-launch and is expected to continue to grow. Creditcardexpert.co.uk Since the acquisition in December 2006, financial performance has been mixed,due to changes in Google's search algorithm. Since a key driver of revenue hasbeen the site's competitive hits in key search terms such as Credit Cards or UKCredit Cards, it is essential that it is well positioned for these terms insearch results. With recent investment, the site now consistently ranks in thetop 5 search terms on Google for these keywords, which has translated toimproved revenues. With the imminent launch of www.personalloanexpert.co.uk andwww.broadbandwise.co.uk in the next few weeks, the Directors outlook for the newFinancial Portal division is positive. FlightComparison.co.uk The www.flightcomparison.co.uk website whilst still generating relatively lowrevenues has shown consistent growth in both traffic and revenue since theacquisition in January 2007. Additionally, the www.flightcomparison.com websitehas recently been launched to target the U.S. market and is currently beingoptimised for search engines. The search optimisation of the new website and newcommercial partnerships should take effect in the coming weeks. Eyeconomy.co.uk This business has expanded rapidly during 2007, having recruited a number of newsales and trafficking staff and launched an office in Manchester. There havealso been a number of new client wins including Lastminute.com and Alliance andLeicester. With the new office, staff and clients it is expected will benefitfinancially over the next financial year. Eyeconomy will be exhibiting at both Ad Tech London and New York, the leadingonline advertising trade show, during 2007 as Eyeconomy looks to raise itsindustry profile and further grow its international client base. Commenting on trading, Justin Drummond, Chief Executive, Media Corp plccommented: "Following the introduction of the United States anti-gaming legislation inOctober 2006, we quickly sought to diversify the Group's business by acquiringinternet portals in the travel and financial markets and invested in areas ofbusiness that were not dependent on the online gaming industry for revenue. Inaddition, we made an investment in Eyeconomy, the Group's advertising agency,and this strategy has proven to be successful. With the imminent re-launch of our major websites during August and earlySeptember we believe that the Group is in a much stronger position to moveforward positively." For further information please contact: \* TMedia Corporation plc Justin Drummond, CEO+44 (0)20 7618 9000 Buchanan Communications Charles Ryland/Suzanne Brocks/Susanna Gale+44 (0)20 7466 5000 Canaccord Adams Limited Mark Ashurst, Managing Director+44 (0)20 7050 6500\* T Notes to editors: Listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Media Corp, is a leadinginternet media and advertising Company focused on website publishing, search andmedia agency sales. The Group has three principal divisions: Website Publishing - Media Corp has a diverse publishing division specialisingin online media. Our impressive list of websites includes a number of marketleading sites Including www.gambling.com, www.casino.co.uk,www.creditcardexpert.co.uk, www.onthebox.com, www.freedeal.co.uk. Search Technology - The vertical search specialists building sector specificsearch engines for advertisers to communicate in a highly targeted environmentwith their particular audience. All of our Search and Media products are poweredby our own high performance proprietary technology. www.searchfocus.co.uk. Media Agency - Formed in 1996, Eyeconomy specialises in mass reach campaigns toover 30 Million unique consumers per month via its own proprietary ad-servingand tracking technology for clients including AOL, Dell and American Express.www.eyeconomy.co.uk. www.mediacorpplc.com Copyright Business Wire 2007Related Shares:
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