Screen Digest

Last updated

Screen Digest Ltd was a company providing business intelligence, research and analysis on the global media markets based in London, United Kingdom, that has grown out of a monthly journal of that name that was founded in 1971. It was acquired by the technology researcher iSuppli in 2010, which was in turn acquired by information services company IHS Inc. In 2019, successor company IHS Markit sold most of its Technology, Media and Telecoms division to Informa. In exchange, IHS Markit received Informa's Agriculture Intelligence unit. [1] Informa merged the business with in 2020 to form Omdia. [2]

Contents

Company history

Screen Digest was founded in 1971 by journalist and documentary film-maker John Chittock, then film and video correspondent of the Financial Times , together with his business partner and wife Joy Chittock. Initially, it was a news digest containing abstracts of a range of media, including film and cinema, television and in particular the nascent video sector, with editorial emphasis on the relevance and brevity of stories.

From the first issue, [3] it has been characterised by the use of icons to identify the broad media subject area of each news story and the inclusion of contact information for companies, as well as organisations mentioned in news items. Other features from the start were the inclusion in the subscription of a free binder and detailed annual index, based on the concept of acting as a journal of record.[ citation needed ]

In February 1972, a four-page centre section on yellow paper was introduced, initially to carry a page of reference material and articles from members of the industry. Among early contributors were Robert W Sarnoff, then chairman of RCA, film director and teacher Thorold Dickinson and the BBC director-general Charles Curran. This developed into a data-related eight-page section based on the company's recent research. Also in that month David Fisher joined as news editor and led in the shaping of the standards of the commercial publication. He became editor in July 1974 and held that position until January 2011. [4]

In the mid 1970s, Chittock and Fisher produced a daily half-hour closed-circuit radio programme for delegates at the 1976 British Industrial Film Festival in Brighton, and repeated the exercise the following year's 18th International Industrial Film Festival [5] at the National Film Theatre in London.

In 1976, Screen Digest formed an alliance with Nord Media, a London-based research business owned by Ebav, an audio-visual company jointly owned by the Scandinavian enterprises Esselte and Bonnier. The partnership ended in May 1980.[ citation needed ]

Chittock sold the company in July 1996 to a management team comprising David Fisher, Allan Hardy, Ben Keen and Mark Smith. At that time, the company had one full-time employee. Since then, Screen Digest has expanded its consultancy and report publishing activities, as well as developing a set of continuously updated online information and data services on Advertising, Broadband Media, Cinema, Games, Mobile Media, Television, Television technology and Video. Screen Digest now counts over 50 full-time employees, with bases in New York and California in the US and Melbourne, Australia, as well as London.[ citation needed ]

In 2007, Screen Digest acquired the US video market research company Adams Media Research (AMR), [6] [7] and established Screen Digest Inc. The Global Media Intelligence (GMI) division was formed in 2007 to supply reports on media companies for corporate investors. [8] During this period, Hollywood screenwriter Arash Amel was formerly a leading media analyst at the company, overseeing the launch of the US services. [9]

Media conferences

In its association with Nord Media, Screen Digest staged two video conferences: Video Disc 77 [10] and Video Disc and Videogram 79. [11]

In May 1981, Screen Digest was involved in conference organisation for the International Video Week, [12] co-ordinated by The Economist and held on the South Bank, London. The event was staged again the following year. Several industry lunches were also held in London around this time, which included guest speakers such as Buckminster Fuller and Rosita Sarnoff, granddaughter of David Sarnoff.[ citation needed ]

In 1996, Screen Digest became responsible for arranging the conference programme for the annual European Video Perspective (PEVE) home entertainment conferences and in 2007 acquired the sole ownership of the event. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Sarnoff</span> Russian and American businessman (1891–1971)

David Sarnoff was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led RCA for most of his career in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paychex</span> American payment technology company

Paychex, Inc. is an American company that provides human resources, payroll, and employee benefits outsourcing services for small- to medium-sized businesses. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, the company has more than 100 offices serving approximately 740,000 payroll clients in the U.S. and Europe. Paychex is ranked 681st on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations by revenue.

<i>Janes Fighting Ships</i> Annual warship reference book

Janes Fighting Ships is an annual reference book of each country's navy and coast guard, along with their weapons and aircraft. Included are ship names, construction data, size, speed, range, complement, engineering, armament, and sensors. This is generally followed by relevant commentary. Originally, it was illustrated with ink sketches done by founder, Fred T. Jane (1865–1916). It is his surname "Jane" that makes this title distinctive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S&P Global</span> American financial services company (founded 1917)

S&P Global Inc. is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial information and analytics. It is the parent company of S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Global Engineering Solutions, S&P Global Sustainable1, and S&P Global Commodity Insights, CRISIL It is also the majority owner of the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture. "S&P" is a shortening of "Standard and Poor's".

Ascential plc is a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Informa in October 2024.

Janes is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Yergin</span> American business executive and author

Daniel Howard Yergin is an American author and consultant within the energy and economic sectors. Yergin is vice chairman of S&P Global. He was formerly vice chairman of IHS Markit, which merged with S&P in 2022. He founded Cambridge Energy Research Associates, which IHS Markit acquired in 2004. He has authored or co-authored several books on energy and world economics, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, (1991) The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World (2011), and The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ovum Ltd.</span> British market research company

Ovum, now part of Omdia, was an independent analyst and consultancy firm headquartered in London, specializing in global coverage of Telecommunications, Media and Technology.

Fairplay was a weekly news magazine devoted to the international merchant shipping industry, delivering “content tailored for its core audience of ship owners, managers, operators and charterers.“ It was founded by Thomas Hope Robinson in 1883 and remained in continual publication until 2018. From 2011, Fairplay's publishing company IHS Fairplay was a division of IHS Markit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarnoff Corporation</span>

Sarnoff Corporation was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology. It was named for David Sarnoff, the longtime leader of RCA and NBC, and had headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, though with a Princeton address.

Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Penton was an information services and marketing company. The company's three largest revenue streams came from events, digital and marketing services. Although Penton had a long history as a trade publisher, in 2015 it reported that 35 percent of its EBITDA derived from digital products, 54 percent from events, and 11 percent from print. The main industry segments served by Penton include agriculture, transportation, natural products/food, infrastructure, and design and manufacturing.

Markit was a British financial information and services company that focused on credit derivative pricing. It was founded in 2003 and merged in 2016 with IHS to form IHS Markit.

IHS Markit Ltd was an information services provider that completed a merger with S&P Global in 2022. Headquartered in London, it was formed in 2016 with the merger of IHS Inc. and Markit Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R.L. Polk & Company</span> Data publishing company

R. L. Polk & Company was a provider of business and marketing information to the automotive industry, insurance companies, and related businesses. It was based in Southfield, Michigan with operations in several other countries, including Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, China and Australia. Its business-to-business marketing services included PolkInsight, the National Vehicle Population Profile (NVPP), Blackburn / Polk Marketing Services Inc. (BPMSI), Polk Dealer Marketing Manager, The Ultimate Perspective (T.U.P), Polk Canada Net, Polk Vehicle Lifecycle System, Polk CrossSell Reports, and Polk Total Market Predictor. From 1999 it was the owner of the vehicle data service Carfax.

Journal of Commerce is a biweekly magazine published in the United States that focuses on global trade topics. First published in 1827 in New York, it has a circulation of approximately 15,000. It provides editorial content to manage day-to-day international logistics and shipping needs, covering the areas of cargo and freight transportation, export and import, global transport logistics and trade, international supply chain management and US Customs regulations.

Endeavor Business Media, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, publishes trade publications and related websites and hosts related events.

JOC Group Inc., is a provider of global intelligence for trade, transportation and logistics professionals. It is founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Owned by IHS Inc., its brands include The Journal of Commerce, PIERS: The Port Import/Export Reporting Service, and a number of directory databases covering the international trade, railroad, and trucking markets. The JOC Group also stages about 11 conferences and exhibitions serving international trade and maritime markets.

Datamonitor is an international company providing market intelligence, data analysis, and opinion via a worldwide network of in-house analysts. The company tracks Automotive, Consumer Markets, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Logistics & Express, Pharmaceutical & Healthcare, Retail, Technology, Sourcing and Telecommunications markets. Its website claims to have over 6,000 clients, which it helps make strategic and operational decisions. Datamonitor was acquired in 2007 by Informa for £513 million in cash.

CERAWeek is an annual energy conference organized by the information and insights company S&P Global in Houston, Texas. The conference provides a platform for discussion on a range of energy-related topics; CERAWeek 2019 featured sessions on the world economic outlook, geopolitics, energy policy and regulation, climate change and technological innovation, among other topics. The conference features prominent speakers from energy, policy, technology, and financial industries, and is chaired by Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman, IHS Markit and Jamey Rosenfield, vice chair, CERAWeek, senior vice president, IHS Markit. Both are co-founders of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

References

  1. ↑ "IHS Markit swaps group that researches optical communications for Informa's agribusiness unit". Lightwave. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  2. ↑ "Informa Tech Combines Research Houses Under Omdia Moniker". Data Centre Knowledge. 12 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Screen Digest, October 1971. London: Screen Digest, 1971, 12pp
  4. ↑ Update by Fisher
  5. ↑ BFI | Film & TV Database | International Industrial Film Festival
  6. ↑ Adams Media Research, Inc.: Private Company Information – BusinessWeek
  7. ↑ Adams Media Research :: Press Releases
  8. ↑ Merrill Lynch Agrees to Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Global Media Intelligence, a Producer of Independent Research in the Media Sector
  9. ↑ "The media analyst turned screenwriter behind Disney+ Giannis biopic 'Rise' shares how he survived over a decade of rejections to break into Hollywood". Business Insider. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  10. ↑ David Fisher (compiler): Video Disc 77. London: Nord Media, November 1977, 40pp.
  11. ↑ David Fisher (compiler): Video Disc and Videogram 79. London: Nord Media, February 1979, 40pp.
  12. ↑ BFI | Film & TV Database |
  13. ↑ Screen Digest PEVE Digital Entertainment conference
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.