BUSINESS BRIEFS
Expect more in-theater ads
Advertiser Staff
Ad forecasters at ZenithOptimedia said yesterday that spending on in-theater ads, usually shown before the trailers, rose by 18 percent this year to $400 million — and likely will go up by about 15 percent each year through 2008.
Driving growth is digital projection that makes it easy to change ads or target ads to different audiences, says Tim Jones, CEO of ZenithOptimedia's U.S. operations.
CELL-PHONE USERS RATE THEIR FIRMS
The huge amounts being spent by cellular-phone companies to upgrade networks aren't resulting in better customer service, Consumer Reports says in its January issue.
In a survey of 50,000 readers, the magazine said cell-phone users on average gave their company a score of 67 out of 100.
In its ranking of cellular companies, Consumer Reports put Verizon Wireless at the top, followed in order by T-Mobile USA, Sprint PCS and Cingular Wireless. The annual survey was done in September, shortly after Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. merged to form Sprint Nextel Corp., so the two firms were considered separately.
INTEL TO INVEST IN EXPANSION
Chip-maker Intel Corp. will invest more than $1 billion in the next five years to expand its operations in India and in local technology companies, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said yesterday.
The investment by the world's largest computer-chip maker will include a $250 million venture-capital fund, which Intel has created for investing in Indian companies that can benefit from the rapid growth in the domestic information-technology market in the South Asian nation, Barrett said in a statement.
TOYOTA, FUJI OK U.S. PLANT DEAL
Toyota Motor Corp. and its new partner Fuji Heavy, the maker of Subaru brand cars, have agreed to make Toyota vehicles at Fuji's U.S. plant in Indiana.
In October, U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. said it was ending its alliance with Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and selling its entire 20 percent stake in Fuji. At that time, Toyota bought an 8.7 percent stake in Fuji for about $315 million and became the top shareholder in Fuji.
JAPAN TO GET XBOX 360 FIRST
Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 video-game console will come out in several Asian countries early next year, months after it is released in Japan, the Redmond-based software maker said yesterday.
The second version of its Xbox console will be available Feb. 24 in Korea, and March 2 in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The Xbox 360 is due out Saturday in Japan — a key test for the company, since the first Xbox failed to gain a foothold there against Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2.
