BCE Inc. / Bell  has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Montréal-based Astral Media, one of Canada’s largest media companies. Astral operates 22 television services (including 13 French-language channels), with premium offerings like Super Écran, The Movie Network and HBO Canada, and top specialty brands such as…More

JCDecaux, Intel, Ficosa, Telefonica and digital signage specialist Admira have got together to create SmartCities Lab, a research laboratory intended to create street furniture for tomorrow. The first project to come out of the lab is the Smartquesina, which, as its name suggests, is a new design for an intelligent (smart) bus-shelter (marquesina). The unit…More

JCDecaux has deployed an ‘intelligent’ bus-shelter at the Place de la Bastille in Paris. It features four digital screens, three of which are touch-screens mounted on a column. They are Internet-connected and display information about all forms of public transport (bus, Metro, taxis, Velib bicycles) as well as about shops and tourist attractions in the…More

Kinetic and JCDecaux are launching the ‘Test the Near Future’ project, the UK’s first large-scale deployment of NFC technology as all Reading’s 6-sheet poster sites go interactive in a 4-week trial. From 5 March, 13 brands will provide exclusive content and voucher NFC experiences on 6-sheets across the town, allowing people to download information, offers…More

Astral Out-of-Home has announced the adoption of Near Field Communication technology for its street furniture in Toronto and Montréal. "Consumers are very active and increasingly demanding, and our NFC-enabled street furniture will allow them to quickly get relevant information about products that they like," said Debbie Drutz, Director, Media Innovation, Astral Out-of-Home. "For its part,…More

For the next two weeks, Clear Channel together with 3D Exposure and CURB are supporting Plan UK’s campaign Because I am a Girl. This initiative aims to bring to light the fate of young girls in the poorest countries of the world. The outdoor media owner has equipped one of its bus shelters on London’s…More

JCDecaux Innovate runs an outdoor campaign for McCain, which includes ten fully-wrapped bus shelter specials, fitted with 2-feet high, fibre-glass potatoes, in addition to billboards, roadside six-sheets and point of sale six-sheets at Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. Digital Outdoor also reaches commuters with tailored messaging on screens in train stations. The campaign is set…More

JCDecaux SA has announced today its revenues for the full year 2011. On a reported basis, revenues increased by 4.8% to €2,463.0 million compared to €2,350.0 million in 2010. Organic revenue growth of 5.7% was mainly driven by the dynamism of the Transport segment in Asia-Pacific and in the Rest of the World, and by…More

Titan has started a trial bringing digitally-enabled Phone Kiosks to New York’s Times Square. Three kiosks were constructed with digital panels, each capable of delivering HD video and static images. Each ad rotation lasts for seven seconds and contains content from 10 advertisers. “This could be an element of the phone kiosk of the future,”…More

JCDecaux has renewed its  street furniture contract for the City of Amsterdam following a competitive tender.  The contract, one of the largest street furniture concessions in Europe, covers 1700 bus shelters, 450 free standing advertising panels and allows the possibility of upgrading to digital displays in certain locations.