Media&Marketing: As the UK publisher Johnston Press absorbs its latest €138 million Irish purchase, debate continues over whether the company overpaid for the assets of the Leinster Leader group.

But at least one of the assets it acquired in an earlier deal with with Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH), is performing strongly.

The Longford Leader was one of the papers Johnston acquired when it bought SRH's Irish papers earlier this year.

Accounts for the year ended September 30th, 2004 show profits up more than 20 per cent to over €1 million, with its net assets also increasing by the same amount. The paper was bought by SRH in March 2002 for €9.1 million.

Johnston meanwhile is expected to set up a new management structure for the more than 20 local papers it now controls in Ireland.

'Late Late' boost

Despite being reviled by many television critics, RTÉ executives will be satisfied with the strong start made this season by the Late Late Show. New figures show last Fridays show managed to reach an audience of 590,000 adult viewers. This was an increase of 2.4 per cent on the year before.

The Dublin advertising agency Saor Communications this week summed up the programme's performance: "The Late Late Show continues to attract over 50 per cent of all adults viewing TV on Friday evenings, with over 63 per cent of viewers women.

"It's interesting to see that 49 per cent of the affluent ABC1 demographic who were watching TV last Friday evening were also tuned in," said the agency.

The performance of the show is critical to RTÉ's schedule, with lots of advertising carried during the breaks. The programme also has a very lucrative sponsorship deal with Bill Cullen's Renault Ireland, which was recently renewed.

While the figures are strong, some advertisers are not entirely convinced by the show's ability to reach younger viewers. Paul Moran, managing director, Mediaworks, said this week something needed to be done to "freshen up" the programme.

"There is no doubt the programme is a long-term performer. But anything that goes out in prime time between about 9 and 11 o'clock is going to take a large audience share. The main challenge for the programme is to recruit a new generation of viewers.

"There is room for improvement in terms of recruiting viewers in their 20s and 30s," he said.

He said among the broadcasters the station might consider for the role in the years ahead were Miriam O'Callaghan, Ray D'Arcy or Ryan Tubridy.

'Mule' disappoints

While the Late Late Show is proving resilient, there may be some disappointment with the drama series, Pure Mule, which is set in a fictional commuter town. The programme airs on Tuesday and advertisers this week said that its ratings were a little lower than might have been expected.

The broadcast on Tuesday September 6th managed a 30 per cent share of viewers aged between 15 and 34, but dipped the following Tuesday, September 13th, to 25 per cent viewing share.

While the show is directed at a younger audience, its overall audience is still very healthy, with an average of 237,000 adults watching the programme.

QMP leads rally

The major advertising firms in Dublin continue to bounce back strongly after a few lean years. Accounts for Quinn McDonnell Pattison Ltd, better known as QMP, have just been released by the companies office. They show turnover from continuing operations up from €13 million to €23 million. Operating profits were also strongly ahead, from €74,553 to €469,055.

Among the directors is Conor Quinn, brother of the former minister for finance Ruairí. The company used to be a very tradional advertising agency, but it has expanded in recent years under managing director Tom Doherty.

The agency has won substantial business in recent years, including the water conservation account of Dublin City Council and mobile firm Meteor. While the agency has not won too many creative awards, most sources describe the company as a solid performer.

Meanwhile, the French advertising giant Publicis has emerged as the bidder behind a £1.5 billion (€2.2 billion) takeover approach to Aegis, the UK owner of Europe's largest media buying agency.

Both companies are active in Ireland and if the merger goes ahead it could have major implications for Irish agencies, most likely prompting further consolidation.