Mediaset touts first-half ad sales gains

July 03, 2008 Piersilvio Berlusconi, son of Mediaset founder and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the broadcast giant's vice chairman, said that ad revenue was 2%-3% higher in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2007. The growth came despite weak economic growth, low consumer confidence and a year-to-year decrease in corporate ad spending. The news was music to the ears of investors, who sent Mediaset shares 3.7% higher in a flurry of activity late in the session after they traded mostly flat before the younger Berlusconi's comments.

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