Mediaset sees hard Q1; M6 says ad visibility low

BARCELONA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Italian broadcasting group Mediaset (MS.MI) anticipates a tough first quarter of 2009 but will keep advertising prices at the same level as a year ago, Chief Financial Officer Marco Giordani said on Wednesday.

Giordani said Mediaset, which depends on the domestic advertising market for two thirds of its revenues, was less affected by the ad downturn than peers in Britain or Spain.

He told the Morgan Stanley annual Technology, Media and Telecoms conference in Barcelona that Italy's "more socialist" market was "a little bit safer in bad times".

At the same conference, French broadcaster M6 (MMTP.PA) characterised the advertising environment as "very, very difficult".

"You need to fight every day," said Chief Financial Officer Jerome Lefebure.

M6 reported a 6.1 percent slide in advertising sales at its core channel for the third quarter.

Lefebure said he had very little visibility about planned campaigns for the rest of the year, and said negotiations about 2009 that would normally already have begun had not yet done so.

"This year, nobody wants to start," he said, though he put that down to negotiating tactics.

Mediaset's Giordani effectively wrote off the usually strong Christmas holiday season.  Continued...