Three make shortlist for BAA outdoor advertising

However, Viacom Outdoor, which narrowly missed out on the contract in

1999, and Maiden Outdoor did not submit bids.

Viacom is currently defending the £1.2bn 10-year contract with
Transport for London for the Tube advertising concession, while Maiden
said the contract did not fit with its core business of rail, roadside
and retail.

BAA is due to make a final decision on the contract, which spans
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and
Edinburgh airports, early next year, with the new agreement to start in
April 2007.

JCDecaux, which is also bidding for the London Tube contract against
Viacom, has held the BAA account since 1999 when it acquired the
previous incumbent Sky Sites and formed the JCDecaux Airport
division.

Industry insiders are divided over whether BAA is actively looking to
move or whether it is simply trying to wring a lower price out of
JCDecaux.

The pitch is a statutory review required under Civil Aviation Authority
Guidelines, but BAA is hoping to award the contract for up to 10 years,
instead of the usual five.

Heathrow is the world's busiest international airport and the seven
airports serve a total of more than 140 million passengers annually, 28%
of the European market.

The deal covers 1,700 sites, including posters, lightboxes, ambient
media and promotional space, and the advertising space is set to
increase still further when Heathrow opens its fifth terminal in
2008.

Clear Channel is a significant player in airports in the US and also
holds the contract for Birmingham International Airport.

Van Wagner, which in the UK focuses on premium large-format billboards,
is a strong force in outdoor in the US, while its bid partner Eye Corp
has a network of domestic and international airports in Australia.