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China New Media’s digital out-of-home City Navigator network was one of its best-performing advertising properties during the second half of 2011.

Revenue from the Web-based, interactive City Navigator units rose 28.1 percent year-on-year to $0.9m during the period, although it dropped off slightly during the last three months of the year.

The 50-odd City Navigators, which the firm launched in 2009, were beaten only by China New Media’s billboard properties, which generated a 38.4 percent rise in revenue.

By contrast, revenue from street fixtures fell by 19.7 percent in the six-month period, and advertising sales on city transit properties were down 7.8 percent.

Altogether, revenue at the firm – whose stock is traded on the U.S. over-the-counter market under the ticker symbol CMDI – was up 9.8 percent on the same period in 2010, to $9.6m. Net income, however, dropped 35.1 percent to $1.5m thanks in part to increased sales costs.

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Short-seller Muddy Waters has renewed its attack on Chinese digital out-of-home media owner Focus Media, despite independent research commissioned by Focus which appeared to clear it of last year’s allegations that it had grossly overstated the size of its network. Screenmediamag.com editor Barnaby Page reports.

Following Muddy Waters’ charge in November that Focus was misrepresenting the extent of its LCD network in office buildings, residential blocks and public venues by as much as 50 percent, Focus called on Ipsos Marketing Consulting Company to validate its claims. That firm found only a minute error of about 0.04 percent, or 80 screens.

But now Muddy Waters has changed its tack and is alleging that around 30,000 “displays” in the LCD network are in fact cardboard posters.

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