IPC Launches TV Times Push
IPC Magazines is to launch its £1 million promotional campaign for TV Times on 12 October. The publisher announced a strong Autumn push for its titles earlier in the year (see IPC Plans Autumn Promotions Push).
The TV ads for TV Times were created by Delaney Fletcher Bozell and feature Samantha Janus and Ally McCoist alongside the strapline: “TV Times. Nobody gets you closer to the stars.” The ads will be supported by poster, radio, press insert and direct marketing campaigns.
Sly Bailey, managing director of IPC’s TV Weeklies Group, said: “We have developed a bolder, sexier ‘must read’ TV Times – holding onto our heritage, but updating it for a new generation… This campaign will finally shake out any lingering misconceptions about TV Times.”
According to Tom Knox, MD of Delaney Fletcher Bozell, their brief was to position the listings mag as a ‘gateway to the glamorous world of television’. The campaign was planned and bought by CIA MediaNetwork and will run for four weeks on Yorkshire Tyne Tees, with a national roll-out planned for next year.
In the latest ABC figures, for January-June 1998, TV Times performed poorly in its sector, with a loss of 57,000 copies year on year.
TV Listings Magazines Jan-Jun 1998 ABC YoY Comparisons
| Title | Jan 97 – Jun 97 | Jan 98 – Jun 98 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Cable Guide | 1,101,251 | 1,603,006 | 501,755 | 45.56 |
| Live & Kicking | 231,884 | 215,205 | -16,679 | -7.19 |
| Radio Times | 1,400,270 | 1,400,095 | -175 | -0.01 |
| RTE Guide | 162,457 | 155,896 | -6,561 | -4.04 |
| Sky TV Guide | 3,491,173 | 3,571,949 | 80,776 | 2.31 |
| TV & Satellite Week | 195,126 | 198,049 | 2,923 | 1.5 |
| TV Hits | 274,115 | 281,889 | 7,774 | 2.84 |
| TV Times | 892,760 | 835,560 | -57,200 | -6.41 |
| Weekly News | 219,890 | 195,056 | -24,834 | -11.29 |
| What Satellite | 52,201 | 45,954 | -6,247 | -11.97 |
| Whats On TV | 1,702,184 | 1,750,167 | 47,983 | 2.82 |
(Note: Weekly News only carries listings in Scotland; the rest of the country has TV-related features).
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