ITV Underestimates Ad Demand For ABC1 Audience, Says Report

A report by The Billett Consultancy claims that the great demand for ABC1 audiences by advertisers has caused ITV to overtrade in this area resulting in the provision of more discounts than its inventory will allow for. The ramifications of this are that other advertisers are effectively subsidising the ABC1 discounts.

The increase in demand for ABC1 airtime is driving down the quality of slots available to fmcg (fast-moving consumer goods) advertisers, says the report. Furthermore, Billett’s claims that ITV’s ability to deliver niche audiences and the extent of its discounts are below that of the other channels.

Average industry discount to TV advertisers in 1997 was 16.5% less than Station Average Price (SAP) according to the report. However, ITV’s average discount against SAP was only 8.5%; this compared with Channel 4’s 21%, Channel 5’s 37% and an average satellite discount of 47%. Billett’s uses its TimeTracker system to calculate the discount figures.

Chief executive John Billett believes that ITV will face increasing competition from the other channels which are able to offer more attractive packages for delivering certain audiences. He also notes that TSMS is offering 1% more discount than Carlton and 1.5% more than Laser.

The Billett Consultancy: 0171 734 3455