ITV Peaktime Share Expected To Narrowly Miss Target

ITV is expected to narrowly miss its self-imposed peaktime audience share target of 39% for 1999, despite putting in a strong performance in the latter half of the year. With only one week of consolidated viewing data to be produced by BARB, ITV is on target to take an average peaktime share of viewing, across the whole year, of between 38.8% and 38.9%.

Whilst this falls slightly short of the Network’s target, it has been achieved against a backdrop of a fast uptake in multichannel television platforms. The peaktime targets of 38% in 1998, 39% in 1999 and 40% in 2000 were set by ITV chief executive Richard Eyre back in January 1998 (see ITV Publishes Audience Targets For Next Three Years). Since that time both Sky Digital and ONdigital have begun to give away free the hardware required for their multichannel services. These offers, along with substantial marketing pushes, have driven up subscriptions to multichannel television ahead of ITV’s expectations.

ITV is likely to reassess the feasibility of its 40% peaktime share target for this year in the light of an increasingly competitive and fragmented TV marketplace, a spokesperson for the Network confirmed. Richard Eyre, who will step down as chief executive of the Network early this year (see Eyre Departs ITV For Pearson Television), is pleased with the performance of ITV over the last twelve months:

“We are delighted with our performance in 1999. To have increased audience share, widened our lead over the competition and achieved record revenues for our shareholders is a real achievement in a market where multichannel takeup is racing ahead of predictions. ITV is the only mainstream broadcaster worldwide to have achieved such a turnaround,” said Eyre.

ITV is also expected to pull in annual revenues £100 million ahead of predictions for the year. Revenues for 1999 are likely to be around £1.9 billion; the Network’s target was £1.8 billion.

ITV Network Centre: 020 7843 8000