ITV Sales Collars Joint Sponsor For The Bill
ITV has secured Co-Operative Bank and Co-Operative Insurance Society as the joint sponsors of The Bill, one of the cornerstones of its prime-time schedule.
The twelve month deal includes full broadcast sponsorship of the long-running police drama on ITV1, as well as midweek repeats and a Saturday evening omnibus on the recently launched ITV3. There will also be a significant online presence and off-screen licensing activity.
The Bill has been one of ITV1’s biggest and most consistent ratings winners over the last few years, with audiences regularly topping the 7 million mark. The show was also recently named most popular drama at the National Television Awards.
Commenting on the deal, Andy Thompson, controller, sponsorship and branded content at ITV Sales, said: “We are delighted with this major commitment by Co-operative Bank and Co-Operative Insurance Society to ITV sponsorship and look forward to building this partnership throughout the next year.”
Craig Shannon, executive director of marketing for Co-operative Financial Services, added: “This is the first joint sponsorship for The Co-operative Bank and CIS and we’re sure that our association with such a high profile and long running programme as The Bill will prove hugely successful. We look forward to developing a strong partnership with the team at ITV over the coming months and building a great campaign around the broadcast rights.”
Earlier this week ITV announced plans publish the results of research into the effectiveness of television advertising and sponsorship on sales. Over the last eight years ITV has invested £3 million in a single source research project that has seen a nation-wide panel of 3,000 homes equipped with a set-top meter to record television viewing and a bar code scanner to record purchases (see ITV To Publish Research Into Television Advertising).
ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itvsales.com
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