Channel 4 To Profit From Sex And The City Climax
Channel 4 looks set to hit the advertising jackpot later this week with the culmination of one of its most popular and highest rating programmes, Sex and the City, which comes to an end on Friday.
The hour-long spectacle is expected to attract over 3 million viewers in its 10:30pm slot and looks set to generate significant revenue for the broadcaster, with advertisers being charged around £70,000 for a much coveted 30-second spot during the show.
Most advertising is expected to be aimed at the programme’s core 16-34 year-old audience of affluent female viewers. Channel 4 claims all available airtime has been sold outside of special packages, as was the case with last year’s Big Brother.
The finale of the series will be flanked by Sex and the City Farewell, which will give viewers a chance to take a look back at the past six series with exclusive behind the scenes footage. It will simultaneously afford extra advertising space to the programme’s swan song.
The latest viewing figures from BARB show that the latest series of Sex and the City has drawn an average of 1.9 million viewers to Channel 4. However, this is a far cry from its highest ever average audience of 3.2 million in August last year.
Channel 4 is eking out the last of its high-rating American imports with Friends due to finish later this year and Frasier hanging up his hat shortly after. Some in the industry believe the channel, which saw its share of viewing dip below the crucial ten percent mark last year, will struggle for quality content.
The broadcaster recently revealed its spring schedule and mapped out entertainment content for the year ahead. The schedule include high-profile shows such as The O.C, Sky One’s Nip/Tuck and The Simpsons, which it poached from the BBC back in 2002 (see BBC Says Doh! Over Simpsons Rights).
A senior source within the advertising industry has expressed concern at Channel 4’s sudden loss of its major ratings winners. He said: “Losing the three at once is going to put a hole in the schedule and I’m not totally convinced they will be able to fill it.”
He added: “I can understand why they’re going out on a limb and trying not to rely on American imports and producing home-grown stuff like Shameless and No Angels. If they do well then long-term they’re in good shape, but short term I think they will suffer, and if they suffer in terms of audience figures then advertisers will suffer because the prices will have to go up.”
Earlier this week Channel 4’s chief executive, Mark Thompson, ruled out privatisation for the broadcaster following speculation that the channel may attempt to merge with Five and the announcement of ITV’s intention to intervene if it did (see Thompson Rules Out Privatisation For Channel 4).
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine Thompson Rules Out Privatisation For Channel 4 Channel 4 Auction Could Scupper Five Merger UK Viewers Call For Change In Way BBC Is Funded
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive