Billett’s, the advertising consultancy group, has issued a report detailing its opinion of the new ITV airtime sales policy which offers deals in terms of share of total broadcast spend (subscribers see ISBA Consults IPA On ITV Sales Policy). The consultancy believes that agencies should resist this policy and should receive the support of their clients. It argues that the policy is an attempt by ITV to dictate prices to the market by asking the agencies to effectively reinforce its market share.
ITV’s view, which Billett’s does not share, is that the mass audience it provides justifies a greater premium. Yielding to ITV’s pitch, according to Billett’s, will result in potentially higher prices, a continuation of airtime cost escalation and less flexibility to trade now and in the long term. It also believes that by increasing price pressure on those advertisers who are less reliant on ITV, “there is a strong possibility that a number of youth and upmarket advertisers will decide to drop ITV altogether.”
Billett’s is concerned that, as a result of this policy, the possibility in 1998 is a return to monopolistic practices of conditional trading and price manipulation. It describes this as “a backward step worth fighting against.”
Billett Consultancy: 0171 734 3455
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