Annual TV Market Round-Up – 2001

Revenue

ITV’s annus horribilis is clear to see when looking at ITV1’s revenue figures for the year. Down over £200m or 13.5% year on year to £1.7bn , the lowest point of all came in June, with a drop of 24% in revenues year on year. The only ray of hope came at the very end of the year, when December’s loss was only 5.2%.

In an analysis of the ITV franchise companies, Carlton, which saw the biggest increase in revenue share over 2000, witnessed the opposite in 2001, dropping 0.4 percentage points to 15.8%. It remained behind Central, which took the largest share of revenue over the year, despite a 0.3 percentage point drop, with 16.2%.

After a good year in 2000, and a healthy first quarter to 2001, Channel 4 saw an downturn in fortunes which saw revenue decrease for the remainder of the year, which led to total revenue across 2001 being down 3.8% year on year, at just over £600m.

Channel 5 saw some of the most impressive year on year revenue increases during 2000, but the media downturn bit hard at the fledgling channel during 2001, and revenues over the year were down 9.2% to below £200m. The summer months proved the harshest, with revenue in July and August dropping 19% and 19.1% respectively.

Cable & Satellite revenues were the only ones to see a year on year increase in 2001, although the increase was modest at just 2.7%. The first half of the year was positive overall for revenue in this category, although the first quarter, when double figure increases were witnessed, was markedly better than the second. As the year wore on, the pressure of the industry’s revenue shrinkage began to show, and the fourth quarter saw nothing but year on year decreases.

Costs Per Thousand

Costs per thousand fell across all categories and all channels on average during 2001, in a marked contrast to the previous year. Some of the most dramatic falls were at Channel 5, where ABC1 Adults fell by 16.6% and Housewives with Children, which dropped 21.3%.

Commercial Impacts

Commercial impacts on ITV1 were down across all audience categories. The largest fall was seen in Housewives with Children, down 6.5%

At Channel 4 most audience categories also saw year on year reductions, including a drop of 2.3% in the Women category. The exception was ABC1 Adults, which saw an increase of 0.6% compared to 2000.

Commercial impacts increased in all audience categories at Channel 5 in 2001. The most significant increase was a 14.9% jump in the Housewives with Children category.

Cable & Satellite once again saw the most significant set of commercial impact increases during 2001. These included an 18.5% increase in ABC1 Adults and a 16.9% increase in Women.

A summary of the key events in the Television media during 2001 is available by clicking End Of Year News Round-Up: Television

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