Feature: Can ITV’s New Afternoon Offerings Tempt Advertisers?

ITV does not usually have trouble finding top-rated programmes. Early mornings? GMTV. Mid Morning? Richard and Judy are still delivering. Prime time? Coronation Street. Later in the evening? Millionaire, London’s Burning and ITV News at Ten.

There are no prizes for spotting the omission here, and ever fewer prizes for advertisers on ITV in the 12.30 – 5.30pm slot. Having seen a steady decline in viewers over recent years, ITV’s afternoon schedule was damaged last year when Home & Away was poached by Channel 5. Now, with the exception of news bulletins, the channel rarely has a programme rating in the top ten for afternoons in any given week, while the BBC enjoys the continued success of Neighbours and its lunchtime news and weather, and surprise hit The Weakest Link.

ITV’s weekday afternoon audience has slipped to an average well below the 2 million mark, while costs per thousand have continued to rise, so what is there to tempt brands to this time slot? Mark Pimbley, planner and buyer at Starcom Motive comments: “Its still a cost-effective option if you want to reach housewives with children, but the afternoon slot is seen as very downmarket, especially by advertisers.”

Repeated calls for ITV to sort out its afternoon offering recently led to the return of 70’s soap Crossroads on 5 March. With ITV’s £10m investment, Crossroads is hoping to capture the late lunch audience away from Neighbours. Its much-hyped first outing managed to pull 2 million viewers, but was beaten by the BBC’s regional news. Whether it gains momentum or not, the efforts of Carlton’s production team have convinced sponsors Unilever to put Surf’s name to it. Later in the year a further £10m worth of investment will see UNM’s new soap Trafalgar Road take up the 5.30pm slot previously held by Home & Away.

Will shiny new soap operas be enough to transform ITV’s afternoons into a realistic prospect for advertisers? Pimbley thinks not: “In terms of the rest of the schedule, I think they must be able to do more than Supermarket Sweep. What about some decent documentaries? Even if they were recorded and watched in the evenings it would mean a broader audience. It’s been a major issue in the past twelve months that ITV just doesn’t deliver anymore. What it’s trying to do now in terms of investment is interesting, but we’ll have to wait and see.”