Five Doubles Profits As Ad Revenue Rises

RTL Group, parent company of Five, has revealed impressive profits for the broadcaster, doubling its pre-tax figure for 2003 to total €18 million in the 12 months to December 2004.

The company’s revenues also rose, adding 10.4% year on year €276 million, although RTL stated that the advertising markets could be unfavourable, remaining cautious for the next 12 months.

The increased profits were due, in part, to an increase in profitability by the broadcaster, as well as a strong advertising market. RTL stated that Five had outperformed the market in terms of growth in adspend, up 9%, compared with an average of 7% by rival broadcasters.

Five’s audience share also increased, adding 0.1% point year on year to climb to 6.7%. Despite the incremental rise RTL was eager to point out that Five was one of only two terrestrial broadcasters to see a rise in share, with all except for Channel 4 experiencing stagnation or decline.

Amongst Five’s programming highlights over the past year were reality series The Farm and Cosmetic Surgery Live, which proved particularly popular with 16-34 year old viewers. The broadcaster’s factual output continued to do well, with the Extraordinary People strand averaging over 2 million viewers. Highlights in the broadcaster’s news and current affairs content included one-off documentaries fronted by Donal MacIntyre and Alastair Campbell’s interviews of, among others, Bill Clinton and Peter Mandelson.

Elsewhere, RTL stated that Five’s films and acquired series had performed well, stating that a particular highlight was the television premiere of Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines, watched by 4.9 million viewers to notch up a 20 per cent share. American imports Crime Scene Investigation and CSI New York continued to be popular, while the broadcaster also drew attention to the recently acquired Joey (see Joey Breaks Five’s Viewing Records With 4.1 Million).

The broadcaster also revealed that several high-profile film premieres will feature in its schedules this year, with Five eager to continue its broadcast of high-quality movie content. Amongst those slated for screening are Spiderman and Black Hawk Down.

Commenting on the company’s performance, chief executive Gerhard Zeiler said: “In 2004 advertising market conditions continued to be mixed in Europe. Spain was the out- performer with the UK and France strong and Belgium showing moderate growth. Germany and the Netherlands continued to be weak. In the first two months of 2005 the picture remains mixed with low forward visibility. We are therefore cautious on how the advertising markets will develop this year.”

Five: 020 7550 5555 www.five.tv

Recent Television Stories from NewsLine Sky Boosts Freeview Profile With 24 Premiere Sky Secures Buena Vista For Pub Advert Takeover ITV Extends Movie Rights Deal Into 2006 Digital Radio Penetration Hits Record Level

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive