ITV Contractors Seek More Ad Time

The ITV contractors are seeking a relaxation of the rules on the amount of ad breaks allowed, in an attempt to alleviate growing costs and the current slump in the ad market. ITVA chairman Richard Dunn announced yesterday that the IBA is being approached with a view to extending the commercial breaks in and around the most popular programmes such as News At Ten and Coronation Street. The ITVA posits that increased costs arising from ITN’s Gulf coverage, coupled with the enforced sale of ITV’s stake in ITN and current market conditions, are destabilising the ITV companies.