ITV Revenue Boosted By Rugby World Cup Coverage
ITV saw revenue increase by a solid 1.4% year on year during November to more than £175 million, with its coverage of the Rugby World Cup attracting a significant amount of attention from advertisers.
The latest industry estimates show that the high-profile sporting event provided a welcome pre-Christmas boost to the channel, which secured foreign exchange company Travelex as the multimillion sponsor of its rugby coverage (see Granada Secures Travelex For ITV Rugby Sponsorship).
A peak of 14.5 million viewers tuned in to ITV1 to watch England make history by defeating Australia to be crowned world champions and it is understood that advertisers paid up to £300,000 for a 30-second slot during half-time of the game.
Merril Lynch predicts that 2004 will be a positive year for the broadcaster, which is hoping to boost its programming budget by 7% to £849 million following the completion of Carlton and Granada’s long awaited merger (see ITV Merger Leads To Increase In Programme Budget).
The network is also working to improve its relationship with advertisers and recently poached RAB managing director, Justin Sampson, to take up a new role designed to ensure that the customer is put at the heart of all aspects of the ITV Sales operation, from the client facing sales team and business-to-business arm to the trade marketing division (see ITV Poaches RAB’s Sampson To Boost Advertiser Relations).
Meanwhile, things were less positive for Channel 4, which saw its revenue decline by 2.3% year on year during November to below the £65 million mark. The channel had a rough ride during 2003 with its share of viewing dropping below the 10% mark for the first time in more than a decade (see Channel 4 Sees Audience Share Dip During 2003).
Five’s ongoing effort to reposition itself as a more upmarket channel helped boost revenue by 6.5% to almost 27 million and satellite channels recorded a combined 10.4% increase amid news that more than half of the population now receives digital television (see Digital TV Now In More Than Half Of UK Households).
ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com
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Subscribers can access the full TV Market Round-Up for November 2003 in the Television reports section on the left.