ITV To Miss Peak Time Share Target

ITV is expected to miss its 38.5% peak-time share target for 2000 despite a successful autumn season and a narrow victory in the Christmas Day ratings battle. Although full BARB figures for the year are not yet available, it is believed that the network average will be 37.1%.

ITV originally promised a 40% peaktime share for 2000, but this was later lowered when the network failed to reach it 39% target for 1999 (see ITV Adjusts Peaktime Target For 2000). ITV’s share continued to fall during the first half of the year, at one point slipping below the 30% mark for the first time (see ITV Slips Below 30% Audience Share In Q2 Trends In Television Report).

Autumn saw a return to form however, with the network taking an average 38.7% share of the peaktime audience during the period as it went head to head with BBC1’s revised schedules following its battle over the News At Ten slot (see ITV May Be Winning In Autumn’s Ratings Battle). BBC1’s share for 2000 is expected to fall by 1.3% to 27.9%, compared to 29.2% for 1999.

ITV’s self-imposed target is calculated using projections of multichannel penetration for the year.

ITV: 020 7843 8000

Subscribers can access further information on ITV and other TV companies by selecting “Television” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.