ITV viewing share dropped to its lowest level ever during July, hit by the success of Big Brother on Channel 4 and E4 and the draw of the Commonwealth Games to BBC1.
According analysts at Merrill Lynch, share fell to just 22.4% on average for the month. Peak-time share at the Network held steady at 30.0%, the same as in May and June.
Analysts note that ITV’s schedule focus is in the second and fourth quarters of the year and a return of Pop Rivals and new drama and film premieres in autumn are likely to push viewing share up to the 24.0% to 25.0% mark. If this is achieved, there is a chance that ITV might show stable year on year viewing share, following a substantial decline from January to August.
Revenue Early indications are that ITV will show a 1.3% rise in ad revenue during September in a television market that will be up by 7.0% to 9.0%.
Forecasts from media buying agency Carat predict that ITV’s September revenue will be up by just 0.2% in a market up 6.9% (see ITV Revenues Look Positive For Remainder Of 2002, Say Carat TV Forecasts).
