ITV Viewing Share Flags As New Schedule Novelty Wears Off

At the beginning of last year, ITV chief executive Richard Eyre set the Network the target of taking 39% of peak-time viewing (1900-2230 hours) in 1999 and increasing this to 40% during 2000. The industry was taken aback by Eyre’s confidence, until it later emerged that he planned to meet these targets by completely changing the peak-time schedule and in the process removing the News At Ten (see Newsline).

The new schedule finally appeared on 8 March this year, storming in with very impressive audiences for the broadcast of Goldeneye (see Newsline). The Bond film gained ITV a 52% share of viewing across the film’s two-hour slot. Indeed during the new schedule’s early stages it looked like it was proving a hit: ITV’s viewing share for March was up by 1.5% points to 34.1% year on year. Figures from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s (IPA) Trends In Television report for Q1 1999 show that ITV achieved its strongest quarter for two years in terms of viewing share, with 33%.

However, it is starting to look like the initial interest and controversy surrounding the departure of News At Ten is dying away. Viewing figures for April, less than one month after the introduction of the new peak time schedule, show that ITV’s share has dropped to 29.8%, 1.2% points lower than April last year and 4.3% points lower than March 1999. This is ITV’s second lowest share of total viewing this decade.

It seems that the advertising industry is not convinced with the new schedule either. Speaking at the MediaTel News At Ten was not a great strategic move, saying, “there are very strong signs of that now.”

This article also appeared in the Media section of today’s Times.