Television Round-Up – December
Revenue
December was a poor month for ITV in terms of revenue, with ITV’s actual figure down on last year by 3.7%; this decrease, despite Channel 4’s increase of 11.3% year on year was enough to bring combined ITV/C4 revenue down by 0.6%. The total figure was £155.94m. Of this C4’s £36.72m represents 24%.
Amongst the individual contractors, Meridian had its lowest share of the year, at 10.69%. Anglia and Westcountry, also TSMS, were the only other contractors to lose share year on year, excluding the London stations. Carlton also had its worst share of the year, 14.65%, down 1.59% points on last December’s total share. LWT however, recorded its best share of the year, although it did have an extra trading day this December.
| Dec’94 | Dec’95 | % Pts Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cltn | 16.24 | 14.65 | -1.59 |
| LWT | 12.01 | 12.41 | 0.41 |
| Lond | 28.24 | 27.06 | -1.18 |
| Cent | 15.51 | 15.85 | 0.34 |
| Gr/Bdr | 10.98 | 11.43 | 0.45 |
| YTTV | 10.47 | 11.22 | 0.75 |
| STV | 4.07 | 4.89 | 0.82 |
| Gramp | 1.07 | 1.18 | 0.11 |
| HTV | 5.82 | 5.85 | 0.03 |
| Merdn | 11.91 | 10.69 | -1.22 |
| Angl | 7.32 | 7.21 | -0.11 |
| Wtrcy | 2.27 | 2.21 | -0.06 |
| Ulst | 2.33 | 1.42 | 0.09 |
Messages
Network messages for December were down across the board for ITV only and ITV/C4 combined, across all audiences. Amongst C4 only, messages were up on last December apart from the Housewives with Children audience.
Messages – ITV/C4 Combined
| Hwives | Adts | Men | Wmn | H/W&Ch | ABC1Adts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | 23955 | 40667 | 16842 | 23825 | 6730 | 14934 |
| %ChYoY | -1.7 | -2 | -1.2 | -2.5 | -1.6 | -0.9 |
Costs Per Thousand
The fall in messages, combined with a fall in revenue for ITV meant that networked ITV costs per thousand were down year on year; Channel 4, however more bouyant both in terms of revenue and messages, recorded increases in costs per thousand across the board. Combined ITV/C4 costs per thousand show slight increases for all audiences.
Costs Per Thousand – ITV/C4
| Hwives | Adts | Men | Wmn | H/W&Ch | ABC1Adts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | 789 | 465 | 1122 | 793 | 2808 | 1265 |
| %ChYoY | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 1 | 0.3 |
TV Viewing
Television viewing for December showed BBC1 achieving its highest share of the year, as is usuallly the case in December, but with 35% of individuals viewing, this is much higher than last year, when viewing was just 33.6%; an increase of 1.4% points.
ITV’s viewing share among individuals, at 35.1% was conversely its lowest share of the year, and was significantly worse than last December’s share. Channel 4’s Beastly Xmas this year also lost it share compared to last year. Top programme of the season was BBC1’s One Foot in the Xmas Grave, with 17.77m viewers.
| DEC’95 | DEC’94 | % Pts Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 35.0 | 33.6 | 1.4 |
| BBC2 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 0.5 |
| TOTAL BBC | 46.5 | 44.6 | 1.9 |
| ITV | 35.1 | 38.2 | -3.1 |
| C4 | 9.6 | 10.1 | -0.5 |
| TOTAL ITV | 44.7 | 48.3 | -3.6 |
| OTHERS | 8.8 | 7.1 | 1.7 |
Industry News
The main news for the media industry in December was the government’s publishing of the new Broadcasting Bill, which detailed not only media ownership rule changes but also plans for digital broadcasting’s future. The government removed the two licence limit on control of ITV licences, to be replaced by 15% of audience share, and also promised a review of C4’s funding formula, but not until 1998. Under the digital plans, all current terrestrial channels, including C5, get access to a digital multiplex automatically, as will Teletext. The Bill also confirmed the merger of the Broadcasting Standards Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
The row over sporting access continued in December; ITV won the rights fromthe BBC to show Formula One racing; a row erupted concerning Murdoch’s Rugby SuperLeague, in which it emerged players did not have the right to transfer without permission. ITV responded bullishly by publishing viewing figures for the top sporting events of 1995, which showed it had seven out of the top ten.
Other television news in December was the announcement from BSkyB and Granada that they are to form a new company and launch 8 new cable/satellite channels, including Granada Gold Plus, a direct rival to UK Gold. Carlton was also rumoured to be planning something similar. Microsoft and NBC also announced a joint venture to create a new 24-hour news channel.
Ends.