TV Market Round-Up – April 2003
The UK’s terrestrial TV channels saw their combined revenues increase by 6.1% year on year during April, as the conclusion of the war in Iraq signalled and end to extended news programming and a return to normal scheduling.
It was relative new kid on the terrestrial block, Five, which experienced the biggest year on year increase. Revenue improving by 9% as the channel’s mix of soaps, films and children’s programming continued to prove popular with advertisers.
Some analysts had questioned the staying power of Five following the departure of Dawn Airey to Sky networks (see Airey’s Departure Represents Coup For BSkyB). However, a spate of recent commissions including cult series Dawson’s Creek, Angel and Alias suggest Five is setting it sites on its commercial rivals.
Channel 4 experienced a solid 7.4% increase in revenue during April and this could rise further in May following what looks likely to be a highly successful fourth series of Big Brother (see Friday’s Big Brother Eviction Boosts Channel 4).
Meanwhile, ITV1 also benefited from the popularity of reality-TV, with the second series of I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here attracting both audiences and advertisers (see I’m A Celebrity Proves A Ratings Winner For ITV1) and helping the channel increase its revenues by 5.3% year on year.
April brought good news for satellite broadcasters, which saw their overall revenue increase by 21% year on year. The satellite marketplace continues to benefit from the roll-out of new specialist channels and the continued success of Freeview.
ITV Franchises
April was a month of mixed fortunes for the ITV franchises, with the lucrative London market, served by Carlton, experiencing a 0.68% point year on year decline in its share of revenue. However, LWT saw its slice of the ITV pie grow by 0.81% percentage points. Central also experienced a solid year on year increase. Meanwhile, other regions had a rougher ride, most notably HTV, which experienced a 0.46% point year on year decrease in its share of revenue.
Costs Per Thousand
Costs per thousand were mixed during April, although ITV1 experienced declines across the board. Channel 4 also experienced significant year on year declines across all categories excluding Men. The broadcaster saw its biggest declines in the Women and Housewives categories. Channel Five managed to buck the broader trends, recording a 5.4% year on year increase in costs per thousands in the Housewives With Children category.
Commercial Impacts
Terrestrial broadcasters saw commercial impacts rise across the board during April, without exception. Satellite broadcasters experienced most significant gains, with the ABC1 Adults increasing by 29.3%. Channel Five also experienced solid increases, most notably among the Women category, which rose 15.2% year on year. ITV1 saw its Housewives With Children category rise by 16.95 year on year.
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