TV Market Round-Up – December 2002

December brought a limited amount of festive cheer to UK terrestrial TV, which saw revenue increase slightly year on year during the month. Channel Five showed the greatest improvement, with revenue rising by 25.5%, followed by Channel 4, which experienced a welcome 9.6% year on year boost. However, things were not so positive for ITV1, which was beaten by BBC1 in the annual ratings for the second time during 2002 (see BBC1 Extends Annual Ratings Lead Over ITV1). The channel saw revenue slip by 4% during December, followed by GMTV, which despite the high-profile build-up to its tenth birthday, saw revenue fall by 0.7% year on year during December.

For the first time the number of people watching cable, satellite and digital terrestrial TV channels outnumbered those watching ITV1 during the Christmas week (see Multichannel Broadcasters Overtake ITV1 At Christmas). Year on year analysis of the figures shows that total satellite revenue increased by 16.5% during December.

ITV Franchise Revenue

LWT and Carlton were the worst affected of the ITV franchises, with the former seeing its share slip by 1.01% points year on year during December and the latter recording a 0.67% points decline during the same period. Central saw the most significant upward movement, increasing its share of ITV’s total revenue year on year. This was followed by Meridian, which improved by 0.52% points. Central and Carlton continued to command the greatest share of ITV revenue.

Cost Per Thousand

ITV1 and Channel 4 saw cost per thousands fall across the board during December. The former saw the most notable decrease in the Housewives With Children category, whilst the latter experienced 8.9% drop in the Housewives category. Channel Five saw cost per thousands increase across all categories, with the most significant upward movement occurring in the Men category.

Commercial Impacts

Commercial impacts rose across the board during December, with satellite showing the most significant upward movement in the Woman and the Housewives With Children categories. Elsewhere, Channel Five saw its Housewives With Children category rise by 21.3% year on year and Channel 4 experienced a 20.2% gain in the Housewives category. ITV1 saw its Housewives With Children category increase by 6.1% during December.

Subscribers can access the Television database by selecting “Television” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.