TV Market Round-Up – December 2004

Five continued to perform well in December, adding an impressive 13.7% to its revenues year on year, following an announcement in November that the broadcaster would invest £17 million to boost its programming budget (see Five Boosts Programme Budget By £17 Million).

The broadcaster, currently Britain’s smallest terrestrial operator, clearly has plans to increase its profile and extend overall viewing. Five recently confirmed that it was assessing a number of options for expansion, including the creation of a dedicated children’s TV channel based around its Milkshake programming strand (see Five Eyes Expansion With Digital Children’s Channel).

Elsewhere Channel 4 notched up a respectable increase in its revenues year on year, adding 10.1% in the same period to just under £51 million. December saw the broadcaster unveil plans for a wide-ranging rebrand for 2005, rediscovering its roots and returning its ‘4’ logo to three dimensions (see Channel 4 Plans Wide-Ranging Rebrand For 2005).

GMTV was the only terrestrial broadcaster to see a decline in revenues during December, with a dip of 2.7% year on year to 4.38 million. Satellite broadcasters continued to see a rise in revenues at the end of 2004, with total satellite adding 8.8% year on year to give a total of just under £50 million.

ITV Franchises

Carlton and Central saw the largest downturns in revenue share amongst ITV franchises during December, losing 1.1% points year on year to contribute 14.31% and 15.84% respectively to ITV’s total. LWT saw its fortunes increase, however, adding 2.2% points year on year to contribute 12.38% of the broadcaster’s total revenue.

Costs Per Thousand

There were increases in costs per thousand across the board during December, with Channel 4 rising the most, adding a sizeable 16.5% in the Housewives category. Five also increased in the same category, with CPTs rising by 10.1%.

Channel 4 saw double figure percentage increases in all categories, leading the way in all except Men, where Five rose by 17.6% compared to Channel 4’s 14.5%.

Commercial Impacts

Channel 4 saw sharp declines in commercial impacts during December, with figures dipping across the board. The Housewives category saw the largest downturn, with Channel 4 experiencing a 6.2% decline.

ITV also saw its totals fall at the end of the year, with all but the Women category seeing a dip. Five, on the other hand, saw commercial impacts rising in most categories, with only Men remaining unchanged. The broadcaster added 10% to its Women category during December.

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