TV Market Round-Up – June 2003
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine Granada Shareholders Uneasy Over ITV Merger Deal Government Almost Certain To Accept Puttnam Proposal MTV Secures Unilever Brand For European Shakedown Advertisers Strengthen Opposition To ITV Merger GfK Research Reveals Drop In Viewing For Sky News Channel 4’s Director Of Television To Step Down Granada Secures Betfred To Sponsor Soccer Sunday Channel 4 Boosts Programming Budget To Record High RTL Pledges To Retain Stake In Channel Five Sky Secures Long Term Distribution Agreement With NTL ITC Raps Sainsbury’s For Misleading Ads Now Uses iTV To Promote Celebrity Hair Spin-Off TV Giants Battle For Live Premiership Football Rights Advertisers Welcome Delay On ITV Merger Judgement Granada Cleans Up As Home Pride Extends ITV Sponsorship Government Unclear On Uses For Analogue TV Spectrum Competition Commission Delays Verdict On ITV Merger MTV Launches Global Ad Campaign Across 16 Channels BBC Resolves Digital Distribution Dispute With BSkyB Freeview Fails To Market Itself As Commercial Platform England Victory Draws More Than 8.5 Million To BBC1
| The declining power ratio of terrestrial TV in the increasingly fragmented media marketplace was brought to the fore in June as terrestrial TV revenues declined 12.2% year on year. In contrast total satellite revenues increased by 22% year on year. Agency figures have attributed the rise in satellite ad revenues with the increasing number and variety of channels, often offering advertisers a highly targeted and specialised audience. The success of the free-to-air digital platform, Freeview has also been viewed as a contributing force in this shift in spend (see Freeview Completes Offering With New Sports Channel).
ITV1 suffered the greatest decline in the terrestrial sector, dropping 16.9% year on year despite an increased investment in programming. The broadcaster also faced pressure in the boardroom after Granada shareholders expressed unease over the terms of the proposed £2.6 billion merger with Carlton Communications (see Granada Shareholders Uneasy Over ITV Merger Deal). The channel also suffered from news that the Competition Commission is to extend its investigation into the merger, which continued to cast its shadow over the sector throughout June (see Competition Commission Delays Verdict On ITV Merger). Channel 4 was also under pressure,with total television revenues dropping 8.6% year on year. The channel also sparked a game of executive musical chairs after director of television, Tim Gardam, has announced his intention to step down, prompting Lygo to jump ship from Channel Five (see Channel 4’s Director Of Television To Step Down). Channel Five continued to buck the wider sector decline, rising 10.9% year on year. The channel has benefited from a number of high profile films and art shows, alongside the continued success of lucrative sponsorship deals of its Australian soap Home and Away.
ITV Franchises June was yet another month of mixed fortunes at the ITV franchises. LWT was the biggest decliner, dropping 0.99%year on year. In contrast the lucrative Carlton region saw its share of ITV’s total revenue rise by 1.27% year on year to 15.92%. The Central region also experienced a slight increase in revenue share, which increased 0.49% year on year.
Costs per thousands were mixed in June, although both ITV and Channel 4 experienced strong doenward movements. In contrast Channel Five experienced gains across the board, most notably amongst housewives. Housewives rose 12.6% year on year, while housewives with children rose 12.4%. Channel Five was also the only terrestrial station to experience an increase in CPT’s in the lucrative ABC 1 category, which increased 9.1% year on year. At the other end of the spectrum, over at 1TV1, things were not looking so positive. In stark contrast to Channel Five ITV1 experienced its largest declines in CPT’s amongst women and housewives. Housewives with children declined by 17.8%, housewives fell 15.4% and women declined by 16.5%. Channel 4 also experienced declines in key categories, with CPT’s amongst ABC1 adults declining 6.45 year on year.
The key movement amongst commercial impacts in June was seen amongst satellite channels, where impacts rose across the board. The biggest increase was seen amongst the ABC1 adults category which increased by 23.4% year on year. In contrast commercial impacts had a mixed bag of results across terrestrial channels. ITV1 experienced big declines in the men category, where commercial impacts fell 19.7%. Channel 4 also experienced big declines in the men category which fell 10.55 year on year.
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