TV Market Round-Up – June 2004

The recent Euro 2004 football tournament helped total terrestrial television revenue to surge by an impressive 13.7% year on year during June as scores of motoring, alcohol and sports brands fought to associate themselves with the event.

The latest agency estimates compiled by MediaTel Group show that ITV saw revenue rise by a solid 15.3% to more than £137 million. An overwhelming demand for airtime spots helped the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster to outperform its rivals with growth not seen since the height of the dotcom boom in 2000.

It is estimated that around £25 million extra was ploughed into the television advertising market during June with brand-owners paying up to £250,000 to £350,00 for a single 30-second spot during the tournament. England’s debut group match against France is understood to have brought in more than £6 million for ITV, around the same amount that is generated by three months of commercials during Coronation Street (see ITV Set To Score £6 Million From England Game).

Recent research from Initiative Media suggest that Euro 2004 is the most popular international football tournament since the World Cup 1998 with a cumulative average audience of more than 2.5 billion individuals tuning in for the event (see Euro 2004 Most Popular Tournament Since World Cup 1998).

Channel 4 also performed well with revenue increasing by a healthy 12.5% to more than 53 million as the latest series of Big Brother got into full swing. Ratings for this year’s reality-TV extravaganza have risen to about 5 million viewers a night and the Carphone Warehouse is understood to be happy with its high-profile sponsorship of the show (see Channel 4 Talks Up Big Brother Sponsorship).

Five also benefited from the seasonal upturn in the television advertising market with revenue rising by 8.9% to just over the 21 million mark. The UK’s smallest terrestrial broadcaster has been in the spotlight recently following reports that it is planning a merger with Channel 4 (see Government Could Back Merger Of Commercial Channels).

An impressive performance for terrestrial television during June failed to slow growth for satellite broadcasters, which saw revenue rise by 16.2% year on year to just below the £54 million mark. The market will receive a further boost in October when BSkyB launches its free-to-air satellite package of more than 200 television and radio channels (see BSkyB To Launch Free-To-Air Satellite Package).

ITV Franchises

LWT experienced the most significant increase amongst the ITV franchises, with its share of revenue rising by 1.62% points year on year during June to 13.15%. Ulster also performed well with a 0.52% points rise to 3.06%. At the other end of the scale, Carlton saw its share of revenue decline by 1.27% points to 14.65% and Anglia TV dipped by 0.91% during the same period to 6.35%.

Cost Per Thousand

All broadcasters saw costs per thousand rise across the board during May with the exception of Five, which saw a 2.1% decline in the Women Category. ITV saw some significant upward movement in the Housewives with Children category and Channel 4 experienced a notable 13.8% upturn in the Men category.

Commercial Impacts

Year on year analysis shows that ITV saw commercial impacts dip by 5.8% in the Housewives with Children category and by 4.6% in the Women category. Channel 4 saw a 1.2% downturn in the Men category, but this was offset by a notable 11.1% rise in the Housewives With Children category. Five saw a significant 11.2% increase in the Women category and a 5.4% rise in the ABC1 Adults category. Satellite broadcasters saw commercial impacts rise across all categories during June.

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