The World Cup finally arrived in June, but it brought with it revenue falls for both terrestrial and satellite broadcasters.
ITV1 fell by nearly 6% year on year, even considering it showed two of the most watched games of the tournament, where England played Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden, gaining nearly 18 million adult viewers (see NewsLine).
Meanwhile, Channel 4, Five and GMTV all saw their revenue drop during June, with Channel 4 faring worst with a 15% fall year on year, marginally above GMTV’s drop.
Overall, the terrestrial broadcasters combined suffered an 8.8% decline in revenues, whilst satellite broadcasters lost 3.2% in revenues.
| Total Television Revenue – June 2006 | |||
| Total Revenue | June 05 | June 06 | % Change |
| ITV1 | 109,770,000 | 103,370,000 | -5.8 |
| C4 | 52,000,000 | 44,150,000 | -15.1 |
| Five | 20,200,000 | 18,640,000 | -7.7 |
| GMTV | 4,700,000 | 4,000,000 | -14.9 |
| Total Terrestrial (inc. GMTV) | 186,670,000 | 170,160,000 | -8.8 |
| Total Satellite | 63,100,000 | 61,070,000 | -3.2 |
| Source: Agency Estimates | |||
ITV Franchises
Central received the largest increase in revenue across the ITV franchise areas in June, adding 1.3% points onto last year’s share, contributing over 16% of ITV’s revenue.
LWT faced the biggest loss of the month, with a 1.6% dip, whilst Ulster and Carlton both saw minor changes in their share, falling by 0.1% points and 0.2% points respectively.
Central continued to provide the largest share of ITV’s revenue, with West Country remaining the smallest contributor at just 2.1%, up 0.1% points year on year.
| ITV Franchise Revenue Share Comparison | |||
| % Share of ITV Revenue by Franchise | June 05 | June 06 | % Point Change |
| Scotland | 6.91 | 7.16 | 0.3 |
| Anglia TV | 7.36 | 7.41 | 0.0 |
| Carlton | 15.52 | 15.38 | -0.1 |
| LWT | 12.56 | 10.92 | -1.6 |
| Central | 14.86 | 16.15 | 1.3 |
| North West/Border | 9.68 | 9.71 | 0.0 |
| Meridian | 11.94 | 12.04 | 0.1 |
| West Country | 1.97 | 2.05 | 0.1 |
| Ulster (UTV) | 2.99 | 2.83 | -0.2 |
| HTV | 5.86 | 5.96 | 0.1 |
| Yorkshire/North East | 10.36 | 10.37 | 0.0 |
| 100.01 | 99.98 | ||
Costs Per Thousand
With the World Cup affecting the television market, ITV1 saw its costs per thousand increase for Women, Housewives and Housewives with Children. Meanwhile, Men and ABC1 Adults both saw their CPTs fall, by nearly 14% and nearly 12% respectively.
Channel 4 saw its costs per thousand decrease across the board for our featured audiences in June. Women took the greatest tumble, falling 25.6% year on year, while Men fell by the smallest percentage, 11.5%. Channel 4 offered the cheapest Housewives with Children option on terrestrial TV during June.
By comparison, Five saw most of their CPTs increase, with Men increasing by over 18% year on year. However, ABC1 Adults and Housewives with Children both saw decreases in CPT of 4.9% and 2.0% respectively.
Commercial Impacts
Unsurprisingly, June saw Men impacts at ITV1 increase by 9.3% and ABC1 Adults increase by 6.8% year on year, as more male and upmarket viewers were tuning in to watch the World Cup. Female viewing dropped considerably during the month, with a 10% fall for Women and a 13.2% fall for Housewives with Children.
Channel 4 had a good month, aided by impressive viewing figures for Big Brother (see NewsLine). Women, Housewives and Housewives with Children all increase by around 12% or more year on year. However Men and ABC1 Adults dropped by 4.1% and 1.4% respectively, due to the World Cup.
Five was the main casualty of the month, with all featured audiences falling. Men fell by the greatest percentage, 22%, while Women and Housewives both fell around 10-11% year on year.
Satellite impacts were mostly up, but at a much lower level than previous months, due to satellite viewers defecting back to terrestrial TV and World Cup action. Housewives with Children actually saw their impacts fall by 2.3%.
Overall, June last year saw the same number of Men impacts as June this year across all channels, suggesting that the lure of the World Cup did not bring in any new male TV viewers. Instead, ITV1 and BBC One gained their viewers from other channels who were not showing the football.
BARB: www.barb.co.uk
