TV Market Round-Up May 2004
Total terrestrial television revenue jumped up by almost 7% year on year during May to just under the £250 million mark as the sector displayed further signs of emerging from the downturn.
The latest agency estimates compiled by MediaTel Group reveal a strong performance for ITV, which enjoyed a 5.2% increase during the same period to almost £156 million after experiencing a surge in demand for commercial spots during its Euro 2004 coverage (see ITV Set To Score £6 Million From England Game).
However, reports suggest the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster could face a deficit of around £100 million in revenue as growing numbers of big brand big-brand advertisers seek to negotiate more competitive deals following its recent decline in audience share (see Dip In Share Leaves ITV Facing Revenue Shortfall).
Channel 4 also performed positively during May with revenue surging by more than 10% to over £64 million. Advertisers are thought to have paid up to £100,000 for a 30-second spot during the final episode of Friends and the launch of this year’s Big Brother, which attracted record numbers of viewers to the channel (see Channel 4 Hits Ratings High With Friends And Big Brother).
Five enjoyed a healthy 8.3% year on year increase to just under £25 million thanks to its UEFA Cup coverage and Bruce Willis season of action films. However, this was overshadowed by satellite broadcasters, which saw revenue rise by an impressive 21.8% to around £60 million.
Satellite broadcasters received a boost recently with news that BSkyB to launch a free-to-air satellite package of more than 200 television and radio channels in an attempt to compete with the BBC-backed Freeview service (see BSkyB To Launch Free-To-Air Satellite Package).
| Total Television Revenue – May 2004 | |||
| Total Revenue | % Change | ||
| ITV1 | 148,070,000 | 155,760,000 | 5.2 |
| C4 | 58,250,000 | 64,190,000 | 10.2 |
| Five | 22,780,000 | 24,680,000 | 8.3 |
| GMTV | 4,450,000 | 4,830,000 | 8.5 |
| Total Terrestrial (inc. GMTV) | 233,550,000 | 249,460,000 | 6.8 |
| Total Satellite | 48,900,000 | 59,560,000 | 21.8 |
| Source: Agency Estimates | |||
ITV Franchises
Central experienced the most significant increase amongst the ITV franchises, with its share of revenue increasing by 0.63% year on year during May to 16.42%. Carlton also performed well well with a 0.57% rise to 15.84%. At the other end of the scale, Yorkshire/North East saw its share of revenue decline by 0.60% to 10.18% and Meridian dipped by 0.29% during the same period to 11.91%.
| May ITV Franchise Revenue Share Comparison | |||
| Station | Mar 03 | Mar 04 | % Point Change |
| Scotland | 5.95 | 5.80 | -0.15 |
| Anglia TV | 7.43 | 7.28 | -0.15 |
| Carlton | 15.27 | 15.84 | 0.57 |
| LWT | 12.02 | 12.32 | 0.30 |
| Central | 15.79 | 16.42 | 0.63 |
| North West/Border | 10.38 | 10.16 | -0.22 |
| Meridian | 12.20 | 11.91 | -0.29 |
| West Country | 2.04 | 2.05 | 0.01 |
| Ulster (UTV) | 2.35 | 2.53 | 0.18 |
| HTV | 5.78 | 5.52 | -0.26 |
| Yorkshire/North East | 10.78 | 10.18 | -0.60 |
Cost Per Thousand
All broadcasters saw costs per thousand rise across the board during May with ITV and Channel 4 seeing some significant upward movement in the Men category. Five experienced a 12.9% increase in the Housewives category and Satellite broadcasters saw a 14.3% jump in the Housewives with Children category.
| CPTs | ||||||
| ITV1 | % Ch YoY | Channel 4 | % Ch YoY | Five | % Ch YoY | |
| Adults | 9.03 | 17.1 | 9.15 | 11.1 | 4.91 | 5.2 |
| Men | 23 | 20.2 | 21 | 12.6 | 11 | 8 |
| Women | 15 | 15.1 | 16 | 9.9 | 8.63 | 3.1 |
| Hwvs | 14 | 15.2 | 15 | 12.9 | 7.48 | 4.5 |
| Hwvs/Ch | 58 | 23.4 | 61 | 11.5 | 36 | 14.3 |
| ABC1 Adults | 24 | 16.7 | 19.58 | 4.7 | 15 | 5.4 |
Commercial Impacts
Both ITV and Channel 4 saw commercial impacts dip across almost all categories last month. The former saw a 14.8% decline in the Housewives with Children category and the latter experienced a 2.4% drop in the Housewives category. Meanwhile, Five saw a 5.1% increase in the Women category and Satellite broadcasters experienced an 11.9% rise in the Housewives category.
| Commercial Impacts | ||||||||
| ITV1 Impacts | % Ch YoY | C4 Impacts | % Ch YoY | C5 Impacts | % Ch YoY | Satellite Impacts | % Ch YoY | |
| Adults | 20,893 | -10.2 | 8,498 | -0.8 | 6,096 | 3.0 | 15,522 | 9.3 |
| Men | 8,094 | -12.5 | 3,655 | -2.1 | 2,632 | 0.3 | 7,419 | 8 |
| Women | 12,800 | -8.6 | 4,843 | 0.3 | 3,465 | 5.1 | 8,103 | 10.6 |
| Hwvs | 13,629 | -8.7 | 5,275 | -2.4 | 3,998 | 3.7 | 8,604 | 11.9 |
| Hwvs/Ch | 3,279 | -14.8 | 1,271 | -1.2 | 838 | -5.2 | 3,280 | 8.6 |
| ABC1 Adults | 7,758 | -9.9 | 3,941 | 5.2 | 1,968 | 2.8 | 6,549 | 6.6 |
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