TV Market Round-Up October 2002

Analysis of the latest TV revenue figures for October reveals a positive period for total UK terrestrial TV, which experienced a 13.1% year on year increase in revenue. Gains were experienced across the board, but Channel Five saw the most significant improvement, with revenue rising by 31.8% year on year despite the recent departure of chief executive, Dawn Airey (see Airey’s Departure Represents Coup For BSkyB). Channel 4, which recently announced a raft of job cuts as part of a major cost cutting programme (see Channel 4 Announces Most Radical Restructure In 20 Years), also performed well during October, with revenue increasing by 15.8% year on year. ITV managed a notable 10.1% year on year increase just ahead of GMTV, which saw revenue increase by 8.8% during the same period.

ITV Franchise Revenue

Among the ITV franchises, Carlton and LWT experienced the most significant improvements in share, with the former enjoying a 0.76% point increase and the latter improving by 0.57% points. At the other end of the scale, Yorkshire/North East saw its share of ITV revenue decrease by 1.23% year on year during October. This was followed by North West/Border, which experienced a 1.03% point decline during the same period. Carlton and Central continued to command the largest portion of ITV’s revenue, both with 16%.

Cost Per Thousand

Cost per thousands rose across the board during October. Channel Five saw the most significnat gains, with its Men category experiencing a 28.3% year on year increase and its ABC1 Adults category rising by 26.2% during October. ITV and Channel 4 saw the most notable increase in the ABC1 Adults category, which rose by 15.6% and 18.8% respectively.

Commercial Impacts

ITV saw commercial impacts fall across the board during October, with the most significant declines seen in the ABC1 Adults category, which slipped by 4.8% year on year and the Men category, which was down by 4.5% during the same period. Channel 4 saw commercial impacts for Housewives rise by 2.8% year on year, whilst commercial impacts for ABC1 Adults slipped by 2.5% during October.Channel Five and Satellite saw commercial impacts increase across all categories.