TV Market Round Up – October 2003

October brought good news to Channel Five which continued to carve out place in the terrestrial television marketplace with revenues rising 4.3% year on year.

The channel has benefited from the popularity of soaps such as Home and Away and its new upmarket image is continuing to be a hit with advertisers.

There was less good news for Channel 4 which sae revenues slip 0.5% despite the success of a number of programmes which have successfully captured the public’s imagination, such as Wife Swap and How Clean Is Your House.

October was a busy month for the industry, with the biggest news being the Competition Commission giving the green light to the long awaited merger of Carlton and Granada. Following the decision the newly created ITV plc revealed a wide-ranging seven point plan for growth that will help it stave off any American take-over through the launch of a series of new digital channels and a new commitment to produce more format-based television programmes.

October’s ITV revenue figures will make grim reading for the broadcaster, which is hoping its merger will help strengthen its position in the increasingly crowded multi-channel marketplace. The broadcaster saw revenues decline 0.8% year on year and is doubtless counting on Pop Idol to boost its revenue.

October also saw ITV pledge to finally put an end to the “news at when” saga and revealed it is set to move its evening news bulletin to 10.30pm next year.

Total Satellite revenues continued to rocket in October, up 18% year on year. The growing attraction of satellite channels to advertisers is a trend which looks set to continue into the new year. In October BSkyB announced that it has hit its target of seven million pay-TV subscribers three months earlier than foreseen.

The growing strength of niche-satellite stations combined with the success of Freeview has lead some commentators to suggest that even post-merger ITV will inevitably become a small fish in the multi-channel pond.

ITV Franchises

October bought mixed results to the ITV Franchises. The lucrative Carlton London region was the biggest decliner, dropping 0.385 year on year. In contrast the North west/Border area’s revenues increased by 0.42% year on year. The LWT region also felt the brunt of the capital’s downturn, falling 0.16% year on year.

Costs Per Thousand

Costs Per Thousands declined across the board, for the second month running in October. Channel 4 experienced the biggest drops across all categories, particularly amongst Housewives with Children and ABC 1 adults which both dropped by 16.7%. ITV1 experienced its biggest drop in CPT’s amongst men, which declined 7.5% year on year. In contrast Channel Five declined most amongst Adults (13.2%) and Women (10.7%).

Commercial Impacts

For the second month running Commercial Impacts increased across all channels in all categories. The biggest increases were seen in Satellite Channels, which experienced a massive 25.5% year on year increase amongst ABC1 adults. The news will provide further proof that Satellite channels, which have been slow in ditching their downmarket image, represent an important vehicle with which to connect with upmarket consumers.

Elsewhere, Channel Five recorded solid gains, it also experienced its biggest year on year increase in impacts amongst ABC1 adults which rose 16.1%, proving that the channel has successfully ditched its tawdry image. In contrast commercial Impacts inched up at ITV1, its smallest increase was in the Housewives with Children category, which rose 1% year on year.

Industry News BSkyB Faces Pressure From The TUC Channel 4 Announces Details Of New Winter Schedule Advertising Industry Consulted On ITV Merger Remedy Senior Carlton Executive To Oversee ITV Integration Investors Pressure Allen To Improve Fortunes At ITV Sky Launches New Broadband Content Service Charles Allen Could Spark Fresh Shareholder Dispute Green Relinquishes Roles As ITV Chairman Designate Sky Launches New Broadband Content Service