12th August
ITV is to double the length of its sponsorship breaks.
MediaCom View: ITV have taken advantage of the new OfCom sponsorship code by
increasing the length of time sponsors have to promote their products at the start and end of each ad break. They
have set a precedent in the marketplace and it will be interesting to see if the other broadcasters follow their
lead. Is this decision going to allow a greater scope for creativity and therefore richer programme relationships,
or will it simply to allow ITV to potentially charge higher prices for their properties? Clearly the latter will
cause major issues in the marketplace! An appropriate balance needs to be set. Increasing the time allowed for
sponsor brands to communicate a commercial message is certainly welcomed. Ultimately it should lead to more
enhanced brand communication and a stronger message to reinforce the association with the show.
Bravo is to bring the Italian football show Gazzetta Football Italia back to UK TV screens.
MediaCom View: From 28th August Italian football will be back on UK screens.
Flextech are aiming to turn Bravo into the biggest entertainment vehicle for men as they try to mimic Livings
success with female audiences. Presented by the original host, James Richardson, the move by Bravo steals a
march on other broadcasters such as ITV and their new ITV4 channel.
Channel 4 celebrates opening episode of Lost.
MediaCom View: Lost pulled in record ratings for a US import opening night,
with both episodes averaging 6 million viewers each. Audience shares for the shows were both over 25%, and Channel
4 announced that they were absolutely delighted with the huge success of these ratings. Lost has been a massive
hit across the world and this trend looks set to continue in the UK.
Magazine publisher Highbury House disposes of its home interest titles.
MediaCom View : It has been a period of uncertainty for Highbury House since
Futures plans to buy the publishing house were thwarted by the Office of Fair Trading in April. Home has joined
its sister title Inspirations by closing after the September issue. Their other home interest title Real Homes has
been sold to Hachette Filipacchi UK , publisher of Elle Decoration. Highbury House intends to focus on its
technology division Paragon House, which produces Play, PC Home and Digital Photographer.
London s Evening Standard is to drop MetroLife.
MediaCom View : The news comes as a bolt out of the blue and will see the
Evening Standards weekly entertainment and listings guide close at the beginning of September. It follows the
recent announcement that the newspapers pink city pages will switch to white and will be incorporated into the
main body of the paper. Metro Lifes content will now be included in The Evening Standards sister website
Thisislondon.co.uk.
Emap is re-launching its Period Living and Traditional Homes in a smaller size.
MediaCom View : Period Living and Traditional Homes is the latest title to
down-size in an attempt to curb a flagging circulation. The change to American-size was the outcome of a six
month reader research project which concluded that readers want a more contemporary spin to the magazine. The
magazine will be re-focusing on real-life homes, a section providing expert advice and the launch of an online
offering. The title, which suffered a 13% circulation decrease in the last set of ABCs, will hit news-stands on
the 12th August.
MEMS launches groundbreaking ethnic media survey.
MediaCom View : A much needed survey that, among other things, will hopefully
address the fundamental need to deduce key propensities for ethnic groups to use and buy mainstream products and
services. However, the survey needs to include data from Caucasians for these propensities to be truly comparable.
Either way, this is a welcome initiative and could contribute notably to further advancing the case for the
untapped ethnic market.
Rajar looking to improve sample size.
MediaCom View : The current sample size is 31,300 for the UK and 4,000
in London . It's already the biggest media survey in the UK but anything that will make it even more robust is
to be welcomed.
Sponsorship may be the key to digital radio success.
MediaCom View : Orange are the solus sponsor on GCap's digital service Core.
The deal is a very different way of 'owning' a media outlet and will offer Orange the chance to get involved with
content as well as the standard trails and credits.
Celebrities at Breakfast not everyone's cup of tea.
MediaCom View : Both Theakston on Heart and Vaughan on Capital have
dropped listeners this quarter despite the recent glossy ad campaigns. The winners appear to have been the
less well known Bam Bam on Kiss and Pete and Geoff on Virgin. Breakfast is a crucial time of day for advertisers
and radio stations as we reach people pre-purchase and stations lock their listeners in. It seems TV success
may not immediately transfer to radio.
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