8th July
ITV to boost ratings by ploughing an extra 20m into autumn programming.
MediaCom View: Following the decision by OfCom to reduce ITVs licence
fee burden by 135m, Nigel Pickard has pledged an additional 20m to boost the Autumn schedule in their fight
to improve ratings performance versus their rivals.
Live8 a media landmark; the BBC coverage dominated the ratings with a 41.3% share on
Saturday evening.
MediaCom View: As many as 30 million people may have watched part of Live8
on BBC1 and BBC2 on Saturday night. The programme peaked at 9.6 million after 10pm, but for five hours between 7pm
and midnight, Live8 never dropped below 7 million viewers, making it a hugely successful night for the BBC and the
concert itself.
ITV to capitalise on the reduction of broadcasting rules by OfCom with an increase of
sponsorship credits.
MediaCom View: Whilst exploiting the opportunities that the revised code
now allows, in this instance ITV need to be careful not to alienate sponsor brands through inflating prices for
various high profile broadcast sponsorship properties. Doubling the credit lengths should not automatically translate
to doubling the price! It also still has to be recognised that due to regulations, what you can say in a sponsorship
credit is different to what you can say in an ad. Increased secondage may not necessarily lend itself to improved
cut- through. We will need to treat this on a case-by-case basis and watch this space to see how other broadcasters
will respond.
EMAP is experimenting with three different sizes of FHM.
MediaCom View : You cant help but think this is FHM jumping on the compact bandwagon!
They are testing A5, normal and outsize versions, so the proof will be in the readers reaction. A quick straw poll suggests
there is no need for a handbag size for men, the outsize version will be too big, and the normal size is just right.
NRS to boost response rate.
MediaCom View : The NRS, under the new chairmanship of Simon Marquis (also
chairman of ZenithOptimedia), is considering paying participants in order to drive the level of response. This
may well affect the type or quality of response. No doubt a raft of initiatives are being considered as the
robustness of NRS data continues to be questioned.
The Saturday Times is relaunching its listing guide - The Knowledge - this weekend.
MediaCom View : This new version of The Knowledge incorporates The Eye, The
Times TV listings product. It will be both off-line and on line and will be edited by ex-Time Out editor, Dominic Wells.
The guide will now cover the whole of the UK , rather than being just London-focused.
CosmoGirl! to go monthly.
MediaCom View : At the time CosmoGirl! went 3-weekly, buyers were a bit bemused.
The magazine claimed it was in reaction to reader demand, but it seemed to be more like an attempt to grab a greater
share of revenue. Presumably the readers didnt like the 3-weekly format.
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