Live TV signs up 30 brands ads

Live TV, Mirror Group’s 24-hour cable-exclusive TV channel which launches on June 12, claims it already has 30 brands signed up to advertise in its first month.

Mark Taylor, Live TV’s deputy sales director, anticipates viewers will watch for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, mirroring viewing patterns for breakfast programmes such as GMTV.

Live TV is telling advertisers it will attract different groups of people at various times of the day, rather than identifying a core demographic target.

Ads will be scheduled in two-minute slots, four times an hour. Sponsorship is expected to become a significant revenue source.

“Live TV is a mass-market product aimed at the young in mind,” Taylor adds. It is attempting to replace the traditional programme-after-programme format with a schedule comprising rolling interviews, competitions, reviews and lifestyle slots.

The channel will be available free to just over 90 per cent of UK cable viewers, offering a rolling live service with programmes initially produced at Mirror Television’s dedicated facility in London’s Canary Wharf.

However, the longer term aim is for at least 25 per cent of the output to be locally produced.

Mirror Television has already signed up Liverpool independent producer Mersey TV to create local programming. It has also secured a deal with Midland Independent Newspapers – the first of a series – to create local versions of its service.

Mirror Group is investing 30m in Live TV and has appointed a 200-strong staff. Sales are headed by sales director Jane Wroe.

Clare Macdonald, former sales executive at Mills & Allen, has been appointed as Live TV sales director at Scott Lynds, the company appointed to work with the in-house team.