CIA lobbies to switch Govt ads to BBC

CIA Medianetwork has recommended that all Government advertising should be moved from ITV to the BBC as part of a move to cut airtime inflation on ITV.

CIA says it would cut airtime demand by 1.5 per cent and reduce advertisers’ costs. The company believes the advertising would sit happily within the BBC’s public service remit and save the Government 40m a year (if the airtime was free).

CIA has come out against increasing ad minutage on ITV. CIA believes it would encourage zapping and reduce the impact of ads. However, it wants to see News at Ten moved to prevent it interrupting films and dramas. The firm says this could increase audiences by one per cent.

“We are interested in the value of advertising. So we oppose the quick-fix of increasing ad minutage, which would increase clutter and reduce effectiveness. With a greater investment in programming, our suggestions could reduce inflation by five per cent,” says CIA Medianetwork managing director Mike Tunnicliffe.

CIA also wants ITV to market and advertise its programming more effectively and for the Government to let the original ITV franchise bids be re-negotiated to release money for programming.