TSMS rejects demand from IPA to drop ITV network-wide share deals

ITV sales house TSMS has rejected calls from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising that it should not involve itself in striking ITV-wide share deals with advertisers and agencies.

A statement issued by the IPA Media Policy Group says agencies and advertisers should resist dealing with any ITV sales house which seeks to “stipulate an ITV share, or a share for other nominated sales houses or stations.”

Ray Kelly, chairman of the IPA Media Policy Group says: “We are relaxed about sales houses moving away from dealing based on their share of ITV revenue, to dealing on their share of overall broadcast revenue.”

But he adds: “We would not welcome moves by sales houses to impose deals struck on the basis of anyone’s commitment to ITV as a whole.”

But Jerry Hill, chief executive of TSMS, insists that pressure to strike ITV-wide deals is coming from agencies and advertisers, including IPA media policy group members, rather than ITV.

“ITV companies are being portrayed as being interested in seeking to impose ITV share deals on agencies,” says Hill.

“But the reality is that a number of ad agencies and advertisers are coming to the network, wanting to strike deals which secure them guaranteed slots in particular programmes or cheaper rates.

If an IPA agency wants to negotiate deals in this way, then it’s business as usual.”

But it is believed that several media-buying IPA members are concerned that growing centralisation of ITV ownership, programming and promotion will inevitably lead to pressure to introduce ITV-wide share dealing to defend revenue against other commercial broadcasters.