C5 on course for 5.2% audience

Channel 5 is on course to meet its ambitious audience target of 5.2 per cent share for this year.

The UK’s youngest terrestrial station, which has just celebrated its second birthday, achieved its best share of viewing results last month – 5.3 per cent.

This tops the channel’s March performance, when it achieved a previous best of 5.1 per cent, and represents an increase of 26 per cent year on year (in April last year C5 recorded a 4.2 per cent share).

Last month, adult commercial impacts – the advertising currency – were also at an all-time high of nine per cent, compared with 7.2 per cent in April 1998.

Nick Milligan, C5 director of sales, is confident of hitting 180m in advertising revenue for the year from January to December, and says the channel is exceeding planned revenue targets for January to July.

He adds: “We are showing consistent, solid growth. We are very upbeat about it.”

A series of films – including Kickboxer, Runaway Train and Basic Instinct – helped C5 achieve its best performance so far.

During the week commencing April 5, the channel’s share hit 5.8 per cent.

The first leg of Chelsea’s European Cup Winner’s Cup semi-final clash with Real Mallorca attracted 2.8 million viewers, and a 12 per cent share of audience.