Growth in TV ad revenue to stall

The double-digit growth in television advertising revenues predicted for the first quarter of the year looks as though it will not continue.

This will come as welcome news to advertisers, as the continuation of double-digit growth in the TV advertising market would result in severe price inflation.

Commercial television advertising revenue for April is only expected to rise by up to four per cent year on year, compared with the 14 per cent increase expected for January to March on the same period last year. Given that Easter falls earlier this year the real test of the market will come in May.

Over the first quarter, ITV revenue is expected to have grown by as much as ten per cent year on year, but in April it is likely to drop back to about the same level as 2004 or under.

TV buyers are now estimating that total television advertising revenue will increase by up to seven per cent.

The sudden influx of money into television at the beginning of the year, first reported by Marketing Week (January 13, 2005), came as a surprise to many buyers.

Mediaedge:CIA broadcast director Ian Anders says: “From what we can gather, the four biggest categories – cars, finance, food and retail – were all up dramatically. There were a number of new car launches and a lot of retailers tried to spend their way out of a poor Christmas.”