Media & Marketing: Despite the disappointing end to the Heineken Cup and the Six Nations in the last few weeks, RTE Sport has recorded some of its highest ratings of the year. With the station's coffers already bulging from 2004, the station's significant output of sport in 2005 is likely to pay off handsomely in terms of advertising revenue.
Advertisers claim the station traditionally charges a hefty premium for airtime during major sporting events, but now the station says it can more than justify its rates with new research on the number of people watching sport, and by extension RTE channels, outside the home. The station recently commissioned research from the agency Red C on the number of people watching the Ireland versus Wales game in Cardiff on March 19th outside the home.
Based on the questioning of over 1,000 adults, the station found that 299,000 viewers were likely to be watching the game on RTE 2 outside the home. RTE claims that 691,000 watched the game from the comfort of their armchairs, so combined with the out of home figure the total viewing figure was almost one million, the station says.
Whether they agree with the figures or not, RTE are now in a position to tell advertising clients they are receiving on average 43 per cent more viewers than they are actually paying for.
Asked if clients would be asked to pay for the "out of home" audiences, RTE said there were no such plans. "We do not charge anything extra for advertisers in relation to this. The out of home research is conducted on an ad-hoc basis and we tend to do about twice or three times a year. It is promoted as added value to our clients," said the sales department.
It will be interesting to see if other stations in the Irish market respond with their own research on out of home viewing. The competition between the 14 stations collecting revenue from Ireland is already fierce, without adding extra fuel to the fire.
NTL to offer MGM
In another television related development, NTL Ireland plans to add MGM to its digital offering. MGM, better known as Metro Goldwyn Meyer, owns the world's largest modern film library. The MGM Channel will be included on NTL's digital basic package.
MGM said NTL's digital channel had accumulated "a critical mass of subscribers" and was rapidly increasing its rate penetration since launching four years ago. The MGM Channel in Ireland, like its sister channels around the world, will feature a wide selection of titles from the MGM movie catalogue. The channel will be available later this month.
TG4's tennis coup
The Dublin advertising agency AFA O'Meara this week described as a "major coup" TG4's success in winning the rights to broadcast the tennis from Wimbledon over the next three years. While the strawberries and cream may not taste as sweet anymore for television executives investing in the tournament, it still commands a strong audience during the lean summer months.
TG4, which the Government plans to separate from RTE shortly, already has a strong sports broadcasting presence and it recorded very high ratings with its coverage of the GAA club championships.
Meanwhile, the station is planning to roll out a further series of travel programmes with Hector Ó hEochagáin. The new series starts on the station next Monday, April 11th and is sponsored by O2.
RTE sitting pretty
All this activity might lead you to think the main television companies are pulling in greatly increased revenue. Well you are right. Some interesting figures emerged this week from Dublin agency Saor Communications on the current cost of advertising on television.
"TV airtime is selling well, and in some cases demand is outstripping availability across the key 14 stations available to Irish advertisers. February's demand drove annual prices up by 22 per cent," it found.
It said RTE was able to deliver large audience figures with home produced programming. It cites Monday night's offering of Proof 2 which had an audience of 387,000.
With the Eurovision (yes sorry) around the corner and the return of GAA to Sunday evenings the station is hoping to make further gains. TV3 has also a strong spring schedule and both companies are sitting pretty right now. The plans of at least two other companies to enter the market suggest there is scope for revenues to grow further.
