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Empty Spaces

October 13th, 2008 · Posted by Skuds in Life · No Comments · Life

Is it my imagination, or are there fewer adverts on ITV these days?   I don’t actually watch many programmes on ITV these days, but one that I do watch is Al Murray’s Happy Hour.  For a few weeks I have had the impression that all the ad breaks are full of trailers for other ITV shows, with no actual paying ads in there at all.

Last week I tried to pay attention properly and there was an advert for Ford cars in the first break, but everything else was trailers.  Can the income from one advert really pay for an entire programme?  Of course, the show is sponsored, as so many are, and the sponsors get a little spot at each break, but does even that pay for the whole show?

Maybe they are able to sell more spots in soap operas , reality TV and talent shows, but I would have thought that Happy Hour was a reasonably mainstream show that ought to atract advertisers.  It used to be that every show on ITV, no matter how obscure or late at night would have its full complement of adverts.

It has been said that when there is an expansion of outlets for advertising companies do not increase their advertising budget but just spread it around more.  Are companies now putting so much of their advertising spend into cable and satellite channels, websites, and other new channels that there is not much left for old-fashioned terrestrial TV?   Certainly the cable channels have no trouble filling their commercial breaks with commercials.

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