NEW DELHI: The total television advertising revenue in the United Kingdom increased by six per cent in 2014 to reach a new record high of ?4.91 billion.
This is the fifth consecutive year that TV ad revenue has grown in the UK, according to full year revenue figures provided to Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK by the UK commercial TV broadcasters.
The figure represents all the money invested by advertisers in commercial TV: linear spot and sponsorship, broadcaster VoD, and product placement.
TV advertising investment is forecast to grow again in 2015. The Advertising Association/Warc predicts TV ad revenue to grow by 5.5 per cent in 2015.
TV advertising prices in 2014 were some 40.7 per cent cheaper in real terms than 20 years ago and commercial TV dominated viewing with viewers watching 45 ads a day. Around 65.8 per cent of TV set viewing in 2014 was to commercial TV channels, meaning that the average person watched two hours and 25 minutes of commercial TV a day.
A significant trend in TV advertising is the increasing investment from online brands and services, such as Amazon, Google and Netflix. Based on data from Nielsen, which details advertising investment, when online brands and services are grouped together they form the second biggest spending category on TV having doubled investment since 2010 to over ?400 million. According to Nielsen, in 2014 Amazon and Google each invested ?10.5 million in TV advertising in the UK for their online services and Netflix invested ?8.5 million.
There were 800 new or returning advertisers to TV in 2014 (returning after no TV advertising for at least five years), based on Nielsen and Sky’s AdSmart data. Notable new or returning investors were Ryanair, Booking.com and Swinton Insurance.
Commercial impact – the number of TV ads watched at normal speed – during 2014 decreased by 3.3 per cent compared with 2013 but have grown by 27 per cent over the last ten years. The average viewer watched 45 ads a day – seven ads more a day than ten years ago. Collectively the UK watched an average of 2.65 billion ads a day in 2014.
Thinkbox chief executive Lindsey Clay noted that 2014 was the fifth consecutive year that TV advertising revenue had increased in the UK.
“Confidence in TV advertising reflects its unrivalled ability to create business profit and sales. It is also a testament to the brilliant content invested in by the UK broadcasters and the unique qualities of TV as a medium. No other form of advertising can do what TV does. And, as TV viewing evolves to become more flexible for viewers, this is opening up new opportunities for brands to harness its power,” she said.
