Perhaps no one "is looking forward to the Rugby World Cup more than executives at ITV -- which is trying to repair its worst-ever audience ratings," according to Henry Mance of the FINANCIAL TIMES.
The commercial broadcaster, which has the exclusive U.K. rights to the tournament, "has experienced a 5 per cent drop in viewing share so far this year." Several key programs "have flopped, while others have lost audiences to BBC and Channel 4." Former ITV Commissioner Stephen Price: "There’s a huge amount of pressure on this autumn." The Rugby World Cup, which starts on Friday, "promises a particularly upmarket demographic that the broadcaster has struggled to attract." ITV’s audiences of ABC1s "have fallen 7 per cent this year."
This year’s competition lasts for six weeks -- "providing ITV with nearly 140 hours of live sport, or an average of three hours a day." The company is charging up to £2.5M ($3.9M) for brands "to advertise for 30 seconds in every game." Enders Analysis analyst Michael Underhill: "A good world cup would be fantastic [for ITV]. A good England performance would obviously help that." Live sport "has become increasingly important to broadcasters worldwide, as viewers otherwise switch to streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube." As well as the Rugby World Cup, ITV "will air Six Nations matches from 2016 to 2021" -- including all of England’s home games. That "will partially compensate for the loss of the rights to Champions League football to BT" (FT, 9/13).
