Hazlitt aims to wean ITV off commercial break advertising reliance
Commercial broadcaster ITV aims to move away from its reliance upon traditional advertising breaks as its aims to boost its online ad sales.
Fru Hazlitt, director of commercial and online operations, told the Financial Times that she wanted to ‘future proof’ the business and take away any ‘complacency’.
Hazlitt, who recently restructured the commercial team at the broadcaster, revealed that she was looking to wean ITV off of its dependency upon commercial break advertising.
"We are one of the most powerful advertising mediums in the UK. What we need to become is the most powerful marketing platform, which is very different and a much bigger ask," said Hazlitt.
"We are the market leader by dint of our size and commercial impact, but we do not lead the market, and we absolutely should do."
She continued by warning: "Every time we rise with the tide, people here get complacent again. That is a classic business mistake."
She explained that her strategy would be to develop more partnership models, including new online formats such as its recent on-demand deal with Sony’s Playstation 3.
"We have to...really understand how we continue to own our content and monetise it effectively on those platforms,” she continued. “We really only know how to do it as a 30-second spot on the broadcast platform.
"We are so used here to taking large deals, large sums of money, that we find it much harder to concentrate on smaller, more work-intensive projects."
Earlier this month, ITV axed senior commercial figures such as trading director, Simon Lent; commercial director, Jeremy Lawrence; creative solutions director, Simon Orpin; ITV commercial breakfast director, Simon Poole; and director of regional sales, David Croft.