Drop in X Factor viewers could cost ITV £10 million in advertising revenue
It has been well documented that X Factor has seen its ratings drop over the past two years.
Following the latest viewing figures being published, which revealed Saturday night’s episode was down by more than 2 million viewers year on year, it has been suggested ITV could also see a slump in advertising revenues.
Last year ITV charged roughly £120,000 for a 30-second TV ad during The X Factor, adding up to about £3 million an episode and more than £95 million for the series.This includes the premium-priced semi-final and final but excludes the three-year sponsorship deal with TalkTalk that has been valued at up to £20 million.
According to a Guardian report, the average advert price has come down by about 10 per cent to £110,000, meaning that ITV will make about £85 million from this year’s series.
ITV's X Factor deal has one more year to run and is expected to be renegotiated in the first half of 2013. The underperformance of the show will ultimately put pressure on ITV during negotiations for 2013 advertising airtime deals which will start shortly.
An ITV spokeswoman denied the claims that revenue from advertising was down, saying: "Demand from advertisers for this year's series of The X Factor is as high as ever because the show continues to attract an incredibly important audience in very big numbers."