RTL writes down value of Channel 5

RTL may be satisfied with its results but the news that it has halfed the value of Channel 5 television in its blance sheet will raise worries about the state of the UK independent TV market.

The Group announced that its revenue in 2009 was down 6.3 per cent to €5,410 million with profits down 17 per cent which included restructuring costs in the UK, Germany and Greece totaling €34 million, and a significant programme write-down at Five amounting to €22 million.

According to Media Guardian,

after several years of growing its share of the UK TV ad market Channel Five's share dropped from 9.6% to 8.4%.

More jobs cuts on the way for ITV and 5

A bleak week is being predicted for both ITV and Channel 5 this week.

Around 100 jobs or a third of the workforce may go at five and ITV as it prepares to announce its annual results may lose as many as 500 as it will announce a second efficiency review.

Already a thousand jobs have gonme at the commercial broadcaster.

For Channel 5 a new budget has been approved for the current year and is thought to include staffing cuts in the face of falling advertising revenue

The future must be about maximising the value of our content

I see that the head of Channel 4 Andy Duncan is not particually taken by remarks yesterday about the possible merger of his channel with Channel 5.

He told the financial times that the solution for four should be what is best for Britain and rejected the overrtones of RTL as not being commercially viable.

According to the paper

any proposed merger with Five does not address the need for structural change in the UK TV industry.
“Consolidation could only be part of the solution if it takes place within a new industry structure – and only after that structure is in place,”
“Even then, if the subject is Five, the limited and short-term cost savings would largely be swallowed by offsetting Five’s increasing losses and Channel 4’s contribution to public service broadcasting would diminish.
“The future must be about maximising the value of our content.”

Zeiler-now is the time to make big decisons

There has been much debate about the talks of merger between Channel 4 and Channel 5.

This morning's FT carries an interview with Gerhard Zeiler who is CE of RTL stake holders in Channel 5 which is well worth a read.

According to Zeiler

It is not just a question of television – it is also about how the strengths and characteristics of traditional television can be translated into the new digital world of online and on-demand.

adding that tinkering around with the system is not the way forward

Now is the time to think big. The government has a matchless opportunity to create an entity able to deliver new public service content in new ways

And that big thinking is to merge 4 and 5

Channel 4 and Five share many characteristics. Both are funded by advertising, both commission programmes from outside producers rather than making them in-house and both are reliant on a mix of home-grown and acquired programming. A merger that brings together two such complementary broadcasters would create a much stronger operator

I realise that many will hold their hands up in horror at the merger and will forecast a diluting of Channel 4 but I have maintained before on this blog that in these turbulent times unpopular business decisions will hacve to be made to protect media brands.This is one of those instances

No suprises from Ofcom

So the news from Ofcom is not unexpected.It seems that ITV would have gone ahead anyway being forced into the corner due to lack of funds.
Nevertheless the cut in local news output will mean job cuts,the NUJ reckon on a figure of 500 and some areas of the country being deprived of a certain amount of local news.

The regulator has agreed to ITV's request to cut news programming form the current 17to 9 regions as well as cuts in non news programmimg and production of programmes from outside the London region.
Perhaps more importantly the regulator thinks that both ITV and Channel 5 could well be free of all its public service obligations by 2014.

For Channel 4 the news is grim with estimates that it will have a funding deficit of around £100m a year by 2012 rejecting the idea of the so called "top slicing2 of BBC licence fee money.

You can read the full review HERE

The new 5 logo

As form October 6th this is what you will see on your screens and it will appear with the tag line

"We Are Five"

Digital Spy reports that Five's head of brand strategy and marketing Carl Ratcliff.said

we feel this new work is closer to the truth of the brand and layfulness and colour sit at the heart of this new identity."

5 shows celeb does sell news

Perhaps celebratory does sell news.

The relaunch of Channel 5's news with £1m a year Natasha Kaplinsky poached from the Beeb saw audience figures double as teh bulletin was moved from 7 to 5.30 following the channels acquisition of Neighbours.

Un official overnight figures show that the buletin took nearly 7.5 % of the available audience figures when it aired yesterday afternoon

Testing Times for Five

Is Channel 5 simply suffering from the digital revolution as other channels are,or are there signs of more structural problems?

RTL,the Channel's owners reported a £61m provision against the cost of goodwill in its figures yesterday which represents a fall in the value of the channel since its purchase.

Ciar Byrne ,writing in this morning's Indy says

It is a sign of the malaise at Five that the position of director of programmes lay vacant for several months after Dan Chambers, who had held the post, left the channel last autumn. Rumour has it that several television executives declined the job, until Five finally managed to poach Jay Hunt from the BBC, where she was controller of daytime and early peak.

I must admit that it is a Channel that are rarely if ever watch,I know that there are some popular programmes on such as CSI,House and recently the Paul Merton in China.It has alos scooped Neighbours off the BBC.

It hold an audience share of around 6% and has launched some digital spin off channels in recent months.