Web giant, Google, have been tipped to overtake ITV1 in the Ad revenue race. ITV1 have always been at the top for generating the highest amount in advertising income generator. However, in 2007 Google were tipped to beat ITV1, having generated UK revenues of £1.3bn. ITV1 are yet to reveal their figures for the year next month.
It is looking likely to be a close run, as ITV1 have already reported to have generated £905m in the first nine months of 2007, which includes the massive £310m between July and September. It is however, estimated that ITV1 are set to make around £1.32bn in ad revenue, with an added £100m in sponsorship income.
Regardless of the close run between the two, Google has actually seen a 45% year-on-year growth in revenue for 2007, whereas they had seen a gigantic 80% in 2006. Still, it is an impressive increase for 2007, considering they are almost at lengths in tipping ITV1 off in the top spot. Google’s figures have certainly rocked the boat for ITV’s chairman Michael Grade, who is currently under pressure to make improvements on the broadcasters’ financial performance.
Media and financial analysts have predicted that the search engine giant will surpass the commercial television channel in 2008, whilst seeing a drop in TV advertising budgets in the first quarter of this year.
Google had made some clever efforts by buying the digital advertising agency DoubleClick for whopping $3.1bn and other acquisitions for a further $909.6m. Their advertising business had generated revenues of $8.7bn in the US including around 15% of its global income being represented in the UK.
With figures like these ITV1 will need to find new innovative ways to generate their ad revenue income, as media-buying agencies are predicting the TV advertising budgets will fall dramatically in comparison to the revenue of the digital media advertising revenue.
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