ITV ad revenue could tumble with England's fall

ITV will take a financial hit from the inability of the English national team to press ahead in EURO 2008 competition.

Ad revenues for the broadcaster could be down as much as GBP 10 million.

ITV shared EURO rights with the BBC, and an English presence would have increased interest and viewers. But the English loss to Croatia ruined any shot of that happening.

For example, England's 2004 EURO quarterfinal match against Portugal had a peak audience of almost 25 million, and an average audience of 19 million. That tournament saw a nine percent increase in viewership over the 2000 tournament.

The matches also would deliver the coveted upscale youth demographic to ITV.

ITV will rely on overall interest in the tournament to carry its coverage. An ITV spokesman cited 2006 World Cup figures to show that the home nation doesn't always have to be involved to deliver good viewing numbers.

"Figures from recent international tournaments suggest there is a demand for European football not featuring a home nation," a spokesman for ITV Sport told Guardian Unlimited. "For example, during the 2006 World Cup, the group game between Poland and Ecuador — on paper perhaps not the sexiest of ties — averaged almost 6 million viewers and peaked at 7.3 million on ITV1."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.