Thinkbox in the News
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24th Dec 2009 Viewers now watching 43 adverts per day, says TV bodyViewers now watching 43 adverts per day following the growth in commercial channels, according to latest broadcasting figures. Audiences are watching a record amount of adverts – up from 33 a day... -
24th Dec 2009 500 channels and we still sit through advertsTELEVISION viewers now have to sit through almost a third more adverts than they did a decade ago, even though the amount of time spent in front of the box remains almost unchanged in that... -
24th Dec 2009 TV ad viewing 'up 30% since 2000'Increasing viewing from personal video recorders such as Sky+ enough to wipe-out ad-skipping effect, research finds The average UK TV viewer sees more than 40 TV ads a day, 30% more than in 2000 –... -
20th Oct 2009 Respect between online and broadcast must be restoredThe skies are rumbling - the earth is out of sorts. Last week, my fellow Media Week scribe Richard Eyre promoted an IAB perspective in his column (page 15), breaking the unwritten columnists'... -
13th Oct 2009 Study boosts TV response valueTV advertising has an instant effect on online sales and has been significantly undervalued as a direct response medium due to lack of appropriate research, according to a Thinkbox study released...
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There's something about the Internet Advertising Bureau's triumphalism every time it releases a new set of web ad revenue figures that makes me want to wave a flag for television. It's not just the... -
The TV industry has hit back at Internet Advertising Bureau claims that online ad expenditure has overtaken TV adspend for the first time. Online adspend in the first half of the year, including...
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30th Sep 2009 Time for online to stop being quite so triumphalistOur weekly columnist Raymond Snoddy on the latest IAB figures putting online adspend ahead of TV for the first time. Trebles all round today at the Internet Advertising Bureau as internet... -
30th Sep 2009 Thinkbox questions IAB ad spend claimsThe internet has overtaken TV for the first time to become the UK's biggest ad medium, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau, although TV marketing body Thinkbox questioned its...
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18th Sep 2009 Media Talk: Ben Bradshaw socks it to the BeebStephen Brook hosts this week's Media Talk, and he's joined by Steve Busfield and John Plunkett to analyse Andy Duncan's much-anticipated and now-confirmed departure from Channel 4. What sort of...
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15th Sep 2009 CRR review shows ITV is still a broadcasting powerhouseOne theme running through the Competition Commission's review of ITV and its hated contract rights renewal (CRR) regime governing airtime sales deals with media buying agencies is that it remains a...
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In his latest piece for Newsline, Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, says that the death of TV advertising has been greatly exaggerated. Elsewhere on MediaTel you will find...
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13th Sep 2009 ITV welcomes product placement U-turnThe UK's largest commercial broadcaster ITV has welcomed the news that the government is poised to perform a U-turn on its product placement ban opening up an estimated £100m revenue stream. Ben... -
11th Sep 2009 Media: All about ... Reinventing the ad breakIs it time for planners to think beyond the 30-second ad? We'd like to evoke the image of Tess Alps, the chief executive of Thinkbox, swinging from the chandeliers. Really, we would. But following a...
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8th Sep 2009 DVRs: Ignore the hype; focus on the factsNielsen just reported that U.S. TV viewing has reached another all-time high and that some of the biggest gains came from time-shifted viewing, which grew almost 20 percent versus a year ago. (Click... -
Dear Editor, Mark Ritson's tirade against the recent Deloitte consumer research which concluded that TV advertising was by far the most impactful, especially amongst young people, was immoderate and... -
Sainsbury's sponsorship of a week of 3D programming on Channel 4 this autumn has raised the question of whether the medium has become a viable platform for mainstream campaigns
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19th Aug 2009 TV is ad medium with most impact says surveyLONDON - Television provides the most memorable advertising, according to research commissioned by the organisers of the Edinburgh International Television Festival. The research, which was...
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19th Aug 2009 Small screen ads are most effective, says pollTelevision provides the most memorable form of advertising, a survey has found, offering some comfort for broadcasters facing plummeting revenues. In a report commissioned by the Edinburgh... -
NEW YORK - US broadcasters and media agencies are forming a consortium aimed at speeding up the process of developing a new TV ratings system that suits the digital age, according to...
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Could Marketing Week please decide if it agrees with all the evidence that normal broadcast TV viewing is in good health or not? In the last issue (6 August), the lead article on page 10 assured... -
12th Aug 2009 Just what is television?Thinkbox, defender of commercial television, has been, well, defending the medium. In doing so, Tess Alps, chief executive of the TV marketing body, raises some interesting points on the definition...
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10th Aug 2009 Bringing the internet to TVs is best way to win viewersMore than half (53%) of people in the UK wouldn’t chose to watch online video clips or TV programmes, even if they had a faster internet connection. -
6th Aug 2009 Hit & Run: Stars of the silver sheenYou might have heard of airbrushing and retouching, but there's another, less ubiquitous weapon in the photographers' war on flaw – solarisation. And Madonna is the latest subject to try out its... -
5th Aug 2009 Average person watches 43 ads each dayPeople are watching 9.9 minutes more TV a week according to figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB). The board reported a record six month high for viewership of commercial...
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5th Aug 2009 British viewers watch record amount of commercial TVTelevision viewers are watching on average 43 TV ads a day, and 16.7 hours of commercial TV a week British viewers watched a record 16.7 hours of programming on commercial TV channels on average a...
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5th Aug 2009 BBC's share of TV viewers falls to new lowThe BBC's share of Britain's TV viewing audience has slumped to a historic low as more people switch to commercial rivals. Across all its channels from the flagship BBC One to digital news and...
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5th Aug 2009 Thinkbox reveals commercial TV viewing hits recordCommercial TV viewing has risen to a record 16.7 hours a week for the average viewer, according to new figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Viewing of commercial TV rose 9.9...
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5th Aug 2009 Thinkbox reveals commercial TV viewing hits recordCommercial TV viewing has risen to a record 16.7 hours a week for the average viewer, according to new figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Viewing of commercial TV rose 9.9...
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5th Aug 2009 Commercial TV viewing risesCommercial TV viewing has had a record first six months of 2009, with weekly viewing and the number of ads people watched rising compared to the same period last year. The latest figures from the...
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5th Aug 2009 Commercial TV viewing risesCommercial TV viewing has had a record first six months of 2009, with weekly viewing and the number of ads people watched rising compared to the same period last year.
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4th Aug 2009 Viewers Switch Off BBCTHE BBC’s share of viewers has fallen to its lowest level ever as a growing number switch to commercial rivals. From flagship BBC1 to digital news and children’s stations, its output now accounts for... -
4th Aug 2009 TV viewing up in the U.K.Commercial broadcast TV viewing had a record first half in the U.K., according to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. The average viewer watched 16.7 hours of commercial TV a week, up 9.9... -
2nd Jul 2009 TV advertising is part of the digital media ageJustin Pearse's Leader in which he talked about TV advertising as if it weren't part of new media age's gang and championed the effectiveness of internet advertising over TV (nma 11 June 2009) raised...
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Whatever else you can chuck at commercial TV right now, the allegation that it's neglected to market its way out of the ugly hole in which it finds itself is one that won't stick. In fact, as...
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In Private View, there's always a puny, nervous idea somewhere in the playground to mock and bully. Not here. All these fellahs can look after themselves. They have broken voices and ink-and-compass...
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For the first time, Thinkbox is being advertised on TV. Lindsey Clay hails the benefits of the medium, while Alan James fights for outdoor and explains how it is evolving.
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11th Jun 2009 Video ad engagementDespite attracting bigger shares of brands’ marketing budgets, online video advertising has yet to prove its ability to hold viewers’ attention.
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Media Week's various planning awards took centre stage last week as the ceremonies were held for the Thinkbox TV Planning Awards and the IPC Magazine Planning Awards. The celebrations, at Sketch and...
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8th Jun 2009 Does it pay to put your money where your mouth is?If you want to demonstrate that something is effective, there is arguably only one way to do it. By using it. So what do you do when you want to promote the wonders of television advertising? Put out...
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8th Jun 2009 Cost of TV ads lowest since 1980sThe cost of advertising on TV is now at 1980's prices according to a report by media and marketing analytics consultancy, Billetts. According to the report, television prices are set to fall by 16%...
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5th Jun 2009 The Week: The best of campaignlive.co.uk"I agree, this is a lovely ad, but you're completely missing the point if you think it should have 'contemporary characters' in it. It's an ad about TV advertising's ability to last. You can't...
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4th Jun 2009 First TV advert for TV adsHere's the TV advert everyone's talking about - a commercial to save the future of commercial TV. Thinkbox - the marketing body for British broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky - has... -
3rd Jun 2009 TV advertising fights backIn an age where advertising agencies are getting more excited about online and experiential advertising, Thinkbox are fighting back with their new TV ad from London agency The Red Brick Road. The... -
Mediaedge:cia has scooped top prize at the Thinkbox TV Planning Awards for its ongoing celebrity-fronted ad campaign for Morrisons. The agency was handed the Grand Prix prize at today's ceremony,...
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29th May 2009 Old media, new edgeBy using new technology, can traditional media compete with the internet and deliver a compelling proposition for advertisers? Campaign rates their chances. In delivering the keynote speech to this...
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28th May 2009 Thinkbox pushes power of TV in new campaignThe TV spot, created by The Red Brick Road, breaks at 9.15pm on Sunday evening with a roadblock across dozens of commercial TV channels. In the ad, a man visits a hypnotherapist and, when induced...
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25th May 2009 Response to The GuardianDespite not challenging the mindset that continues to count each download as a loss and not a missed opportunity for revenue, this (Raking over the ashes, 18 May) is an analysis that's pretty close...
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22nd May 2009 Media groups hunt for advertsMedia owners are launching a concerted effort to trumpet the power of their platforms as they attempt to ride out one of the deepest advertising downturns in decades. Communications gurus are...
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13th May 2009 Record number of viewers tune into commercial TVCommercial television has maintained the record level of viewing figures it recorded in the first quarter of 2008, despite destabilising upheavals being experienced within the broadcasting companies...
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Commercial TV increased its share of total broadcast TV viewing in the first quarter of 2009, according to new data from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, published by Thinkbox, the TV...
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The average Brit watched 17 hours, 24 minutes of commercial TV a week in the first three months of this year. Now, nobody's saying we weren't all Tweeting, surfing, picking our noses while watching,...
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New technology's impact on media consumption may have been overstated. The downward pressure on advertising revenue is undoubtedly forcing media owners to think about new ways to make money from...
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10th May 2009 How the next internet revolution will save your favourite TV shows, newspapers and magazinesYou, dear reader, are a dinosaur. Please don’t take offence. It’s not you that’s the problem - it’s us, the world’s newspapers. Or so we are told. The pundits have been saying for years that simply... -
5th May 2009 Spreading the wordMany media trade bodies are using ads to promote their respective platforms. The decision by Thinkbox to launch its first TV ad campaign is a clear signal of the industry's concern about the...
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1st May 2009 Media Talk: Six weeks to save digital radioThe panel discuss the joint venture by the BBC and commercial rivals to drag radio into the digital age. Plus, more on the future of Michael Grade. And the Independent on the brink of bankruptcy....
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So The Pirate Bay walks the plank for assisting illegal file sharing. The decision is fair, despite prison on top of a hefty fine feeling harsh, because internet piracy is theft. It exists either to...
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29th Apr 2009 Thinkbox launches 1st TV adUK TV association Thinkbox has launched its first-ever TV advertising campaign to remind advertisers of the power and effectiveness of TV. The ad, through The Red Brick Road, will roll out in May.... -
28th Apr 2009 Thinkbox to launch first TV advertising campaignTV marketing body Thinkbox is launching its first television advertising campaign next month. The campaign aims to remind advertisers of the continuing power and effectiveness of the medium and pays... -
28th Apr 2009 Thinkbox to advertise on televisionThinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV companies, is launching its first TV advertising campaign. The ads, which were created by The Red Brick Road, are intended to promote the benefits of...
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28th Apr 2009 Thinkbox takes its message to TVThinkbox, the marketing trade body for broadcasters, is to launch its first television campaign. The campaign will promote the benefits of advertising on television and “pay affectionate tribute” to...
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Marketing cuts will force the BBC to hone the use of its existing media resources.
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21st Apr 2009 Free Media: Catch-up enters the mainstreamThe rise of Freeview, Freesat and online catch-up TV services hasn't hit viewing figures for traditional linear channels, but has opened up possibilities for broadcasters and advertisers.
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21st Apr 2009 Free Media: Planning for the free worldWhat do media brands have to do to win the attention of Generation Free, the new age of consumers who don't expect to pay for their information and entertainment?
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21st Apr 2009 Media Mix - Why we watch TVAs Britain's key free-to-air broadcasters - ITV, Channel 4 and Five - lurch from mild woe to terminal decline, depending on who you listen to, you would think we'd all hit the off button for...
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1st Apr 2009 Thinkbox hosts Televisionaries conference in LondonThe marketing body for commercial broadcasters hosted a forum that combined interactivity with a debate on TV's future because internet piracy is theft. It exists either to avoid paying or to make...
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20th Mar 2009 10 reasons why linear TV lives onThe medium's popularity with viewers continues undimmed and, in fact, appears to be increasing. Media Week’s Adrian Pennington explores the subject, looking at youth, multi-channel, discovery,...
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For me, one detail in the messy, horrible death of the rock star Jimi Hendrix at 27 years old, has always stood out. Early in his distress, he left a message asking for help on the answering machine...
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Thinkbox, the commercial TV industry marketing body, will focus on the future of brands on TV at its annual 'Televisionaries' forum, to be held in November. This week, the body also commissioned...
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13th Feb 2009 BARB figures show TV ad viewings at a record highA record 2.4 billion ads were watched on television every day in 2008 in the UK, according to new research by the Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board.
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13th Feb 2009 2008 was record year for TV ads watchedThe number of television ads watched at normal speed in the UK reached an all-time high in 2008 at 2.4bn per day or an average of 42 ads per person every day.
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11th Feb 2009 TV advertising now cheapest on recordAdvertising on television is now cheaper than at any time on record and the market will not begin to grow again until at least 2010, according to new research from media buyer Zenith Optimedia.
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We've been talking about convergence so long that when it actually starts happening we almost miss it. Earlier this month MySpace announced a new widget channel, developed with Yahoo and Intel, that...
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28th Jan 2009 TV viewing at five-year highThe average TV viewer watched an average of 26 hours and 18 minutes of broadcast TV a week last year, the highest level viewing has been since 2003. -
28th Jan 2009 TV viewing 'reaches record high'TV viewing in the UK has reached a record high, despite increased competition from online services. -
28th Jan 2009 Brits watch more TV than ever, says report by ThinkboxBritish viewers watched more than 26 hours of TV per week each last year – a record high matched only in 2003 – thanks to a combination of factors including hit shows such as The X Factor, bad...
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Britons are watching more television than ever due to the increasing choice offered by digital channels and the recession, which has encouraged people to stay in more often.
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The UK TV viewing population watched a total of 2.4 billion ads per day in 2008, an average of 42 per person per day, as commercial TV upped its share of all TV viewing to 63%.
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28th Jan 2009 Viewers tune in to 26 hours of TV a weekTV viewing reached a record high last year thanks to blockbuster shows such as X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Figures published yesterday by the Broadcast Audience Research Board (BARB) showed... -
28th Jan 2009 Increased TV viewing drives commercial impacts upThe average person watched 36 minutes more of commercial TV a week in 2008 than in the previous year, according to latest BARB research. The latest data also shows commercial impacts for the... -
Britons spent more than 26 hours a week watching TV last year, it was revealed yesterday. Some 2.4billion adverts were watched every single day in 2008, an average of 42 adverts per person each... -
28th Jan 2009 Record audiences for TV in 2008New research shows that TV viewing reached an all-time high in the UK last year. Some 2.4billion adverts were watched every single day in 2008, an average of 42 adverts per person each day. The... -
28th Jan 2009 Brits turn to TV as recession bitesBritish viewers are staying in and watching more television as the recession hits home, according to figures published Wednesday. Research from marketing body Thinkbox and ratings agency BARB said... -
28th Jan 2009 Brits love cha cha channelsTELLY blockbusters Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor pushed viewing to a record high last year. Research from marketing body Thinkbox and ratings agency BARB said that record viewing figures for...
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How would you feel if you uploaded a video of your toddler dancing to a track, only to find yourself being sued for infringement of copyright by the major media corporation that owned it?
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Commercial radio and TV are ready to ride out the recession with the promise of effectiveness and accountability, the bosses of Radio Centre and Thinkbox claim.
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13th Jan 2009 Most Irritating ads of 2008The Marketing/TNS annual survey of the UK's most irritating ads sparks the question: do advertisers actually set out to annoy the nation?
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9th Dec 2008 Media Week Essay – TelevisionTelevision remains the most powerful medium. It's important for brands to continue to invest in small-screen advertising, particularly during the tough times that are predicted for the next 12 months.
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Dear Santa, I have been extremely well-behaved all year, so please could you grant my wishes, listed below, as my Christmas treats.
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2nd Dec 2008 Could targeted TV ads damage the TV spot?Sky is working on the UK debut of targeted TV ads. It is viewed by some as the Holy Grail of advertising, but what effects will it have on the traditional TV spot ad?
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The adage "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan" is - ironically - attributed to many people, including Tacitus, Mussolini's son-in-law and JFK.
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29th Nov 2008 'Smart' TV adverts signal new dawn for BSkyBIt sounds like an advertising executive's Holy Grail: a way of never showing a dog food commercial to a viewer obsessed by all things feline.
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28th Nov 2008 Media Forum: Televisionaries: a success?The commercial TV business faces some massive issues, not least sliding revenues and cynicism from the advertising community as younger, trendier media put their case for a share of the marketing...
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28th Nov 2008 Media: Things we likeLast week's Thinkbox Televisonaries conference seemed to go down well with the assembled audience of agency people and clients.
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25th Nov 2008 Multi-platform era signals a new television ageAndy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4, claims that television is being forced to adapt to a new world in which viewers are using multiple platforms to watch a wider variety of programmes.
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An interview with Thinkbox's Research and strategy director, David Brennan.
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21st Nov 2008 Diary: Adland chiefs opt for ritual humiliationThose going along to today's (Thursday) Thinkbox Televisionaries conference are set to witness poptastic antics from some of adland's biggest names.
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"Staying in is the new going out" is the phrase we keep hearing to sum up consumer behaviour.
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The much-anticipated Battle of Big Thinking, the annual brain-fest that took place earlier this month, provided much food for thought.
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16th Nov 2008 An industry in trouble, yes. An apocalypse, noThe champagne may be on hold at Shoreditch House and the Groucho Club, the London haunts where media luvvies rub shoulders with their showbiz friends. A flurry of announcements from magazine... -
9th Nov 2008 More people watching TV despite strong competitionThe number of people watching television has increased this year, according to figures released today by industry body Thinkbox. Figures for the year to September show that viewing numbers for the...
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Blogs came into my life four years ago. I regularly read several marketing blogs, but am devoted to three that have no direct connection to our world.
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For all their rigour and demonstrable robustness there remains a real problem with the IPA Effectiveness Awards that will need to be addressed.
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21st Oct 2008 Media must celebrate the industry's female-led futureTo write or not to write? I've been mulling over whether to explore my chosen topic ever since Jane Ratcliffe became the chief executive of MediaCom UK a couple of months ago
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8th Oct 2008 Duncan and Fincham to address Thinkbox forumKeynote speakers at the upcoming Thinkbox forum on the future of television will include Andy Duncan, the chief executive of Channel 4, Peter Fincham, ITV's director of television, and the media...
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Were you one of those people torn between arts and science A-levels? If so, then you are probably brilliant at your job, in common with all those others in all disciplines of advertising and...
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It's very strange having a 13 year-old boy in the house, for a variety of reasons. Some you can imagine, but one of the others is the sort of TV he persuades us to watch.
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12th Aug 2008 TV catch-up services fail to dent traditional viewingBroadband video catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer are not cannibalising traditional TV viewing despite their much-hyped popularity, according to a report.
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12th Aug 2008 TV holds its ground against web videoThe popularity of internet video sites such as Google’s YouTube and the BBC iPlayer has yet to erode the time spent watching traditional commercial television, according to figures published on...
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8th Aug 2008 The Week: Media news - Thinkbox announces forumThinkbox, the trade body for the commercial television industry, has announced details of its next industry event.
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5th Aug 2008 Thinkbox commissions study into online TV potentialTV marketing body Thinkbox has commissioned a research study into the developing online TV market to provide insight about its potential for advertisers.
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21st Jul 2008 LettersYour "top 100" list of the most powerful media people in Britain (Media 100, July 14) almost completely ignores book publishing, which contributes £4bn to the economy. You include rightly Marjorie...
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UK commercial TV broadcasters enjoyed a bumper April with the highest viewing figures in five years, thanks to bad weather and high-rating programming.
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28th May 2008 TV viewing figures defy talk of declineBlockbuster programmes may come and go, technologies may rise and fall, but there is nothing quite like the British weather to influence television viewing habits, new figures on Wednesday show.
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26th May 2008 Seeing RedIs interactive TV advertising good or bad? I'm torn. One half of me is the viewer, recoiling in horror at the thought of pressing a red button so I can be diverted out of the programme I'm watching...
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10th May 2008 TV and online make unlikely partnersTelevision advertising executives and internet marketers can often be found pointing out one another's failings. Proponents of television say theirs remains the best choice for mass-market branding,...
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17th Feb 2008 Television and the internet are perfect companionsFrom Mr David Brennan. Sir, It is disappointing to see another story making false claims about the internet eroding television viewing – particularly young people’s viewing (“Young prefer MySpace to...
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28th Jan 2008 Commercial TV success sparked by digital channelsThe latest viewing figures released by Barb suggest that the much-reported demise of television viewing has been greatly exaggerated. Full-year figures for 2007 reveal that overall viewing remained...
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24th Jan 2008 TV ads at record highThe ever increasing number of digital TV channels means viewers watched more ads than ever last year, an average of 40 a day, according to research. TV industry ratings body Barb has found that UK...
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22nd Nov 2007 TV viewers are not switching off for the internetYour recent report on a new survey of internet use repeated a number of fashionable and misleading ideas (Young networkers turn off TV and log on to the web, November 12). The most eyecatching, as in...
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In this section, you’ll find all our press releases which will tell you what we’ve been up to and what we’ve been saying. From our latest research initiatives to the latest information on commercial TV viewing and impacts, this area will keep you bang up to date with what we’re doing and saying.
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