ITV Sales declined to comment on the prices spots were fetching or how many were remaining, but did say that the demand was high.
So far, Nike, Ford, Carlsberg, Carling, WKD, Hyundai, Guinness, Vauxhall and Renault have signed up to "premium" slots and ITV has confirmed that many of the advertisers have created specific copy for the tournament to take full advantage of the opportunity.
ITV is anticipating that audiences will exceed that of Euro 2000, which delivered an average audience of 7m, peaking with the England vs Portugal match with just under 15m viewers. Overall, the contest delivered a reach of three quarters of all 16- to 34-year-old men and over 80% of men.
Ben Allen, sales controller at ITV Sales, said: "There has been a fantastic amount of interest in the tournament, demonstrating the attraction of prime event programming and the opportunity to tap into the nation's emotion."
ITV is offering interactive and online coverage as well as TV, and has confirmed Carling and Adidas as online partners at its .
ITV's coverage of Euro 2004 kicks off in Portugal on June 12 and ends on July 4. ITV has exclusive broadcast rights for the first two England matches, against France on June 13 and Switzerland on June 17.
A further 10 group stage matches will be broadcast exclusively on ITV.
Allen added: "ITV's exclusive securing of the first two England matches has guaranteed advertisers the opportunity of real appointment-to-view programmes and mass targeted coverage."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
.jpg)
.jpg)