Rates for a 30-second slot during the Friends finale, to be screened on May 28, are trading for £100,000. The rate is about 70% more than a normal episode, as advertisers anticipate a record Channel 4 audience of 16- to 34-year-old viewers. Big Brother will return on the same evening, airing immediately after Friends.
The hour-long episode will contain three centre breaks, compared with the usual one. Car and beauty advertisers are scrambling over the 20% of ad slots that remain unsold. T-Mobile is confirmed as one advertiser.
Adding to telecoms activity on the night is the debut of Carphone Warehouse brand TalkTalk's sponsorship of Big Brother. The deal was announced last week, following O2's decision to not sponsor the show's fifth series
Audiences for the latest series of Friends have averaged 4.5m. The recent final episode of Sex and the City attracted a 40 % uplift on the series average of 3.2m.
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