Viacom's figures show that from 1993 to 2000, the cost of buying adult audiences on ITV was 6% above the average for the TV market as a whole, while the cost of the much sought-after 16- to 34-year-old audience was 18% higher than the market average.
Viacom claims that in the two years since the ITV sales houses reduced from three to two in 2000, the price premium for ITV has increased to 14% on all adults and to 42% on adults aged 16 to 34.
An ITV sales house source disputed the research claims, saying that ITV's price premium over the period was due to the fact the decline in its revenues was slower than the decline in its audiences.
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