The UK kids' TV market is one of the most competitive in the world, with more than 28 separate channel feeds competing for a maximum of 拢100m in ad revenue. Add to this impending legislation that will restrict the advertising of foodstuffs to children, and it is difficult not to view ITV's decision to launch a dedicated children's TV channel as either brave or foolhardy.
After months of preparation - its creation was formally announced in August - the CITV channel finally hits our screens this Saturday (11 March). CITV will air every day between 6am and 6pm, targeting two distinct groups: pre-school two- to five-year-olds and six- to nine-year-old schoolchildren.
Programmes will include Pocoyo, SpongeBob SquarePants and My Parents are Aliens.
ITV has not yet managed to secure CITV's distribution on all broadcast platforms - it will be carried on Sky from May and the company says it will be on cable 'over time'. However, it will be available on Freeview and to subscribers of Homechoice from the off, and while the failure to gain universal distribution might seem a hindrance, its position on Freeview is the ace up CITV's sleeve - in one stroke it has become the only kids' commercial TV channel on the platform. With Ofcom's latest figures revealing that Freeview is now available in 10m homes, CITV has a greater reach than all of its established rivals, other than the BBC's CBBC and CBeebies.
Simplistic model
It would not be a stretch to think the other children's broadcasters would be worried by the arrival of a free-to-air rival, but Dee Forbes, senior vice-president and general manager of Turner Broadcasting, which runs channels including Cartoon Network and Boomerang, thinks the ITV model is simplistic compared with established kids' TV networks.
While welcoming the competition CITV will bring, Forbes believes the Turner channels offer greater sophistication and have a deeper relationship with their viewers. 'Kids' TV is the most competitive genre, but from our point of view it takes a lot to appeal to kids and we've been doing it for years', she says. Forbes thinks the ability to reach children across a range of different media, such as the internet and video-on-demand, is as important as having a TV channel itself. 'Having only a channel might not be enough,' she says.
It is a view echoed by Paul Taylor, chief executive of children's TV network Jetix Europe. He argues that the CITV business model is one-dimensional, and thinks it may be hampered by being available only in the UK, whereas Jetix can offer advertisers pan-regional airtime and sponsorship deals.
Taylor believes Jetix is able to maintain stronger relationships with its audience, and advertisers, because it is multi-media and multi-territory.
For example, last month Lego kicked off a campaign with Jetix for the launch of its Manga-inspired conflict game Exo-Force. The activity, which includes advertising, promotions and editorial coverage across Jetix's TV channel, magazine and website, ran in a number of territories, including the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.
Taylor also thinks CITV might be trying to appeal to too wide a kids' audience, whereas rival channels target a section of the demographic - for example, Jetix concentrates on a core audience of boys aged between seven and 11. 'One of the issues that CITV may face is that by running a full-blown channel, it will need to balance the requirements of a block audience,' he says.
Jonathan Lewis, ITV's director of digital channels, says that securing cross-media platforms for CITV is a long-term goal. But, more importantly, he believes CITV will have an advantage over its rivals thanks to its assets. 'We have a lot of things: spectrum on Freeview, the power of ITV1 to cross-promote the channel, a very significant programming budget, GMTV to sell the airtime, GMTV kids' airtime, which will be rebranded CITV, the distribution strength of Granada International and the creativity of Granada Productions.'
Licensing opportunities
Lewis says this will enable CITV to create shows such as Bob the Builder that can be exploited through merchandising and licensing, which will make the channel less dependent on ad revenue.
For once, media buyers seem to be universally in favour of ITV's latest venture. Chris Locke, UK buying director at media agency Starcom, thinks there is space for another player in the kids' TV market, particularly as CITV has secured distribution on Freeview. 'The kids' market isn't done by any means. I think it will do well,' he says.
Andy Zonfrillo, investment director at MindShare, agrees. 'There's definitely a commercial opportunity,' he says.
Ultimately, the health of all of the kids' broadcasters is dependent on what happens in the Food Standards Agency's report, which is due later this month. CITV, along with all of its rivals, will be hoping Ofcom has a lenient interpretation of its recommendations, or they may be looking at a total ad revenue of significantly less than 拢100m.