The broadcaster enjoyed a successful October - thanks largely to England's unexpected success in the Rugby World Cup - with its ABC1 adult share up 1.5% year on year.
One agency's head of broadcast said: "It's not surprising ITV has performed well in this category. The Rugby World Cup attracts an older, more male audience and with England getting to the final, we expected this result for October."
However, the broadcaster's share of impacts for 16-34s in October was 1.3% lower than for the same month a year ago. The source added: "This is unexpected, as October has The X Factor and you would think the 16-34s would perform better, but the Rugby World Cup took over on Saturday nights - attracting a slightly older crowd. All the same, ITV1's performance for the last six months has been consistently strong, which should mean a healthier CRR position than last year, come December."
Channel 4's share of impacts for 16-34s was 0.3% lower than October 2006, as was its all-adult share, down 1%. Five's all-adult share of impacts of 8.3% was down by 1.1% from October last year.
One agency TV director said: "There's a feeling among advertisers that Channel 4 has gone a little stale and needs some innovation. And the problem with Five is that its main channel isn't doing very well. The relative success of its digital channels is masking these significant losses."
"It's holding out for neighbours next year."
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