MEDIA AND MARKETING: The station is confident that 'Tallafornia' will contribute to a buoyant year for ad revenues
WITH CUSTOMARY fanfare, the commercial juggernaut that is The X Factorgrinds to a conclusion this Sunday after a curiously tense series that has seen TV3's ratings for the show slip to 2009 levels – in other words, a still very decent set of pay days.
But the X Factorfinal isn't the only reason why this weekend is an important one for TV3: Sunday will see the premiere of Tallafornia,TV3's toe-dip into the semi-reality or "dramality" genre, whose antecedents include the likes of Jersey Shore, Geordie Shoreand, at the posh end, Made in Chelsea. Expect pole-dancing lessons, underwear-as-outerwear and semi-scripted scenes of a sexual nature, set in Tallaght.
Tallafornia'sdebut is a statement of intent by TV3 for 2012 as it launches a wave of advertiser-friendly home-produced programmes – content that TV3's commercial director Pat Kiely believes will contribute to a reassuringly buoyant year for ad revenues. The television ad market will grow 5 per cent in 2012, Kiely predicts, with the medium taking "a bigger slice of the cake" than before.
Staying in is the new going out, and all that. Stabilisation and recovery has already begun, with TV3 expecting to grow its own ad revenues to €60 million this year, up from €57 million in 2010.
Kiely’s confidence is partly grounded in the “bounce back” factor, as major advertisers who switched to short-term in-store promotions during the recession return to the longer-term brand-building of TV campaigns.
“Because TV suffered more than any other medium during the recession, it has a steeper bounce back to make,” says Kiely.
Another reason for his optimism relates to the arrival of a new trading backdrop following the Competition Authority’s agreement with RTÉ that it cannot continue with its “share deal” advertising system beyond July 1st, 2012 – a subject to which this column will return.
The forthcoming “bumper year” for TV content is the third theme underpinning Kiely’s forecast. Much of this is due to the happy coincidence of two sporting events – the Euro 2012 football tournament and the London 2012 Olympics – in one year.
But the other piece in the content jigsaw is the imminent unleashing of programmes that will seem at once new and familiar to viewers.
A full series of the jacuzzi-laden Tallaforniawill roll out in January, a month that will also see the airing of Celebrity Come Dine With Me.Two more Irish versions of British formats are also due for launch: Family Fortunes, hosted by Alan Hughes, and the quiz Mastermind,hosted by Nora Owen – the latter is "more for the ABC1s", says Kiely.
Contrary to reports that it's up for the chop, Kiely expects The Apprenticewill take its place in its autumn schedule again in 2012, though he notes the franchise's US version has devolved into a celebrity-based format. "No one single programme really commands such a share of our revenues that we can't afford to change things around," he adds.
All of which points to growing strength-in-depth in TV3’s entertainment artillery. From the summer, this will be augmented by the completion of its new HD studio at Ballymount, facilitating a busier conveyor belt of shows and larger studio audiences.
Kiely notes that RTÉ's launch of The Voice of Ireland,hosted by Kathryn Thomas and Eoghan McDermott and produced by Apprentice-makers Screentime ShinAwiL, could draw even bigger audiences to its rival on a Sunday evening than the All-Ireland Talent Show, the ratings hit it is effectively replacing. "We would acknowledge that it will be a big year for RTÉ as well."
In addition to consolidating its reputation in the light entertainment genre, however, TV3 is also venturing into serial drama with the autumn launch of Taylor Hill(working title).
“It’s a big, big step for us into weekly drama,” says Kiely. “Our intention, our aspiration, is to invest more in drama and, dare I say it, have our own Irish soap.”
Arguably, the absence of a Mary Byrne-type figure in this year's X Factor is a blessing in disguise for TV3, who will want to avoid the fate suffered by Channel 4 during the Big Brotherera, when it became such a ratings behemoth that for many years the broadcaster couldn't afford to ditch it.
TV3 chief executive David McRedmond's recent claim that it will be less reliant in future on "shiny floor" imports like the X Factor and X Factor USAwould appear to be backed up by commissions all the way from Tallaforniato Taylor Hill.
In the meantime, however, the broadcaster will undoubtedly be happy that the “late money” from advertisers in the run-up to Christmas has, according to Kiely, picked up after a sluggish start.
