Irish TV advertising 'costs twice global rate'

The cost of advertising on RTÉ and other Irish television stations is almost twice the global average, according to a survey published yesterday.

RTÉ is the only station which publishes its prices, and all other television channels in the Irish market base their rates on this.

The survey from Initiative, a worldwide advertising agency with 99 offices in 55 countries, said rising advertising costs on RTÉ were significantly ahead of general inflation. The cost of space in Irish newspapers is also considerably above the expense elsewhere. Radio and outdoor advertising options represented the best value for money.

The survey is based on a global analysis of cost-per-thousand figures associated with radio, television, newspapers, online, cinema and outdoor media. It analyses how much it costs to reach a thousand viewers.

The average television cost per thousand in Ireland was $12.73 (€10.83), while the global average was $7.09. A spokeswoman for Initiative said the Irish figure was based on the RTÉ average station prices, from which all other stations based their costs.

With newspapers, the Irish average cost per thousand was $18.05, while the global average was just $9.05. This was based on half-page black and white advertisements in the national dailies, and took account of agency discounts and commission.

The survey said cinema was "the most expensive media, despite a 10 per cent decline in costs, due primarily to the increasing number of cinema screens and lower cinema admissions in 2005".

According to the survey, television costs had been steady a few years ago, but this was no longer the case. "Ireland witnessed the highest increase in television costs in western Europe in 2005 and is now the 10th most expensive country in the world for buying TV space, the cost per thousand being 80 per cent above the global average."

The survey said the costs of airtime on television appeared to be linked to the health of the economy - the wealthier the market, the higher the cost.