China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday reported a 26 per cent increase in revenue for prime-time advertising next year from this year, a reflection of corporate confidence in the consumer market and intensifying competition.
An official with the company's advertising department, who declined to give his name, said an auction of next year's spots between the end of the main evening news at 7.30pm and 8pm raised 3.31 billion yuan (about HK$3.1 billion).
He said the main bidders were manufacturers of drinks, pharmaceuticals, mobile telephones, food, household appliances and health products.
A total of 800 people attended, with 125 companies bidding, including foreign firms such as Nokia and Motorola.
The CCTV official gave several reasons for the sharp increase in revenue - more than three times higher than the official forecast for growth in gross domestic product next year.
'One is the intensifying competition between companies and the fact that markets mature more quickly. Existing firms want to hold on to their share of the advertising market, while new ones want to break in,' he said.