CCTV-1 advert slot earns a record $3.1b

Revenues from the No 1 prime-time advertising slot at China Central Television's (CCTV) flagship channel are up 26 per cent this year, to a record 3.3 billion yuan (about HK$3.1 billion).

The bookings, made late last year, were for advertising time during CCTV-1's 7pm to 8pm main news programme, it said.

The state-owned broadcaster also said total advertising revenue last year reached 6.4 billion yuan, up 19 per cent from 2001. It reported total revenue of seven billion yuan, with more than 90 per cent coming from advertising on its 12 channels.

'These figures reflect the great potential in China's advertising market,' CCTV Hong Kong bureau chief Zhao Shuqing told the Media World industry event in Hong Kong yesterday.

In 2001, CCTV's advertising revenue reached 5.6 billion yuan, up 27 per cent year on year.

Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia chief executive Simon Twiston-Davies said: 'As a common state broadcaster, it always attracts national interest and a big audience. CCTV's main news, where the big dollar goes, is carried by almost everybody. CCTV-1 is on all domestic channels. I think that might explain why the bidding for that particular slot is so high.'