TV Advertising Costs: A Guide

As an advertising agency, one of the first questions a potential advertiser will ask is how much does it cost to advertise on TV? There is no simple answer as the cost depends on a wide range of factors such as budget, target audience and programme specific marketing. Essentially, there are two areas of advertising costs. First there is buying the advert spots between TV shows. These rates can vary wildly. For a smaller digital channel, the rates start around £50 to £150 for daytime and £150 to £300 for peak time per slot. At the other end of the scale, a TV advert during Good Morning Britain can cost between £3,000 and £4,000.

The second factor is the production costs for actually creating the TV advert. This can range from around £5,000-25,000 for a straightforward TV commercial to £250,000 for a major TV advert with celebrities and a well know music track. That’s a lot of money you might be thinking but it is possible to begin your TV advertising campaign with a budget around £20,000.

Average cost for a 30 sec TV advert on UK networks.

ITV

Good Morning Britain ads cost are around £3,000 – £4,000. Daytime slots on ITV are between £3,500 to £4,500 and peak time slots can cost from £10,000 to £33,000.

ITV is a great place to show your adverts. Shows such as Good Morning Britain offer one of the best commercial opportunities in the UK. Whether you’re planning a massive TV nationwide advertising campaign or trying to target a region, ITV advert slots can be purchased flexibly. ITV also has a range of family of channels which help campaigns hit specific demographics.

Channel 4

A typical 30-second slot on daytime Channel 4 can cost between £1,000 to £2,000 peak. Rates for a popular show such as Hollyoaks is around £10,000 to £20,000.

Channel 5

Channel 5 is a less expensive option with a slot in the daytime usually costing around £800 to £1,600. Peak time ad breaks can be had for £2,500 to £4,500 for shows like Big Brother.

Sky TV (Adsmart)

The cost for advertising on Sky is lower than ITV. An ad slot in daytime shows on Sky costs around £150 to £250. Advertising during the peak time costs about £600 to £1,200. Sky Adsmart allows advertisers to target their ads to a select group of viewers.

Other digital channels outside of the Sky family can also be a great place to advertise your brand: Rates for smaller digital channels can be as little as £50 to £150 for day time up to £150 to £300 for peak time. If you know your audience is watching those channels then it’s a good option for a small budget.