HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ADVERTISE ON TV?

Sure, streaming services are all the rage right now, but broadcast TV will always have our hearts. Perhaps it’s because we revel in the idea of watching television in unison; maybe it’s because decisions are made for us (we’ve all wasted countless hours browsing Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+); or perhaps it's because it's deeply rooted in our traditions. Whatever it is, we simply can’t imagine a world without it.

Thus, broadcast advertising is still paramount to advertisers. Which leads us to our primary question: in 2021, how much does it cost to advertise on TV? As you’d expect, each channel is different. Which is why we’ve created a guide to the costs of advertising on broadcast channels. And, because it’s us, we’ve also taken the time to boast about a few recent adverts that have utilised our ever-expanding library.

How Much Does It Cost to Advertise on TV?

ITV

In terms of advertising, ITV is the channel to be on. According to their official website, 38.5 million people tune into ITV each week. Furthermore, 95% of the UK’s commercial shows that attract an audience of 5 million or more are on an ITV channel. Bearing all of this in mind, it may surprise you that you can secure a spot for as little as £3,000. Let us take you through the specifics of the costs of advertising on ITV, according to toast.tv.

Let’s start at the beginning of the day. To advertise during the Good Morning Britain/Lorraine commercials for 30 seconds, you will be required to pay a TV advertising cost of £3,000 – £4,000. Not so bad, right?

Naturally, as we move towards daytime television slots (think commercial breaks between This Morning and Loose Women), things get a little pricier – but only slightly. Toast.tv estimate prices to be around £3,500 – £4,500.

Like most things, prices surge during peak times. In this instance, we’re talking about the ads between shows such as I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, The Masked Singer and Britain's Got Talent. For these prime-time commercials, you may be looking to spend anything between £10,000 – £33,000.

However, we feel like it is important to note that ITV’s official website’s prices are slightly different. To advertise in all British regions during the I’m A Celeb commercials, ITV suggests that you will be looking to spend around £62,410. Here is their breakdown of the cost:

• Anglia – £5,004
• Meridian – £8,962
• London – £16,221
• Central – £,9548
• Ulster – £1,278
• West Country – £995
• Scotland – £3,727
• Granada – £7,061
• Border – £299
• Yorkshire – £3,393
• Tyne Tees – £2,199
• Wales – £1,504

If you are interested in advertising on ITV, booking deadlines are around two months prior to the date you’d like to advertise. You can discover more information on this over at ITV’s official website.

Channel 4

If you’re looking to attract an alternative audience or want to spend a little less of your budget, we suggest you consider advertising on Channel 4, and/or its sibling channels. With prices reported to start at around £35 for a 30-second spot, and viewing figures high, it may seem like a no-brainer to small-scale marketing teams with tight budgets. Here are the average prices according to TVadvertising.co.uk.

To air a commercial during Channel 4’s breakfast period, you’ll be looking to spend around £500 – £1,800 for a 30-second spot. What sort of shows are aired around this time? Usually, American sitcoms such as Frasier and Cheers. Alternatively, to advertise during E4’s breakfast breaks, you can expect prices to be as little as £35-£95.

When it comes to daytime advertising on Channel 4 programmes, prices are reportedly set around £900 – £2,100. If you are a regular C4 viewer, you will know that TV shows such as Steph’s Packed Lunch, Countdown and A Place in the Sun are scheduled around this time – programmes with a cult audience.

One may also want to consider taking up a daytime commercial spot on E4 which will cost around £70 – £210. In this case, your ad will most likely appear in between showings of popular American shows such as The Big Bang Theory.

During the later hours of the day, prices drop considerably. To advertise in the evening, Channel 4 reportedly charges figures between £500 – £2,000. This slot will air during the breaks of documentary shows such as 24 Hours in A&E and comedy shows such as The Last Leg.

Similarly, E4 prices are at their lowest during the evenings. Prices are said to plummet to £25 – £80 during the commercials of late-night reruns (eg during the breaks of The Inbetweeners and First Dates.)

Now, onto peak time prices. If you’d like to advertise during the commercials of The Great British Bake Off, Gogglebox or It’s A Sin, you should expect to pay a price between £9,000 – £21,000. We guess it makes sense considering the 2020 finale of The Great British Bake Off was watched by a staggering 9.4 million viewers.

Turning your attention to E4’s prime-time prices – advertising in between shows such as Celebs Go Dating (and the recent spin-off Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion) and Married At First Sight: Australia – fees are priced at around £500–£800.

Read more about advertising on Channel 4 at 4Sales.

Channel 5

If budget is a primary concern, we recommend you consider advertising on Channel 5. The channel – currently the third-largest in the UK – reaches up to 40 million viewers every month but charges as little as £500 per 30-second ad. Let’s take a look at all of the advertising costs according to TVadvertising.co.uk.

If you live in the UK, you most likely know that breakfast time on Channel 5 means Milkshake!. Milkshake! is a children’s television block that airs programmes such as Peppa Pig and The Adventures of Paddington. To advertise during this block, you will need to pay a fee of around £500 – £1000 for a 30-second spot. Needless to say, this is an ideal time to advertise to children and their families.

A little later in the day, prices do rise, but not by much. During the daytime – when programmes such as Jeremy Vine and 5 News are live on air – prices are set around £750 – £1,800. It goes without saying that this time of day is great for those looking to capture the attention of stay-at-home mums and dads and those who work from home.

During the afternoon, and in peak times, costs triple; however, they’re still only a fraction of the prices charged by other channels. To advertise during the breaks of Sunday afternoon films, soaps such as Neighbours and factual shows such as Ben Fogle: Return To The Wild, you will be looking to spend around £2,100 – £4,600 of your advertising budget. And bear in mind that a prime-time show is likely to attract a more diverse audience.

As you can imagine, prices to advertise on one of Channel 5’s other channels are considerably cheaper. For example, to advertise on Five Star, prices are said to begin at £10 and hit a max of £375. Similarly, on Five USA, prices begin at £20 and can reach up to a still-extremely-low £500.

Sky Channels

Sky channels – there’s loads of them! And some attract a good deal more viewers than others. Accordingly, each of the different channels on Sky charges advertisers a different price. Below, we present to you the cost of advertising on Sky according to The TV Agency.

To advertise during peak times for around 30 seconds, Sky 1 – a channel that over 24 million people tune into every quarter – will look to charge you a sum of £6,392. Other popular channels, including Pick and Quest, set their TV advertising cost at around £4,000 – £6,000.

However, if you’re looking to advertise on a channel with a more specific viewership, prices will reflect its smaller audience. For instance, the Discovery Channel charges an average of £310 to advertise in the UK and E! charges an average of £156.

Music for Advertising

As we said before, our production music has been used in some of the most impressive adverts of recent years. Here are three of our latest examples.

Netflix – ‘Jupiter’s Legacy Teaser Trailer’

Mark Millar’s 2013 comic, Jupiter’s Legacy, is receiving a television adaptation that’s set to land on Netflix later this year. The music used in the series’ official teaser trailer is a soaring cinematic hit that hints at a show filled with drama, action and adventure.

To discover similar tracks, make sure you check out our Films Scores and Trailers playlist.

Tui – ‘Discover Jamaica’

We’re all itching to fly out to a far-flung destination, now more than ever. Tui knows this, which is why they’ve recently been teasing us with ads showcasing their most exotic destinations – like this commercial that focuses on Jamaica. The composition used in the ad aptly evokes visions of an island life; its sunny beats and reggae-inspired flow all help to bring the vibrant clips to life.

To explore similar tracks, take a look at our Upbeat Background Music.

ba&sh – ‘Golden Hour!’

To promote their Spring capsule, ba&sh – also known as bash Paris – created an ad that showcased their latest pieces. The commercial follows two young women as they enjoy playing around in their garden wearing au courant ensembles. A laid-back electronic track from our catalogue was added to give the ad a youthful feel and grab an audience’s attention.

Looking for something similar? Make sure you visit our Chilled Beats album.