Ten has gained market share over rivals in the second half of 2015 as Nine closes in on Seven for the top spot, according to FreeTV advertising figures.
From July to December last year, Ten grew revenue by 13% to $359.7 million by increasing advertising market share 2.8% percentage points to 23.2%, compared to the same period in 2014.
Seven (38.5% of market share) holds a slender $4.6 million lead over rival Nine (38.2%) - the closest the two have been this decade. Seven's revenue contracted by 5% over the same period in 2014, while Nine's was down 3%.
The results reflect a flat advertising market across most metro regions, aside from Perth (up 5.27%) and Melbourne (down 2.12%). Regional TV advertising revenue fell by 6.6%.
Seven won the 2015 calendar year, bringing in $1.31 billion (market share of 39.1%), to Nine's $1.29 billion (38.4% share) and Ten’s $757 million (22.5%).
Ten grew its market share by more than two percentage points from 2014 due to the successful launch of new shows, including I'm A Celebrity Get Me out of Here, The Bachelorette and the Great Australian Spelling Bee. Over the summer, the Big Bash League has consistently been among the top rated shows.
Ten CEO Paul Anderson points out the network ended the year with its highest prime time commercial share in total people and the coveted 25 to 54-year-old demographic.
“The revenue growth in the December 2015 half highlights the success of our sales team and our advertising sales partnership with Multi Channel Network, which took effect from 1 September,” Anderson says in a statement.
“Together, Ten and MCN are delivering brand-safe premium video across multiple platforms, in a world-class trading environment, with real and measurable data.”
AdNews' analysis over the past five years, found that Nine is the only network that has grown advertising revenue in the July to December period, up 6.9%, while Ten's has dropped by 16.3%.
Seven's revenue has remained fairly consistent, down 1.4%. During this period metro TV advertising revenue fell by 2.4%.
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