The forecasts follow a sluggish auction in 2005 for this year's airtime, which saw CCTV post its lowest revenue growth in five years, falling just short of the national broadcaster's target of Rmb 6 billion (US$760 million). Media agencies are confident that with the Olympics approaching, marketers will be looking to use 2007 as their key brand-building year, before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Wei said that last year's sluggish performance for CCTV had helped regulate inflation, which had previously averaged at close to 30 to 40 per cent, but she added ratecard hikes in the vicintity of 25 per cent may occur, depending on CCTV's success at the auction.
According to Wei, the biggest spenders are again expected to be led by Proctor & Gamble, which outlayed a staggering Rmb 376 million last year, and Unilever, which quadrupled its spend with the network at Rmb 249 million. But importantly, agencies are expecting a surge in interest from mobile operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom as handset penetration continues its rapidly increasing penetration, and financial services brands and credit card companies, which are all experiencing significant growth.
A key issue facing the broadcaster however, is the heightened challenge posed by local and regional networks, a situation typified by the phenomenally successful Hunan TV reality programme Supergirl. As local and regional quality improves, noted Wei, brands may be rethinking their strategy of pouring all their capital into a national broadcaster. "Smaller broadcasters are starting to compete very strongly, but I think they cannot replace CCTV's reach, and right up until the Olympics, CCTV is still in a good position," she said.