Public broadcaster Channel 4 has said that it will not be running ad breaks during its coverage of the 2024 in a bid to remain competitive as the results come in.
The decision was made by the channel’s head of news, current affairs and sport Louisa Compton, who confirmed that the decision had been made to cut ad breaks from 9.45pm on 4 July until 9am the next day.
This follows in a similar vein from rival broadcaster ITV, which made the same call last year and has opted to do the same again for this latest general election.
The idea behind the strategy is that the removal of ad breaks during the all-important coverage will discourage viewers from switching over to ITV, Sky or the BBC’s own live election shows.
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The decision has polarised media planners and buyers, with former Dentsu International managing partner of AV delivery, Cath Offord calling the move a “missed opportunity and a backward step by the ad community.”
She added: “For a commercial outfit that has run some of the most inventive break junctions of recent years, it should raise eyebrows that they, echoing the same approach as ITV, couldn’t find a better way to involve brands in this coverage and ultimately landed on a solution to ‘cut them out’, as if they were a nuisance.”
Instead, she suggested the implementation of “themed breaks, content-style breaks, shorter breaks, (compliant) political-style breaks or docu breaks” in order to help “punctuate a sense of valuable political coverage from a commercial broadcaster.”
On the other, Havas Media Network UK’s chief operating officer, Simon Bevan believes the decision to be a “smart move”, adding that “while this election will garner loads of public attention, the reality is, consumers are polarised around whether brands should get involved in politics.”
