Rivals cited as the reason for P&G pulling out of Zip TV

by Staff,, Brand Republic 09-Feb-05, 15:00

LONDON – Procter & Gamble is pulling out of the interactive TV channel Zip TV after two years as a member of the consortium.

In 2003, Zip TV brought together a consortium of 10 advertisers to provide funding for a feasibility study to launch a television channel.

P&G was one of the original advertisers but has decided not to renew its membership of the consortium for 2005 because it is in competition with other members, including Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser.

Andrew Howells and Donna Barradale, managing partners at Zip TV, said: "Zip's business has now evolved. As a result, we now have a more traditional client/agency relationship with a number of consortium members. In this respect, it is understandable that competitive companies within the consortium may seek to work with alternative agencies elsewhere."

The 10 current members are: Orange; BT; the COI; Unilever; Masterfoods; Camelot; Honda; Reckitt Benckiser; Woolworths; and Gillette, which was acquired by Procter & Gable last week but will remain a member of Zip TV.

Zip TV launched in July 2004 as a "virtual" channel, providing content when viewers press the red button while viewing an interactive ad through the usual TV channels.

Viewers are able to return to scheduled programming once they have watched the interactive ad.

The service is available to consortium members and non-members who want to use interactive TV backed by research.

Jill Armitage, head of direct communication at Unilever, is planning to support the consortium into the forseeable future.

"Findings from the Zip Consortium have been extremely valuable in helping our team learn and shape our thinking in this area," she said. "We are impressed with Zip's understanding of the market and its ability to produce award winning creative work."

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