IDS names first ad partners for launch night of Virgin 1

by Emma Barnett, Media Week 25-Sep-07

Virgin 1, the new entertainment channel scheduled to launch next Monday, has signed up its first advertising partners.

Interactive Digital Sales, the sales house for Virgin Media Television,
has negotiated the first ad break for the launch night.

ZenithOptimedia brokered the deals on behalf of its clients L'Oreal,

Lexus and British Airways, all of which will be appearing in the first

advertising slot after the 9pm launch. Stephen McHenry, IDS's agency
sales manager, worked on behalf of the sales house.

The agency also brokered the first ad break in the channel's US import
show, The Riches, starring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. The first
episode is scheduled to screen at 10pm on launch night.

In another deal for Virgin 1, Vauxhall Tigra is to sponsor America's
Next Top Model for two full series. This is the first time the show is
being made available to Freeview audiences. The six-figure sponsorship
deal will start on 7 October and was negotiated by Carat and Davina
Barker, IDS's commercial development manager. Vauxhall already sponsors
the show on Virgin Media TV's pay-TV channel, Living.

James Wildman, managing director of IDS, confirmed that there has been
"an incredibly high volume of advertiser inquiries about the channel
ever since the plans for launch were unveiled".

Virgin 1's website will launch on the same day, but no commercial online
partnerships have yet been announced.

The channel will air on Freeview and Sky, as well as Virgin Media.
Virgin 1's repeat channel, Virgin 1+1, will launch on 1 October on Sky
and Virgin Media only, due to bandwidth restrictions and expense on
Freeview.