THE CAMPAIGN
FAQ List
What is Can the Commercials?
Can the Commercials is a campaign being run to empower all football fans to protest against the role of Carlton and Granada in the ITV Digital fiasco by boycotting their ad breaks.
Why Carlton and Granada?
They are the two major shareholders in ITV Digital and the ones responsible for putting ITV Digital into administration.
Why Can the Commercials?
It's quick, easy, fans don't have to give up their favourite programmes and it will hit Carlton and Granada where they will feel it most - in the pocket! The Football League is being forced to fight Carlton and Granada in the courts to get the money owed by ITV Digital. We all know that this will take a long time, by then up to 30 clubs could have gone forever.
What is the aim of Can the Commercials?
To put direct pressure on Carlton & Granada to pay the Football League clubs the £178.5m they are still owed from ITV Digital. We will provide a focal point for football fans up and down the country to join together and enforce an economic sanction on these companies.
How long will the campaign run for?
As long as it takes for the Football League clubs to get the money they're owed. Can the Commercials has a long term strategy.
How can people get involved?
Firstly by registering their support for the campaign here
- Simply enter your name, email address, club supported and the ITV region you live in
- Hit submit
Secondly by not watching the ad breaks on ITV during certain pre-defined programmes that we will inform you about. Simply turn off the TV, put the kettle on or grab a can from the fridge instead!
I don't live in the UK, but I care about the English game, is there anything I can do?
Yes, both Carlton and Granada produce or distribute content for the international market and many of the companies who advertise on ITV are global brands. Find out how you can play your part by going to our international section.
How does the campaign work?
The major source of revenue going into Carlton and Granada comes from advertising - each company receiving over £1billion annually from this source of income. If enough people across the country commit to boycotting adverts on ITV, this will worry the advertisers to such a degree that they will either:
- Force Granada and Carlton to do something to prevent this situation, or:
- Pull their advertising and spend their money elsewhere
Unsettling a major source of income like this will put pressure on Carlton and Granada's share price, and that is the ultimate sanction for these companies.
Your 'Can the Commercials' World Cup campaign included watching the BBC not ITV. Why?
Previous rounds of Can the Commercials have targeted events that only ITV broadcasted and we didn't expect fans to miss those actual events. The World Cup provided a unique opportunity for fans to increase the pressure on Carlton and Granada by boycotting the actual programmes themselves without missing any of the action. The knockout stages of the World Cup were broadcast by both ITV and the BBC, enabling fans the chance to boycott the whole broadcast, including the ads, but still catching the action on the BBC!
How will boycotting adverts actually work? How will advertisers know if I turn the TV off or go to the kitchen instead of watching the ads?
TV viewing figures are monitored by a company could BARB who compile viewing estimates obtained from certain television-owning households deemed to represent the viewing behaviour of the 24+ million households within the UK. We estimate that only 5,000 - 10,000 households are monitored. In these early stages we are building momentum for the campaign - and fans are creating a habit of Canning the Commercials - but this won't be reflected in the ratings yet. The success of this phase of the campaign hinges on:
- Number of fans registering their support online
- Fans cultivating a habit of boycotting ads
- The publicity the campaign attracts to make Carlton and Granada and their advertisers aware of the campaign.
Once the campaign has the momentum to start influencing viewing figures then it will become more important to actually switch channels or turn their TV's off during ad breaks so that the protest registers in the viewing figures.
Therefore, what should I actually do when 'Canning the Commercials'?
At this stage - it doesn't matter too much whether you switch off the TV, change the channel or simply go out of the room! The important thing for the campaign at this stage is that you simply resister your support online and that you don't watch the ads.
I've stopped watching commercials anyway, why should I join Can the Commercials?
By joining Can the Commercials you can add your voice to that of thousands of other fans. The success of the campaign depends on how many fans actually register support on the site. The more people who join, the more chance Carlton and Granada will be forced to cough up.
The football season's over, there won't be any programmes to boycott?
Boycotting football programmes is just the start; we've asked fans to pick other programmes to include in the protest as the campaign increases momentum. The first of these was the British Grand Prix on ITV1 on Sunday 7th July.
Who is organising the campaign?
The Football Fans Union. For more info go to The FFU page
How is the campaign going?
It has got off to a great start
- Thousands of fans - representing over 100 teams from Premiership to Unibond leagues - have registered
- Backing from the FL’s David Burns, PFA's Gordon Taylor, LMA's John Barnwell, an MP and FL Chairmen including Theo Paphitis and Mike Bateson
- Registrants include football media personalities such as Mark Pougatch of BBC Radio 5 Live, Jamie Broadbent at Teamtalk and The Mail on Sunday's Patrick Collins
- Coverage by the Guardian and Telegraph as well as national and regional press, radio and the marketing trade press
How does the BSkyB deal for live rights to Nationwide League football affect your campaign?
Whilst the Sky deal will help improve the financial stability of football clubs in
what is still a very difficult and uncertain time, the clubs are certainly not out
of the woods yet. There is still a massive shortfall left by the collapse of ITV
Digital. We hope that this latest development might pave the way for Carlton and
Granada to come to the negotiating table with the Football League. The fans still
want to see Carlton and Granada sort out this fiasco. Therefore, the campaign is
still pressing on full steam ahead until the safety of the clubs futures is
ensured.
Why are you running the campaign?
We are football fans and care deeply about the game. We don't want the heart of both our national game and many of our communities to be ripped out by a large media corporation who want to avoid paying what they owe.
|
|
|
