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TalkTalk extends X Factor deal(Guardian (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TalkTalk has renewed its pounds 20m-plus deal to sponsor ITV's The X Factor as it ups the ante in the battle against rivals including BT, BSkyB and Virgin Media to win customers to its new YouView-based TV service. The telecoms and broadband operator, which last week became the fastest-growing new TV business in the UK after adding 150,000 subscribers in the first quarter, has struck a three-year deal to use ITV1's flagship entertainment show as a key strand in the marketing of TalkTalk TV. TalkTalk's latest sponsorship deal, struck with ITV and co-producers Syco and FremantleMedia, is thought to be approximately pounds 20m. The company believes the talent show is the perfect vehicle with which to hit its target market of 8m Freeview TV households that cannot record programmes on their set-top boxes and are "value-seeking customers who want a little more TV, not a lot". Three-quarters of TalkTalk's 4 million-plus customer base have Freeview, and a similar percentage of the 230,000 who have signed up to its new TV service had either Freeview or Freesat, the satellite TV joint venture between ITV and the BBC. "It is the perfect property to be engaged with to drive our TV service," said Tristia Clarke, commercial director at TalkTalk. "The sheer scale of X Factor is important, it is the biggest show on UK TV, but it also allows proper engagement with customers. You can make offers, such as tickets, and drive customer engagement in a way you can't sponsoring, say, drama." (c) 2013 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |