KIEV: Television is the dominant advertising medium in the emerging economy of the Ukraine and is likely to remain so, according to the Ukrainian Advertising Coalition.

The country's national TV channels earned $472 million (€317m; £239m) from commercial ads last year and an additional $75m from political ads.

The downside, for viewers at least, is that the demand for airtime and booming revenues are providing little incentive to TV stations to improve the quality of programming.

Ukrainian law decrees that commercials can occupy no more than 15% of airtime and no more than 20% of any hour.

As a result, the UAC's figures show 2007 media inflation was between 30% and 50% - expected to rise again this year with the introduction of a new audience measurement panel.

Says Vyacheslav Bulavin, director of the Prioritet media agency: "Nowadays Ukrainian television earns big money, spending much effort on competition and struggling for ratings, and does little to develop television itself. All channels working on the advertising market do this." 

Adds Sergey Lozhkin, head of Indesit in Ukraine: "Television advertising targets the most people and offers the lowest cost of contacts and the best possibilities for media planning." 

TV attracted as much advertising income last year as all other local media combined. The UAC estimates turnover of the whole ad market will grow by 28% in 2008, to $605m.

Data sourced from PRschik.com; additional content by WARC staff