Love Island airing TWICE in 2020 with winter villa in South Africa
ITV is set to air two seasons per year of Love Island, as the broadcaster looks to tackle a five percent fall in total advertising revenue by adding a winter edition of the hit reality TV show.
From 2020, an additional series will air during the British winter, with the original summer series continuing to be filmed in Europe.
The first season of the winter show will be shot in South Africa, so a few safari challenges might not go amiss. Love Island remains to be the most watched programme of the year for adults aged 16 to 34 across any channel.
*MESSAGE!* #LoveIsland https://t.co/3CzMKsuW2o
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) July 24, 2019
The show hit new heights in its fifth series this summer, and recently broke an astonishing six million viewer barrier for the first time, according to The Guardian.
ITV’s chief executive, Carolyn McCall, credited the show for saving their drop in advertising revenue;
“ITV delivered another good viewing performance in the first half of the year,” McCall said.
“Online revenues grew strongly, up 18 percent, despite tough comparatives, with Love Island providing a strong finish to the half. This was reflected in better than expected total advertising revenue.”
Currently the show enjoys over five million viewers watching per episode, and is commercial gold for the broadcaster. Uber Eats pays five million pounds alone to sponsor the show.
A dozen commercial partners were also involved in the 2018 series, spanning brand licensing, podcast sponsors, product placement, in-store branding and exclusive product lines and merchandise.
Paul Mortimer, head of digital channels at ITV, said; "Love Island has proven yet again to be the perfect format that engages younger audiences,”
“In response to this viewer appetite, a new batch of young singletons will deliver some highly anticipated post-Christmas romance and drama from our new and luxurious location.”
The Love Island Instagram account has over three million followers, with the show creating over two billion impressions on Twitter so far this year.
Love Island will be back in an all new location of South Africa in early 2020, with the first series of the year bringing the sun to audiences from a brand new villa.
Angela Jain, Managing Director ITV Studios Entertainment said; "2020 is going to have even more love than before."
Feature image: ITV/REX
