News

STAKES are rising in the TV arena with news Lunn Poly is launching a digital channel into a market in which current players are struggling to survive.

Lunn Poly parent TUI UK has struck a five-year deal to rebrand Travel Channel’s Travel Deals Direct as Lunn Poly Television, creating 50 Glasgow-based call centre jobs. Launching on June 1, it will be run with the Travel Channel and headed up by First Resort managing director Neil Hardy. Travel Deals Direct commercial director Gary Wardrope will remain.

The news comes a week after Going Places TV closed and amid rumours TV Travel Shop is under increasing pressure. According to a senior source, TV Travel Shop’s fate is under review and the company has until June to show US parent Interactive Corp a turnaround in its fortunes.

Of the big four, only Thomas Cook now has its own TV channel. First Choice uses the recently launched Teletext Holidays’ digital channel.

Currently 400,000 holidays are sold via TV, with eight million homes connected to Sky, three million to Freeview and three million to cable.

But current players have been branded “Teletext with pictures” by TV Travel Shop founder Harry Goodman, who said average transaction prices through TV have fallen to £1,200 from £1,600 when he ran TV Travel Shop.

TUI northern Europe chief executive Peter Rothwell said Lunn Poly TV was different to GPTV, which was criticised for building its own expensive studio. “We are not getting involved in production. The TV is going to pay for itself not on brand or product but on sales,” he said. “Hopes that TV will take over as a major medium have been dashed over the last four years, it will be a small but important part of distribution.”

Lunn Poly TV will be on air between 7am and 1am, selling products from TUI and rivals.  A £1 million marketing drive runs from July 1, with promotion through shops, leaflets and posters highlighting a ‘call, click, come-in, switch-on’ message.

Goodman said TUI UK was well-placed to make a success of Lunn Poly TV because of its experience working with Sky Travel, where it had provided content and fulfilment through The First Resort.