Ethnic TV sales agency & Media Icon tie-up

Zierler Media Limited, owner of ethnic TV sales agency ZMTV, has agreed a strategic alliance with mainstream sales agency Media Icon.

From Thursday 1st May 2014, all channels currently represented by Media Icon, ZMTV and Zierler Media will have airtime sold from a combined sales operation based at Media Icon�۪s offices near Oxford Circus in central London.

Within this new operation, ethnic and adult-interest channels currently sold by ZMTV and Zierler Media will continue to be sold under the ZMTV flag with the existing management of Danny O�۪Sullivan and Natalie Forbes-Jones.

Zierler Media owner Gerry Zierler says, ���The combination of my companies�۪ strong reputation and many years experience coupled with Media Icon�۪s BARB-rated channels and systems means a winning combination of service is now available not only to our client channels but to ad agency customers alike.

���Now that a number of ethnic channels are using BARB, our combined sales group can cater for all clients and channels, whether BARB-reported or not�۝.

Andrew Pawson co-founder of Media Icon says, ���We are delighted with this arrangement and the timing is excellent. There has recently been a significant landscape change at this end of the sales spectrum with advertisers and agencies waking up to the growing importance of ethnic audiences. This was underlined by this week�۪s The New Britain report from the IPA.

���Our business now offers a blend of ethnic, sports, general entertainment and adult Interest. There has recently been a consolidation among TV sales houses which makes it easier for agencies to buy audience packages. This has helped to drive more revenue to smaller digital channels and combining Media Icon and ZMTV in this way will accelerate this trend.�۝

The channel, which will be represented by the new sales operations are ZMTV’s Prime TV, PTC Punjabi, Channel 9, Bangla TV, Channel S, Phoenix CNE, Venus TV and Playboy TV Group (adult). Media Icon channels to be sold by the new sales operation include Motors TV, Vox Africa and Pakistani news service, SAMAA TV.