Letter: Satellite audiences

Sir: I don't blame David Elstein for trying to infect you with his gung-ho optimism about the prospects of BSkyB ('Middle classes, try my dish', 18 August). But his assertion that ITV has a more 'down-market' audience than Sky must not pass uncorrected. In the first 30 weeks of this year, BSkyB drew a tiny 8.9 per cent of its audience from the AB social groupings compared with ITV's 12.5 per cent. If AB and C1 are combined, BSkyB achieved 32.5 per cent compared with 34.4 per cent for ITV.

Yours faithfully,

ROBIN PAXTON

Managing Director

LWT Broadcasting

London, SE1