Sponsorship of TV programmes is too precious to waste.

The fact that Sky has earmarked 6 [pounds sterling] million for a three-month advertising drive for TiVo should cause advertisers to stir a little uncomfortably in their executive chairs. But this little black box, which has the ability to skip advertising, should make the industry rethink its approach to TV sponsorship, even though a more advertising-friendly box from Pace NDS will, apparently, make an appearance next year.

It is a fact that, pretty soon, subscription revenues for TV channels will overtake advertising revenues. It is also a fact that TiVo launches this month and will build some kind of presence in the UK market. Advertisers need to look at alternative ways of reaching their target audience on TV, other than relying on spot advertising, which is becoming increasingly expensive on the ITV channels. The clutter of programme promotions also doesn't help advertisers' spot advertising presence.

I think that TV sponsorship is a vastly under-rated medium. It is under-rated because many sponsorships fail to capitalise on their presence. This is a combination of clients not releasing enough money to pay for effective creative work, and of creative agencies often not delivering sponsorship credits that fit in with the programme that they are attached to. They invariably appear to be tacked on to a programme, rather than being an integral part of it.

TV sponsorship is valuable because it is an emotive ...