It looks like broadcast advertising is making a comeback — as indicated by early commitments. Advertising Age estimates that advertisers have ponied up between $8.1 and $8.7 billion among the 5 networks. The spending is a gain from last year, and the amount of time bought also increased from 2009.
NBC Universal leads the pack — across network and cable — with approximately $4 billion in planned advertising. But the most interesting upswing for you, is that all the networks also were able to increase rates this year. Apparently NBC was able to increase pricing by 7% and CBS upped rates by 10%. If spending is up, that’s just more opportunity for you to sell more!
In Brian Steinberg’s story, he says, “Ad buyers and TV executives have all suggested that 3 types of advertisers hit hard by last year’s economic turmoil — automotive, retail and financial services — returned in force to the upfront market in 2010. Buyers said they also saw strong activity from movie studios as well as marketers of wireless and other telecommunications products.” There are your targets, folks!
Also of note, “Time Warner’s Turner Entertainment channels are writing lots of business. At Turner, advertisers seem to be capitulating in part to the company’s demand that ad time on the new Conan O’Brien show be priced at or near parity with late-night fare such as NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno or CBS’s “Late Show” with David Letterman, according to a person familiar with negotiations.”
For comparison’s sake, in 2008, the networks were able to secure approximately $9.2 billion in upfront commitments, and in 2007 captured commitments totaling $9.1 billion.
[Source: Steinberg, Brian. "Broadcast Upfront Finishes Between $8.1B and $8.7B." AdAge.com. June 10, 2010.]
Friday, Jun 18, 2010
Courtney Huckabay