Overall, most shows ad rats are down from last year.
The biggest suprise, for me, is the 9pm Thursday rates. CSI took a big cut, while Grey's has a big increase. Now, with Grey's not posting previous numbers, Make-goods may be starting.
Overall, most shows ad rats are down from last year.
I noticed that as well. It makes me wonder how accurate all this info is since original reports had overall ad revenue going up slightly for this year. With significant declines in primetime ad rates, an overall increase would have to indicate big increases in daytime or affiliated cable channels. Either that, or the rates given out for last year were before 'make goods' and there were a lot of 'make goods' last year?
quote:
The biggest suprise, for me, is the 9pm Thursday rates. CSI took a big cut, while Grey's has a big increase. Now, with Grey's not posting previous numbers, Make-goods may be starting.
Do you think the difference in ad rates between CSI and GA is a reflection of expectations that CSI will drop in the ratings or is it simply a reflection of how much advertisers *only* care about the 18-49 folks?
CSI and GA were ususally on a point apart in the demo, last season. For The premieres, only a few tenths of a point seperated them.
Both shows are usually top 10 shows in the demo, perhaps with only AI on top.
I do bet that ABC and advertisers were expecting GA to take the next step and Dominate the 9pm hour. But if the Premieres are any indication, Advertisers will be wanting compensation fro the lack of growth.
quote:
Originally posted by Obveeus:
quote:
Originally posted by TV-aholic:
Overall, most shows ad rats are down from last year.
I noticed that as well. It makes me wonder how accurate all this info is since original reports had overall ad revenue going up slightly for this year. With significant declines in primetime ad rates, an overall increase would have to indicate big increases in daytime or affiliated cable channels. Either that, or the rates given out for last year were before 'make goods' and there were a lot of 'make goods' last year?
quote:
The biggest suprise, for me, is the 9pm Thursday rates. CSI took a big cut, while Grey's has a big increase. Now, with Grey's not posting previous numbers, Make-goods may be starting.
Do you think the difference in ad rates between CSI and GA is a reflection of expectations that CSI will drop in the ratings or is it simply a reflection of how much advertisers *only* care about the 18-49 folks?
Exclusive: Sunday Night Costs the Most in Annual Ad Age TV Price Survey
McPricey ABC Leads Way With 'Grey's' This Fall By Brian Steinberg, AdAge
Doctors do make more than housewives.
"Grey's Anatomy" holds the crown this fall as the most expensive show in network TV, trouncing last year's leader, "Desperate Housewives." The medical drama is bringing $419,000 per 30-scond spot, according to an Ad Age survey of media-buying executives, topping the $394,000 the ladies from Wisteria Lane took in last fall.
The network that carries them both, Walt Disney's ABC, is the most expensive for advertisers in the first half of the 2007-2008 broadcast network TV season, thanks to three of its shows in the top 10.
This fall, "Grey's" leads the top 10 list of costliest shows, followed by NBC's "Sunday Night Football" ($358,000); Fox's "The Simpsons" ($315,000); NBC's "Heroes" ($296,000); ABC's "Desperate Housewives" ($270,000); CBS's "CSI" ($248,000); and CBS's "Two and Half Men" ($231,000). CBS's "Survivor: China" and ABC's "Private Practice" tied for ninth, with $208,000 per 30-second spot. All prices reflect the average price paid by media buyers surveyed.
But come this spring, "American Idol" could topple them all.
The way the broadcast-TV season has evolved, most networks' spring schedules now include a good number of new shows that make their debuts after January. This year's survey only covers the fall shows and does not include network-TV's biggest juggernauts, including Fox's "American Idol" and "24," and ABC's "Lost."
With so many midseason replacements coming up this season, media buyers surveyed had only some preliminary prices available for spring shows. Media executives and other executives said "Idol" is already fetching 30-second ad prices ranging from $500,000 to more than $700,000 (depending on when in the run of the program marketers wish their ads to appear) and is expected to surpass "Grey's" top price. Meanwhile, prices on "24" are said to be hovering around $300,000.
ABC wins the pricing battle not only because of "Grey's," but also due to its Sunday-night lineup. On that night, an ad on ABC's "Extreme Makeover" costs $198,000, while a spot on "Desperate Housewives" commands $270,000 for a 30-second spot and a 30-second ad on "Brothers and Sisters" costs $182,000. Meanwhile, new show "Private Practice," a spin-off of "Grey's" fetches $208,000 for a 30-second spot; the price is among the highest for a new fall program.
Sunday continues to be the costliest night on TV. And it does so despite a drop in the prices of 30-second ads for two of the night's hit shows, "Desperate Housewives" and "Extreme Makeover." According to previous Advertising Age surveys, "Housewives" commanded $394,000 for 2006-2007 and an average of $439,500 for 2005-2006.
Many programs on Sunday night command top dollar. On Fox, "The Simpsons" can take in around $315,000 for a 30-second ad. The rest of the network's lineup that evening-much of it animated fare that draw elusive young male viewers-also rakes in the cash. An ad on "Family Guy," for example, costs $198,000. Meanwhile, a 30-second ad on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" costs $358,000; a 30-second spot on "Shark" on CBS comes in at $140,000.
Advertisers, particularly movie studios, have long coveted Thursday night as an important way to reach consumers before they make choices for the weekend. And the evening continues as one of the week's most costly. Not only does "Grey's Anatomy" have a roost there, but so does the backbone of the CBS schedule: A 30-second ad in "Survivor: China" costs $208,000, while a spot of the same length on "CSI" costs $248,000. NBC's Thursday-night comedies are no slouches, either: A 30-second ad on "The Office" costs $186,000.
One night to watch is Monday, where the shows aren't necessarily the priciest on the network grid, but still command a solid sum. Many of them have been durable performers. A 30-second ad on NBC's sci-fi hit "Heroes" costs $296,000. A 30-second spot on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" costs $196,000. And a 30-second spot on CBS's comedy "Two and a Half Men" costs $231,000.
Broadcast TV has long been touted as the best way for advertisers to reach as many consumers as possible in one fell swoop. For advertisers, however, this season could be one of the most difficult to gauge in recent memory. During upfront negotiations in late spring, advertisers and networks agreed on a new methodology for pricing. For decades, ad prices were based on viewership of the programs. Now they are based on viewer metrics for the commercial breaks themselves and are also supposed to include TV watchers who see the ads as much as three days later through use of a digital video recorder.
When marketers are truly able to sift through the commercial-ratings data in about a month's time, media buyers and network executives believe they will see a noticeable level of viewer drop off-estimated at 5% to 10%-prompting many to wonder if the ads they purchase are worth as much as they have been in the past, particularly as TV networks also start running their programs online.
Program 2006 Rate 2007 Rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dancing w/ The Stars (New Day $229,000 $196,000
The Bachelor $170,000 $128,000
How I Met Your Mother (New Time) $173,000 $138,000
2.5 Men $275,000 $231,000
Heroes $171,000 $296,000
Prison Break $193,000 $200,000
EH Chris (New Day) $ 82,000 $ 48,000
Girlfriends (New Day) $ 64,000 $ 47,000
The Game (New Day) $ 51,000 $ 57,000
This message has been edited. Last edited by: TV-aholic,
Making Good on Ad Time Nets Face Larger IOUs to Advertisers By Jon Lafayette
As the broadcast networks unveil their new shows this fall, they owe an unusually large amount of commercial time to advertisers who were shortchanged by low ratings last season.
Network executive and ad buyers said the number of make-good spots owed from the 2006-07 season is up significantly from past years. One executive said the Big Four networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox -- collectively owe advertisers about $150 million worth of commercials. That figure is between 50 percent and 60 percent higher than last year.
The slow ratings erosion for network shows is part of the problem. Networks guarantee advertisers that their commercials will reach a certain number of viewers. If the shows fall short of those guarantees, the advertisers get additional spots to make up the shortfall. Most of the time, networks try to provide these make-goods in the same quarter in which the rating shortfall occurs.
Sources point to NBC as having the biggest pile of make-goods. All of the Big Four networks declined to comment for this story.
Some network executives, who didn't want their names used, said that while the volume of make-goods this year is higher, it's still small compared to the $12 billion in ads the networks sell each year.
The greater need to provide make-goods is tightening up the inventory of advertising spots available for purchase closer to air time. That contributes to a scatter market in which buyers are willing to pay unusually high prices if they need to be on the air in the fourth quarter.
The fourth-quarter scatter market opened earlier than usual this year, as buyers feared the supply of spots could dry up. Buyers said that at this point in the season, most of the networks are being very selective about the fourth-quarter spots they're selling.
Sources in the advertising market said the pileup of make-goods was mainly caused by two factors.
First, ratings over the summer were lower than the broadcasters expected, as cable networks again nabbed a larger share of summer viewing by offering more original programming. Second, ratings suffered because last year's commercials were sold based on "live" viewing, so audience counts dropped when more viewers than expected used digital video recorders to delay watching shows.
At the same time, prices have been strong in the scatter market since the second quarter, which gave the networks strong incentives to sell ads that might otherwise have been used for make-goods. When third-quarter ratings tanked, the networks had to move make-goods to the fourth quarter.
None of this is a problem until advertisers say it is, according to ad buyers and network executives. Most advertisers are more concerned about the initial under-delivery of their ad buys than they are about when those shortfalls can be made up.
Marketers don't want make-good spots if they don't have a campaign on the air at the time; they may be willing to wait until a new flight starts. Others prefer to be in the new season environment, rather than in the low-rated rerun and reality shows on the network schedules.
The backlog of make-goods makes the start of the new season even more complicated. The networks and the buyers are awaiting the first commercial ratings for the new shows and are hoping that the estimates used to set this year's guarantees are accurate. If the new shows under-deliver, a new round of make-goods will kick off.
