As reported in Tuesday's issue of MediaBuyerPlanner...
The average
cost of a :30 spot on prime time dropped 16%, to about $84,000 in the third
quarter, from the same quarter in 2008, according to analysis by independent
media agency TargetCast. The decrease - slightly more than in recent quarters
when declines were in single digits - was due to lower ratings and the
recession.
Ratings
among adults 25-54 were down about 10% in the quarter, compared to the same
quarter last year, excluding the Olympics which ran in Q308, says Gary Carr,
TargetCast svp and executive director of national broadcast.
TargetCast
said Fox has the highest average cost, at $121,000. ABC, CBS and NBC average
between $70,000 and $80,000.
Total
broadcast dollar volume for the upfront, which stretched well into the third
quarter, was down 22% for broadcasters, to $7.2 billion, according to Credit
Suisse.
The cost of
cable spots increased slightly during the same period. Ratings across the top
15 cable nets were up nearly 5% in 25-54s, due to original scripted
series,newsworthy events and reality shows. The average cost of a prime time
cable ad across those top 15 nets increased a corresponding 5%, to just over
$10,000. ESPN and TNT had the highest ad cost, at $27,000 and $17,000,
respectively.
Cable's
upfront was also down significantly, though not as much as broadcast. The tally
for cable was $6.73 billion, down 12% from last year.
The fourth
quarter may not follow the trend seen in Q3, media buying executives believe,
pointing out that networks have been earning double-digit CPM price increases
in scatter, according to MediaPost.
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