Speaking to a packed room of TV execs at the New York State Broadcasters 48th annual Executive Conference in Bolton Landing, NY, Steve Lanzano, the president of the Television Bureau of Advertising, provided an update on the state of the industry, while touching upon everything from digital sub channels to mobile DTV.
Lanzano, who brings 28 years of advertising experience to his new post from media agency MPG, maintained that despite ongoing fragmentation within the media landscape, TV remains the premier medium for advertisers and agencies: “The latest TVB Media Comparison Study shows by every measure that television reaches more consumers every day than newspapers, magazines, radio and the Internet, and that more people spend more time with TV than with any other medium. That same study also shows that 71% of people learn about products and brands from television. Our competitors are left in the dust!”
Since joining the TVB, Lanzano has become bullish about the power of mobile DTV: “Mobile is such an exciting opportunity because consumers overwhelmingly want the ability to watch live programming on their mobile devices. Advertisers are beginning to see mobile DTV as the next great marketing opportunity.”
Lanzano also used his 30-minute presentation to stress how local TV broadcasters need to see the Internet — not as a rival to television — but as a complement. “Television ads drive consumers to the Web,” he emphasized.
Lanzano concluded that local TV stations’ websites are also becoming a significant growth contributor to station revenues: “Local broadcast TV interactive revenues are projected to hit $1,361 million in 2010, up from $1,153 million in 2009. I believe this revenue will only continue to grow.”
