Q4 TV Ad Spend Up

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TV RemoteTelevision TV ad spending jumped 13% in the fourth quarter, helped by a stronger scatter market. Experts cited football, fantasy leagues and a robust NHL season for the gains.


That’s according to Standard Media Index, which tracks 80% of the national ad spend from agencies. Overall, TV spending rose 9% in the fourth quarter but remained flat for 2015.

“We saw a lot of advertisers front-load that early part of the quarter in order to try to capitalize on holiday season,” James Fennessy, SMI’s chief commercial officer told Ad Week. “And some of that softness in December is really people just washing through their audience deficiency units … after a very strong October and November.”

Local cable spending was up 17% in the quarter thanks to political ads.

Digital advertising rose 35% in the quarter and 26% for the year. Much of the rise came from social media sites and video sites like YouTube.

The major broadcast networks are getting better at making more inventory available and monetizing those audiences, according to Fennessy.