The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) reports that total revenues for US broadcast television rose 1.4% in Q1, with gains by both network and syndication. Local stations, however, saw revenues decline 1.6%.
TVB reports a mixed picture for both major ad categories and the biggest advertisers. Some big auto advertisers were down significantly, but others were up.
The estimate that station revenues – local and national spot combined – fell 1.6% for the quarter is based on TVB’s analysis of TNS Media Intelligence/CMR estimates for the top 100 markets. Although far smaller than station or network, syndicated television had the best performance in Q1, gaining 11.2%.
| 1st QUARTER 2008 SUMMARY | |||
| ($000) | |||
| 1st Qtr 2008 | 1st Qtr 2007 | % Change | |
| Local Broadcast TV | 3,973,365.0 | 4,038,873.3 | -1.6 |
| Syndicated TV | 1,097,457.6 | 986,757.9 | 11.2 |
| Network TV | 6,847,887.6 | 6,732,149.8 | 1.7 |
| Total Broadcast TV | 11,918,710.2 | 11,757,781.0 | 1.4 |
Among local broadcast television’s top 10 advertising categories, TVB reports that No. 1 Automotive was down 13.0%, No. 2 Telecommunications was up 2.0%, No. 3 Restaurants was down 3.8%, No. 4 Car & Truck Dealers was down 3.6%, No. 5 Furniture Stores was down 5.0%, No. 6 Insurance & Real Estate was up 21.1%, No. 7 Government & Organizations was up 48.9%, No. 8 Financial was down 5.5%, No. 9 Schools, Colleges & Camps was down 1.1%, and No. 10 Leisure Time Activities & Events was up 0.2%.
It was also a mixed picture for the largest advertisers. No. 1 Ford Motor Co. Dealers Association was up 28.9%, No. 2 General Motors Corp. Dealers Association was down 23.6%, No. 3 Toyota Motor Corp. Dealers Association was down 9.0%, No. 4 Honda Motor Co. Ltd was down 29.8%, No. 5 Chrysler-Cerberus was down 11.7%, No. 6 Toyota Motor Corp. was up 4.7%, No. 7 AT&T was down 28.8%, No. 8 Comcast Corp was up 45.5%, No. 9 McDonalds Corp. was up 9.4%, and No. 10 Time Warner Inc. was up 13.1%.
More information is available at TVB.org.
