CTV SPENDING EXPECTED TO RISE
Connected TV advertising continues to grow in popularity, with more than 60% of advertisers planning to increase their CTV spending. This comes from Premion’s recent Advertiser Perceptions report, which indicates an average spending increase of 21% on CTV and OTT platforms. In most cases, the budgets are being reallocated from Digital, Social, and Linear Media, with only a quarter of those surveyed saying they’re adding wholly new budgets. The majority (80%) of the advertisers use Connected TV as an extension of and complement to their Linear TV buys that boosts ad recall, enhances brand awareness, and provides greater return on their investment. (NextTV: July 25, 2024)
NEW GUIDELINES FOR LOCAL TV POST-ANALYSES
With viewing options increasing and audiences fragmenting, The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) have issued new guidelines for measuring local stations’ audiences. Instead of measuring a small number of telecasts, the new recommendation is for a four-week aggregation. One-off telecasts with large audiences, like the Super Bowl, would be exempt, and programs with lower viewership would need more than four weeks. The goal is a more stable and accurate measurement that won’t penalize buyers or stations for perceived under-delivery. (MediaPost: July 25, 2024)
AD TIERS POWER NETFLIX SUB GROWTH
During last week’s earnings report, Netflix announced that they reached a new high of 278 million member households, an increase from last quarter’s record of 270 million. This has increased revenue by 17%, but there is a hitch: revenue per member has gone down, as the growth was largely driven by the less expensive ad-supported plans. Still, Netflix plans to build up its ad sales and operations teams, make tech investments to improve the ad experience, and will continue to promote its lower-cost tier. (Marketing Brew: July 22, 2024)
SLAM-DUNK RATINGS FOR WNBA ALL-STARS
Prior to the start of the Olympics in Paris, the Team USA Women’s Basketball squad got things started in Phoenix. The WNBA All-Star game, which pitted the best of the league against our Olympic hopefuls, drew 3.44 million viewers to ABC last Saturday night, a staggering 305% increase versus last year’s audience. It’s also 139% higher than the previous record of 1.44 million, set in 2003. The unprecedented interest in women’s basketball bodes well for high ratings during their Olympic matchups. (Deadline: July 23, 2024)
THIS WEEK IN VIDEO HISTORY
July 25, 1990 – Now that we’ve forgiven Ingrid Andress for her unfortunate take on the National Anthem during this year’s Home Run Derby, we can revisit the dulcet tones of Roseanne Barr. Her unique performance before a San Diego Padres game, complete with post-song spitting, caused a media firestorm – “By the Twilight’s Last Screaming” was the LA Times headline.