Broadcast drags down numbers, but cable strong!

JANUARY AD SPENDING UP, CABLE LEADS TV
The U.S. ad market kicked off the year strong, with Standard Media Index (SMI) reporting overall spending up 5% in January, compared to a year ago. That was despite some key categories, such as automotive and consumer packaged goods (CPG), pulling back on ad buying.  While the total market grew, television ad revenues remained relatively weak and fell 1% in January as a result of the soft upfront market and lackluster ratings. Spend was dramatically reduced in automotive (-6%) and CPG (-5%)— traditionally big TV advertiser categories—which also contributed to the soft TV spending.  While overall TV was down slightly in January, SMI’s latest data shows that cable was relatively strong, with the sector delivering 5% growth. Leading the charge was ESPN, whose record-breaking broadcast of the first-ever college football playoffs saw its ad revenues jump 29%.

It was not so rosy for broadcast TV, which saw year-over-year ad revenues fall 6% in January, in large part due to the soft performance of prime time and the move of the Grammy Awards on CBS from January to February this year. Overall, primetime ad spend dropped 15% compared to January last year.

While the Big 4 were down, Hispanic networks, Telemundo and Univision, showed significant double digit increases The scatter market grew 39% year-on-year, however it wasn’t enough to counteract the fallout from the disappointing upfront market, in which upfront dollars dropped 6% for the month