Cables Political Ad Growth

As campaign season ratchets up, television ad spend is on track to possibly break the 2002 record. But unlike previous midterm election years, candidates are devoting more money than ever to cable TV in an effort to target voters more precisely. Though most political ad dollars traditionally are spent after Labor Day, tight primaries and early spending on House, Senate and gubernatorial races have pushed local TV-ad spending above 311 million as of mid-August, up 45% from the same point in 2004 and more than three times as much as in 2002, according to TNS Media Intelligence. All political ad buys by mid-year, including issue ads, ballot initiatives and other issues, have pushed spending above 700 million nationally, according to the WSJ. National Cable Communications (NCC), the spot cable-ad rep firm estimates about 200 million will be spent on local and national cable spots this cycle. Link: WSJ.com 08/28/06 - As TV Campaign Spending Soars,Cable Outlets Attract More Dollars

Are Five-Second Video Ads the Right Format?

Are five-second ads is coming into their own. Consumers with DVRs are used to zipping by a series of commercials in way less than 30 seconds. Research shows that DVR users usually fast-forward too far into the show they're watching. Then they have to rewind again, and usually scale it back just enough to see--you guessed it--the last five seconds of the last ad. So what are marketers doing? Placing a lengthy brand image at the end of their TV spot. Some networks are actually selling that last five seconds of a pod as an actual spot. On the Web, media companies are asking that we sit through one 30-second spot before viewing content. This is far too long according to Eric Picard, a senior product planner at MSN, he states that internal research shows that consumer tolerance for ads lasts between five and seven seconds. After that, tolerance turns to annoyance. Given that many broadband video clips last a short time, five-second ads are a good fit, and they don't exceed consumers' limit. What about longer-form streaming video? Well, even a series of five-second ads would be far more palatable (and lucrative) than fewer, longer sponsorship-type ad packages like those offered earlier by ABC. Link: ClickZ Network 08/28/06 – The Importance of the :05 Second Video Ad Past SMM Post: 04/25/06 – Five Second Video Ads

Outdoor Advertising and Wireless Technology

Kudos to CBS for its willingness to try something radically new. They are about to introduce a new marketing campaign that combines outdoor advertising and wireless distribution. I think that you'll agree that they have stepped out of the box by developing video clips to preview their fall primetime lineup and are streaming them to anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device that passes within 36 feet of a technologically enhanced billboard. Located in Grand Central Station in New York City, the billboards will enable a person to watch a clip from a number of the new season upcoming programs including Shark, Smith, Jericho, The Class and CSI. Once a viewer activates their cell phone or PDA, the clip is downloaded via Bluetooth connectivity and then played on their wireless screen almost instantly. The content then can be saved or passed on to someone else. Link: WSJ 08/24/06 - CBS Touts New Shows in Video Clips, News.com 08/24/06 - CBS to Use Bluetooth wireless to Market new Shows

Nielsen Reports 1.1% increase in U.S. TV Households

According to Nielsen Media Research the total number of television households within the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii) is now estimated at 111.4 million, an increase of 1.1 percent since last year. They also reported many shifts in local market rankings. Notable changes are: New Orleans dropped 11 markets from 43 to 54 on a loss of 105,190 TV households, Las Vegas moves up 5 markets to 43, San Francisco climbs one to 5. Dallas up one to 6, Boston slides down to 7. Phoenix (now 13) and Seattle 14 change positions as does Miami (now 16) and Cleveland 17 and Orlando (now 19) and Sacramento 20. Link: Nielsen Press release and 2006-2007 Market Ranking

YouTube Eye's Revenue with Ads In Ads

Despite YouTube's status as an emblem of online media, it's never been easy for the company to claim much of this years predicted $17 billion online advertising market. Starting today, the video-sharing site plans to let advertisers create "channels" filled with clips they produce themselves and then in turn sell sponsorships to other advertisers. A "channel" from Warner Bros. Records dedicated to Paris Hilton's new album, which features ads for Fox Broadcasting Co.'s "Prison Break," is among the first such marketing vehicle to launch on the site. Placing ads within ads further blurs the traditional lines between entertainment and its sponsors and YouTube’s management hopes the trend develops into a lucrative source of revenue. Link: laTimes.com 08/22/06 – Video Site to Add to Ads. Past SMM Post: 07/28/06 - New "Clip Culture" Causes Advertisers to Panic and 07/17/06 - Monetizing YouTube and MySpace's monster Traffic

DVR Household and User Profile

According to the latest data from Mediamark Research, 8.6% of U.S. adults reported having a DVR in their household. That percentage rose to 11.2% of adult households in the Spring 2006 release. The spring data shows that more than a third of adults with DVRs have a college degree, 17.1% live in households where average income surpasses $150,000 and 15.7% live in homes worth more than $500,000, according to new data from Mediamark Research. The report also found adults with DVRs are 81% more likely to be heavy Internet users, but 23% less likely to be heavy TV viewers. In addition, new consumer research from Leichtman Research Group found that sixty percent of all digital cable subscribers have used VOD and about 12% of households in the United States now have a DVR, up from 3% just two years ago. Links: MediaPost – Research Brief 08/17/06 – Adults in DVR Households Read More, Surf More and Watch TV More also Leichtman Research Group 07/27/06 – DVR and VOD User and Usage Continue to Grow

Goodbye ABC Sports

Time's are changing and apparently so is the guard. Gone is the long running ABC Monday Night Football (see past SMM Post - 12/26/06 The End of an Era for ABC). To the television history books goes ABC's Wide World of Sports. As of September 2, 2006 the ABC Sports brand will be put to rest. The Walt Disney Company will start a major branding campaign, "ESPN on ABC," will extend ESPN, the large cable sports network, as the umbrella TV sports programming brand on the ABC Television Network. Now when viewers tune in on ABC, all sports programming will have the exact on-air graphics look of ESPN. The last sporting event televised by ABC Sports will be the Little League World Series on Sunday, August 27. Links: MediaDailyNews.com 08/11/06 - ESPN Takes Over ABC Sports, Drop Kicks ABC Brand, MediaWeek.com 08/11/06 - ESPN Brand to Be Tagged on All ABC Sports Content

Google and MTV Networks team for video AdSense

Google announced earlier today that it had entered into a syndication deal with Viacom's MTV Networks. The plan is to syndicate a host of video clips, both professionally produced and user-generated, to publisher sites in the AdSense network. Google originally broke the news that it was integrating video into it’s successful AdSense product this past May however now that the first big name has signed on with clips from such popular MTV Networks shows as "Laguna Beach" and "SpongeBob SquarePants", it should draw a lot more interest. The deal will split ad revenue between the hosting site, Viacom and Google. If the test, which will begin later this month, proves promising, it could help change the business model for distributing video online and improve on AdSense's revenues, which last year totaled $2.7 billion.

eMedia Exchange

e-Media Exchange could put the ad-buying/selling world on its ear. eBay is bringing its auction format to the ad world by connecting buyers and sellers of TV advertising in an online exchange. They are testing the new service, called the E-Media Exchange, with leading marketers, agencies and cable networks, including Toyota Motor, Wal-Mart Stores, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Home Depot, as well as a handful of media buyers including Interpublic Group's Magna Global. These companies are set to spend around $50 million combined to purchase ads on the exchange, which is supplied and managed by eBay. The test is located at www.admarketpilot.com. This move is intended as a first step in establishing a market value for TV spots, based on true demand. Links: AdWeek 08/04/06 - EBay Powers Online TV Ad Exchange, AdAge 08/04/06 - Marketers Release Details of Online TV Trading System

AOLvideo.com Beta

AOL will launch a beta test preview of its new AOL Video portal later this week, available at www.aolvideo.com. This free portal service will include more than 45 new VOD channels containing thousands of hours of programming from various content partners such as A&E Network, MTV Networks, Warner Bros. Entertainment and the WNBA among others. It will also include a sophisticated video search engine with interactive programming guide; free streaming content and other full-length content available for purchase, as well as a multitude of videos, news clips, movie trailers, TV shows and more. Link: NYTimes.com 07/31/06 - AOL Plans Expansion of Videos on Portal