DRTV Media Buying Blog

Most media buyers will tell you that online video is the advertising medium to watch this year.

eMarketer expects web video advertising spending will increase 45 percent to $850 million in 2009, a year when other media are expected to decrease in value.

How many are really watching? According to Rob Norman, CEO of GroupM Interaction Worldwide, “The big issues are who’s watching video online, and who’s making it.”

He goes on to say: “And who’s making the best sense of it from the seller’s side and the people who are owning the inventory and the advertising side. Online video has become a significant distribution for the consumption of regular TV programming, but it’s not yet been replaced by an effective advertising model.”

Big media changes are coming. Sites like Hulu that carry full-length T.V. shows and movies are growing more popular in revenue and viewership. But Hulu is only a small portion of the total online video viewing. YouTube still carries around 40 percent of videos viewed on the web.

“The upcoming upfront will be a witching hour and no one knows yet what the real impact of corporate behavior is going to be,” added Norman.

Syndication ad sales is one sector doing very well in the advertising market because sponsors are able to represent categories that consumers find necessary despite the struggling economy.

The argument for free Wi-Fi
“I can’t speak for everybody, but we’re less dependent on the industries that are having the most trouble,” said Howard Levy, executive VP of Disney ABC Domestic Television.

“No matter what happens in the economy, people, if they have [high] cholesterol, they’re still going to take a cholesterol drug. And they still have to wash their floors.” Levy added, “I’m not saying that I’m not totally protected in a soft economy, but we’ve been less impacted than maybe some others.”

Why syndicated works
Syndicated programming is attractive to media buyers and their clients for a variety of reasons. One reason emerged from last year’s Writer’s Guild of America strike better than other television programming.

Syndicated television programs usually have shorter commercial spots, so they may be less affected by DVR recording than broadcast programs. But so far in 2009, daytime syndicated shows have been showing signs of struggle in the ratings department.

Big-ticket sports have long been considered a recession-proof medium, but the economic downturn is having a negative affect on the TV sports marketplace.

The vulnerability of this marketing sector became clear as fourth quarter ad sales were down 15 percent according to several drtv media buyers and network executives. Long-term sponsorship packages have long been like a safety net, practically guaranteeing financial stability.

But as the market becomes more fragmented, the TV market seems to be shutting down.

Industry changes
Financial services and domestic auto have practically fallen to the wayside, although foreign auto has picked some of the domestic auto slack. Hyundai has remained quite active, buying time on a variety of sports. Two good examples of this are TNT’s Thursday Night NBA showcase and ESPN’s college and pro football properties.

Even though profits from the banking and credit card industries are dwindling fast, the insurance sector is still pulling its weight with companies like Geico, Nationwide and Progressive still going strong.

Super Bowl ad spots
The fact is, big sports drtv ad sales is no longer a seller’s market.

Even spots available during the National Football League games are affected by the troubled economy and going for discounted rates. NBC recently admitted that there are still eight Super Bowl spots still available. Currently returning sponsors from last year are Anheuser-Busch, Hyundai, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. General Motors has pulled back as a result of the current auto industry crisis.