That’s the big news from iSpot, which has released its First Half TV Transparency Report reflecting advertising activity at television through June 30, 2023.
Based on its research, household TV ad impressions — a.k.a. the total audience reached by ads — climbed by 5.0% year-over-year.
That number, by the way, is 4.2 Trillion — underlining a reach story that’s just as important to Television as it has been for Radio.
While that’s good news, the quarter-by-quarter trends paint a different story. Going on that basis, ad impressions are down.
Of course, one cannot easily compare the second half of 2022 to the first half of 2023, and iSpot explains this.
For example, a sports-heavy first half helped as the NBA, in particular, increased TV ad impressions by 14% year-over-year — with prime-time and an entertaining playoff season including the Miami Heat, a surprise Eastern Conference Champion — driving the jump.
This, iSpot notes, especially noticeable on ESPN and TNT.
But, what about the bread-and-butter statistics impacting broadcast television?
While prime delivery for ads remains relatively flat, advertisers saw increased reach during non-traditional dayparts like early morning (up 6.8%) and daytime (up 5.4%). That’s exceptionally positive news for over-the-air television, as syndication and original fare become increasingly important for companies including Nexstar, The E.W. Scripps Co., Gray Television, TEGNA, Sinclair Inc., and Allen Media Group.
Meanwhile, Spanish-language television viewership remains vitally important to the marketer’s mix. In the iSpot report, TelevisaUnivision’s domestic TV ad impressions grew by 16% year-over-year, as the network delivered “significantly more reach” during show genres like drama and action, general news, morning news and others during a time period when major global live sporting events were absent from its chief Spanish-language TV rival, NBCUniversal’s Telemundo.
STRIKE SPIKE FOR REALITY TV
With actors and writers both on strike simultaneously for the first time since Ronald Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild, a Vanderpump Rules “explosion” signals a potential trend should the SAG-AFTRA and WGA work stoppages become prolonged. In 2022, the Bravo reality series was weekly show ranking No. 117 by unscripted TV ad impressions. This year, Vanderpump Rules was the No. 3 reality show by TV ad impressions in the first half 2023 as Bravo leaned heavily on syndicated airings of the show every Wednesday to capitalize on a #Scandoval story line.
This, iSpot says, could indicate the increased exposure and viewer consumption of unscripted programming as talks between unions and streaming media companies over artist compensation have become the “new retrans” — and perhaps industry-threatening.
Additionally, the report highlights specifics around brand approaches to TV advertising over the last six months.
Quick-serve restaurant brands such as Burger King, Wendy’s and McDonald’s all increased ad impressions significantly year-over-year, while launching new campaigns and appealing to budget-focused consumers. Meanwhile, weight loss brand GOLO leaned heavily on cable news and was one of the 10 most-seen brands on TV.
Humor also continued to win with consumers. CPG brands like Cheetos, Planters, Snickers and others all delivered higher scores for “funny” in iSpot’s Creative Assessment Survey – while also driving positive purchase intent at the same time.
To download a copy of the report, please click here.
