ad sales

Broadcast Traffic Systems (BTS) has introduced an advertising module that enables integrated linear and digital ad scheduling from one platform. The Digital Ad-Sales module is included in its Enterprise Channel […]

Against unfavorable comparisons of a year ago, when the 2014 World Cup was in full swing, TV slipped a couple of percentage points in terms of TV advertising revenue in July. Overall TV — cable TV, broadcast TV, spot TV, syndication, and local cable — was down 2%, according to Standard Media Index, which culls data from bookings of 80% of total national U.S. media agencies.

TV sales chiefs hoping to rebound from a horrible 2014 see next year as looking even worse. A host of forecasters, including typically bullish CBS, admit the US TV ad market saw tepid growth in 2014. Magna Global ad group suggests a decline in TV ad revenue in 2015.

With two big races in nearby Maryland and Virginia, Washington, D.C., will see a huge influx of political spending on television during this mid-term election year. Add to that the political spending that’s always flowing in the nation’s capital and it should be a strong year for local television.

Total spot revenue dropped by double digits last year; the decline in political money and lack of Olympics were primary culprits. Discounting political, core business grew just 1.6%, according to Matrix Solutions. Automotive, TV broadcasting’s No. 1 ad category, led core growth, but trended down during the year and grew 6.4% over 2012. In the fourth quarter of 2013, it rose just 2.9% over the previous year. Among the downers for the year was the key restaurant category, it fell 7.1%.

Holiday retail spending came in lower than expected. TV stations are offering last-minute deals in an effort to woo advertisers with bargain prices.

Without the heavy political spending, total spot revenue dropped 17.4% in the third quarter compared to last year, according to Matrix Solutions. And core was dragged into negative territory by weakness in a host of categories, including including quick service restaurants (down 42.5%), retail (down 28.5%), legal services (down 22.5%) and telecommunications (down 6.2%). Auto was up nearly 5%.

Without the heavy political spending, total spot revenue fell 17.4% in the third quarter year-over-year, according to Matrix Solutions, the business software firm. Core revenue was dragged into negative territory by weakness in a host of categories, including quick service restaurants (down 42.5%), retail (down 28.5%), legal services (down 22.5%) and telecommunications (down 6.2%).

The ad sales division now comprises four content areas: entertainment, live programming, lifestyle and digital video. Also announced is a new center for marketing innovation called the Client Solutions Group.

Ad spending grew 3% during 2012, its third consecutive year of growth, with television spurring much of the increase. Perhaps most heartening, even without the election and the Olympics, which between them accounted for $2 billion in spending gains, the media economy would have grown at a 1.5 percent pace. Total spending finished at $140 billion.

Warning signs from several big advertising companies late last month about a significant slowdown in ad spending puts the spotlight on U.S. media-company earnings due this week.

The network fetches $3.5 million for each 30-second spot in the Feb. 5 game. What’s unusual this time around is that the network looks to have outpaced Fox’s record automotive haul of a year ago.

The group that oversees 10 TV stations will begin selling national advertising for New England Cable News beginning at the end of this month.

After a record 798-week winning streak, NBC’s biggest cash cow, the Today show, suddenly looks vulnerable. The morning TV staple, a half-a-billion-dollar advertising and ratings juggernaut, will face its biggest challenge yet if co-hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira leave when their contracts expire. Speculation that America’s most popular morning team is nearing an end already has change-averse advertisers feeling skittish, especially as they strategize about where to commit their ad budgets ahead of the TV networks’ annual upfronts in May.

In another deal that involves cable operators joining with competitors on the local ad sales front, Comcast will represent AT&T U-verse in 20-plus markets starting in June.

ESPN’s advertising sales revenues are growing at a faster clip than any other cable television network, and all signs point to continued gains leading up to the spring upfront period.

One month after the search-advertising giant Google lost its perch within several cable outlets owned by NBC Universal, it has secured a deal with Verizon’s emerging Fios video system.