Who Said That? Buzzworthy Quotes from Media Leaders
Conferences have moved virtual again this fall and while it’s unfortunate that we remain unable to gather in-person as an industry, digital formats have afforded us the ability to attend events more frequently. And if there is a common denominator involved in the most recent media events, it’s the ongoing discussion surrounding the future of television – both in the short and long-term. Below is a highlight of some of the buzzworthy conversations that I have heard at virtual industry events of late.
The Future of Measurement
Considering Nielsen’s recent loss of MRC accreditation, the future of TV measurement is a hotter topic than ever before. The buy-side and sell-side has been pressing measurement providers to find a viable and mutually agreed upon currency as the industry continues to rapidly move towards impression-based buying.
Karthik Rao – Nielsen COO, has stated that Nielsen’s legacy ratings methodology, panel-based measurement, is still an applicable measurement approach for television. Rao has emphasized that the longitudinal view provided by panels remains an essential element in TV measurement and that Nielsen is in active discussions with the MRC about accreditation.
Nancy Larkin – EVP/Managing Partner at Horizon, taking a direct shot at the measurement organizations, recently said, “We really need measurement that is accredited, reliable, has substantial representation of each local market, and includes all viewing, regardless of platform. Too much time is spent by the buyers having to analyze data that is flawed. You guys need to get it right.”
On the other hand, Larkin has given positive reviews to innovative media orgs like E.W. Scripps that have taken it upon themselves to help solve for some of the issues that continue to plague the industry. In talking about the Scripps pay-for-performance model Larkin said, “Pay-for-performance is where everybody needs to go, it will be what sustains our business.” Missy Evenson, VP of Sales at E.W. Scripps agreed that emphasis must be placed on prioritizing pay for performance models. “Changing the business rules that we have historically transacted on is of vital importance because doing that equals speed. Traditional practices such as exchanging 10 emails to negotiate over a tenth of a rating point is a little insane.”
Hot Takes from the Advertisers
Execs from some of TV’s largest spending advertiser categories have attended media industry conferences to provide their philosophies on linear television advertising. Angela Zepeda – CMO, Hyundai mused, “We are believers in TV, even though it is a bit of a waning medium, it is still a massive medium. We still see ourselves as a challenger brand so television platforms that help elevate us and get us in front of people in a consistent way are valuable. Tune-in programming, like live sports, are important places for us to be.”
On the political side of the house, Ali Lapp – President of the House Majority PAC, has commented on trends for political advertising in 2022. And while she acknowledged that they are doing much more OTT digital advertising than they have done before, she stated that it will not replace broadcast. “Broadcast is still really important to us, and it is the easiest way to get a lot of eyeballs on your ads. All of us who look at polls regularly will tell you that those numbers don’t start moving until you’ve been on broadcast. You can be on cable for weeks and weeks, you can do a month of digital, but those numbers don’t start moving for real until you’ve done broadcast.”
The 2022 Forecast
Tom Buono – CEO & Founder of BIA Advisory Services, has a positive outlook on the ad industry in 2022 with expectations that local ad spend will increase by 10% next year, topping $161 billion. Clearly advertisers are still seeing the value in traditional media as BIA is projecting the bulk of local ad spend to remain in traditional formats next year. Overall, traditional media will equate to 59% of local media spend with linear TV projected to take ~12% of the total pie, equating to $19.3 billion. OTT is not to be overlooked however, as BIA is estimating it to be one of the fastest growing ad categories in 2022, toping $1.64 billion.
Despite the positive forecast for local linear advertising into 2022, traditional media viewership continues to decline. To combat this trend, Buono has suggested that an important incremental growth factor for television will include identifying tactics to take share from other forms of media, such as digital, which is expected to take a whopping 40.6% of the local ad spend dollars next year.
BIA notes that another key strategy for broadcasters in 2022 will be to aggressively pursue opportunities in growth verticals such as Automotive, Leisure/Recreation, and Media – all of which are expected to have double digit local ad spend increases next year.
How Does Revenue Analytics Come into the Mix?
Attending virtual events with TV revenue as a hot topic has the team at Revenue Analytics considering the role we play in the future of TV. With demand forecasted to be up in 2022, Revenue Analytics can help position television orgs to maximize dollars when inventory is tight. RateOptics helps some of the leading television organizations by providing tactical guidance on when and how to raise rates to maximize revenue. Our intuitive, 21st century application goes beyond smarter rates – it saves time and headaches for sales teams by providing projected rates-to-clear, tracking of Lowest Unit Rates during political, and one-click access to advertiser history and rate benchmarking. Ready to grow revenue and save time headed into 2022? Click here to see how RateOptics can help you step into the future of broadcast TV sales.
