Chapter 8
Using Television
Objectives
Understand
• The diversified nature of the television
industry
• The multiple roles of television as an
advertising medium
• The changing position of network television
• Syndicated rating services and television
research methodologies
• The various segments of television viewing
8-2
Pros of Using Television
• 99% of all U.S. households have television.
• TV’s combination of color, sound, and motion
offer creative flexibility.
• Television is very efficient for large
advertisers.
• Digital television will create new opportunities
for advertising and programming.
8-3
Cons of Using Television
• The television message is short-lived and
easily forgotten without expensive repetition.
• The television audience is fragmented and
skewed to lower income consumers.
• Shorter spots have contributed to commercial
clutter.
• Channel surfing and recording has decreased
the amount of time spent viewing
commercials.
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Television Bureau of Advertising
8-5
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)
The FCC is the federal authority
empowered to license radio and television
stations and to assign wavelengths to
stations “in the public interest.”
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Cost is a Primary Limit for TV
American Idol 5
broke the record
for the most
expensive 30-
second ad ever for
a regularly
scheduled prime-
time network
series when it sold
a 30-second ad for
$705,000.
8-7
Rating Point
A rating point is the basic measure of
television audience; it is the percentage
of television households in the market a
television stations reaches with a
program.
Rating = program audience /
total TV households
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Gross Rating Points
Gross rating points illustrate the
weight of a schedule in terms of the total
ratings for all spots bought.
GRPs are a function of reach and
frequency.
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Exhibit 8.2 GRPs Measure
Weight of a Schedule
8-10
Exhibit 8.3 Cost Per Point
and Television Cost Efficiency
8-11
Share
Share of audience is the percentage of
households using television tuned to a
particular program.
8-12
Exhibit 8.4 Ad Spending by
Type of Television
8-13
Exhibit 8.5 Historical Ratings
8-14
Network Television
• Networks are comprised of local stations
that contract to carry network
programming.
• Networks sell national advertising on the
basis of station clearance.
• Compensation is a system whereby
networks share advertising revenues
with affiliates in return for using local
station time for programs.
8-15
Advertising Criteria for
Network Television
Demographics
CPM
Demand
8-16
Exhibit 8.6 Top Network
Television Advertisers
8-17
Trends in the Upfront Market
Greater demand for time
Globalization
Special events
8-18
Reasons to Buy Spot
• To allow network advertisers to provide
additional GRPs in the markets with greatest
sales potential
• To provide businesses with less than national
or uneven distribution a means of avoiding
waste circulation incurred by network television
• To allow network advertisers to control for
uneven network ratings on a market-by-market
basis
• To support local retailers
8-19
Exhibit 8.8 Top Spot
Television Advertisers
8-20
Dayparts
• Morning, 7:00-9:00am Monday-Friday
• Daytime, 9:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday
• Early fringe, 4:30-7:30pm Monday-Friday
• Prime-time access, 7:30-8:00pm Monday-Saturday
• Prime time, 8:00-11:00pm Monday-Saturday, 7:00-
11:00pm Sunday
• Late news, 11:00-11:30pm Monday-Friday
• Late fringe, 11:30pm-1:00am Monday-Friday
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Local Television Advertising
Preemption rates
Special features
Run of schedule (ROS)
Package rates
Product protection
Schedule rotation
8-22
Television Syndication
• Syndication is the sale of television
programming on a station-by-station,
market-by-market basis.
• Syndicated shows are sold on an
advertiser-supported or barter basis.
• Syndicated shows may be off-network
syndication or first-run programs.
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Need for Programming
The number of
television stations
means that there is a
strong need for
program content, like
that offered by
syndicated programs.
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Exhibit 8.10 Top Syndicated
Television Advertisers
8-25
Exhibit 8.11 Top
Cable Advertisers
8-26
Cable’s Success Factor:
First-Run Programming
8-27
Reasons for Cable’s
Attractiveness to Advertisers
Ability to target audiences
Low cost
Strong summer season
Local and spot options
8-28
Time-Shift Viewing
8-29
Brand Integration
8-30
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen
is the primary
supplier of
syndicated
television
ratings.
8-31
Nielsen’s People Meter
8-32
Nielsen Rating System:
Areas of Concern
Sweeps Exposure
Diaries
weeks value
8-33
TVQ Measures
Show Popularity
8-34
For Discussion
• Compare and contrast syndication and
spot buying.
• Discuss the relationship between
networks and their affiliates.
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