Advertisers Cooling On TV Spots; Comcast Spins Off Blockgraph Into JV
Television ad revenues will drop 12% this year, according to MoffettNathanson – a loss the research firm WARC pegs at $25.5 billion. Despite a surge in viewership, with people stuck at home, advertisers have slashed budgets by more than 40%. Lowe’s, for example, spent $1 million last year on a TV campaign for a Memorial Day washer-dryer sale. This year, it used a 15-second spot set in a bare utility room for its summer kickoff sale, The New York Times reports. Walmart skipped TV altogether for Memorial Day, promoting discounts on social media instead. Brands that historically spent 30% of marketing on TV may stick with virtual production and invest more in digital platforms moving forward. Amid the pullback and delay in upfront commitments, networks are offering discounts in the double-digits.
