Television advertising impressions were up 3.24% to 2.09 trillion in the first quarter compared to a year ago, according to new figures from iSpot.tv.
The increase seems surprising in light of cord-cutting and the shift of viewers to streaming. But iSpot says its figures show that brands found more of the reach they seek with TV in the first quarter.
Sports was responsible for much of the growth in impressions, even without an Olympics to drive up viewership. Fox got the biggest boost, growing 36% while airing Super Bowl LVII. Sister cable network FS1 jumped 24% with its coverage of the World Baseball Classic.
Other sports, including the National Basketball Association and the PGA Tour, also posted gains.
According to iSpot, CBS generated the biggest share of impressions in the first quarter, just like a year ago. ABC was No. 2, switching places with No. 3 NBC. Fox News was fourth, followed by Fox.
The rest of the top 10 were ESPN, CNN, Univision, MSNBC and Telemundo.
