National TV advertising spending rose 2% in November, according to new figures from research company Standard Media Index.
But so far this year, TV ad spending is still down 3%
Spending on the broadcast networks was up 1% in November, and cable spending increased 3%. That left broadcast down 4% for the year and cable off 2%.
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Sports programming was strong in November, with spending up 5%. Despite lower ratings, revenue from NFL broadcasts was up 2% throught November, thanks mainly to one more game being aired in the month, compared with a year ago.
SMI said the average price of a 30-second commercial in an NFL football games rose to $473,775 from $468,434 a year ago. And while ratings are lower, networks are using fewer spots to cover audience shortfalls. Only 21% of the spots in football games through November were makegoods, compared with 22% a year ago, when lower NFL ratings were more surprising.
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Bigger gains in sports came from more college football games airing, particularly on Fox.
News was strong in a post-election year, generating a 1% increase in spending for November. Entertainment programming was also up 1%.
Without the Olympics, spending on sports is down 11% so far this year. News is up 8% year-to-date, and entertainment programming is down 1%.
Among the broadcast networks, spending on NBC gained 16% and CBS was up 1%. ABC was down 5% and Fox dropped 13%. NBC got boosts from This Is Us and coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show.
Among cable networks, the most money was spent on ESPN, which was up 3% in November. TBS, AMC and HGTV were each up 7% in spending, and Nickelodeon was up 4%.
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Spending on TV by auto and pharma advertisers was flat. Insurance companies’ spending jumped 18%; telecom was up 9%; and food, produce and dairy increased 1%. Spending was down for consumer electronics, specialty retailers, and toys and video games.
Overall, ad spending in November increased 5%. So far this year, ad spending is up 4%, SMI said. Spending on digital advertising rose 9%.
Also showing gains were out-of-home, up 14%, and radio, up 2%.
