Spanish-language programming and sports were big gainers during the first half of 2022, according to a new analysis from research and analytic firm iSpot.TV.
iSpot found that, despite the shift of viewing to streaming, live TV continues to deliver for advertisers, increasing impressions by 7.29% from a year ago.
Nevertheless iSpot recommends that advertisers put 30% to 40% of their ad budgets into over-the-top programming. Advertisers put just 9% of their budgets into OTT during the first half, according to the measurement firm.
Also: iSpot.tv Says Advertisers Underspend on Streaming
Spanish-language networks, led by Telemundo, Univision and UniMas, grew their share of ad impressions by almost 11%.
Live sports scored big, delivering 25.5% of all TV ad impressions during new programming, up from 22.4% a year ago. The growth was helped by the Winter Olympics on NBCU and the Super Bowl, which this year kept viewers engaged till the end of the fourth quarter.
Impressions also ticked up for cable news, with Fox News, CNN and MSNBC up a combined 3.6%.
Among advertisers, the travel category increased its ad impressions by 93% compared to last year when COVID made people reluctant to travel. Sports betting ad impressions were up 81% and commercials for movies were up 64% as studios released eagerly anticipated films and families returned to theaters.
The most seen single ad featured Liberty Mutual’s LiMu Emu and Doug.
The top 10 brands ranked by share of impressions were Liberty Mutual, Progressive, GEICO, Indeed, T-Mobile, Balance of Nature, Allstate, Subway, Verizon and Toyota. ■
