Advertising spending on TV rose 0.3% in the first quarter,
but some types of TV did better than others.
According to new figures from Kantar Media, broadcast TV was
down 5.2% because of weaker primetime ratings. Broadcast was also hurt because
high-rated NCAA Final Four games aired in April this year, rather than March.
Gains were recorded by cable TV, which was up 5.2%, and
Spanish-language TV, which jumped 13.5%.
Syndication was off 1.1% and spot TV dropped 2.4%.
Overall, total advertising expenditures in the first quarter
declined 0.1% to $20.2 billion from a year ago, according to Kantar. Magazines
were up 0.6%, newspapers were down 4%, radio was down 1.7% and outdoor was up
4.3%.
Kantar has changed the way it measures online display
advertising, so it wasn't included in this report.
"It has been a lackluster start for 2013,
with flat year-over-year results due in part to strong 2012 growth caused by
political and Olympic ad spending," Jon Swallen, chief research officer at
Kantar Media North America, said in a statement. "Data from the early
second quarter are mixed, suggesting marketers are still being cautious and
conservative with ad budgets. However, there are some bright spots, including
healthy growth for Hispanic media and outdoor."
