The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) reports that revenue for broadcasters could be headed back into the black as early as this quarter. The organization just released 2009 revenue estimates supplied by Kantar Media. Total broadcast revenues, including local and national broadcasters as well as syndicated TV, were down 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. But that is seen as an improvement when compared to the total decline of 12.9 for the year as a whole.
Things were definitely better on for national broadcasters compared to their local affiliates and syndicated TV. National network TV actually enjoyed an increase in revenue of 3.3 percent for Q4 2009, and a smaller overall decline for the year of 7.2 percent. Syndicated TV was down 10.7 percent for the quarter, but ended the year down only 4.9 percent overall. Local broadcast television was down 13.8 percent for the quarter, suffering the biggest decline of 23.6 percent for the year. In a press release issued by Kantar Media, SVP of Research Jon Swallen accentuated the positive:
“The advertising recession began to ease in the final two months of 2009 and preliminary figures from the first quarter of 2010, when compared against the abyss of a year ago, indicate many sectors are experiencing growth.”
Clearly, the overall U.S. economic environment is a factor. In addition, most industry observers attribute many of TV’s revenue troubles to shifting media viewing habits. More and more Americans are watching video online, where advertising models often generate a lower CPM rate than broadcast ads.
We at Skitter are pleased to see positive economic signals for broadcasters. Healthier entertainment companies mean more content for all of us to enjoy. That’s why we’re committed to helping broadcasters and other entertainment content distributors better monetize Internet TV while also increasing the reach of their traditional linear programming. Skitter.TV is not a typical over-the-top video solution, in that the platform combines live off-air TV with Web video and video on demand in a unified viewing experience. For the entertainment industry, we’re expanding opportunities for monetization by offering integrated merchandising, subscription models and robust support for multiple advertising formats–including pre-roll, post-roll and video wrappers.
In an environment where viewing habits and revenue generation strategies continue to change rapidly, Skitter.TV and our service provider customers offer entertainment content owners and distributors the best of all worlds: meeting consumer demand for more content on more screens, expanding monetization opportunities and supporting both on-air and online distribution.
Feedburner