TNS: U.S. Adspend Down 14.7 Percent

NEW YORK: Advertising expenditures in the U.S. fell 14.7 percent in the first nine months of this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, with a 15.3-percent decline in the third quarter alone.

“The updated monthly trend line on total advertising expenditures still shows no meaningful improvement through October,” said Jon Swallen, the senior VP of research at TNS Media Intelligence. “The slump has now passed its first anniversary and year-on-year comparisons will become easier in the upcoming months. Going forward, the timing, strength and durability of an advertising recovery will ultimately be determined by the way consumer activity rebounds.”

Within the television segment, cable networks held up well, declining just 2.9 percent in the first nine months, as compared with an 11.5-percent decline in network TV and a 10.4-percent reduction in Spanish-language TV. Overall TV adspend was down 12.1 percent. Internet advertising, meanwhile, was up by 7 percent.

The top ten advertisers in the first nine months of 2009 spent a combined total of $11.8 billion, a 5.9-percent reduction from last year. Procter & Gamble was the largest advertiser with $1.9 billion in expenditures, down 15.9 percent. News Corp., the sixth biggest advertiser, reduced its spend by 9.4 percent to $947.8 million, while Time Warner, in ninth place, reduced its spending by 10.7 percent to $874.5 million.

In its analysis of branded entertainment, meanwhile, TNS found that in Q3, an average hour of monitored prime-time network programming contained 11 minutes and 46 seconds (11:46) of in-show brand appearances, 31-percent higher than the year-ago period. The hour also contained 14:07 of network commercial messages. The combined total of 25:53 represents 43 percent of a prime-time hour. Unscripted fare had an average of 15:04 of brand appearances per hour, versus 5:33 for scripted shows.