U.S. TV Market Posts Highest Ad Revenues in Almost Two Years

NEW YORK: As the fall TV season is in full swing, U.S. television advertising sales in October set a record as the best month this year and the strongest performance for broadcast TV since January 2014, according to global data company Standard Media Index (SMI).

Total ad bookings in the market increased by 15 percent last month, driven by robust TV ad sales, which helped almost all parts of the TV sector grow in the double-digit range and kick off the 2015-16 broadcast year with a strong start. A sizable lift in national TV advertising was responsible for the sector’s growth in the past month. Cable and broadcast ad revenues rose markedly in a year-over-year comparison—up 9 percent and 12 percent, respectively—thanks to higher upfront pricing and a strong start to the football season.

Total television bookings were up 10 percent for October, according to SMI, which reports on 80 percent of total national U.S. agency spend. All four major U.S. networks saw ad sales growth in October 2015. CBS, ABC and NBC all showed double-digit rises, thanks to the rising popularity of new fall TV programming. Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo both saw healthy growth in October. Cable networks ESPN, MTV, HGTV and ABC Family attracted significant double-digit percentage increases in October.

“Everyone had a gut feeling that quality original programming, a solid upfront and great football ratings were delivering strong numbers and now we have the results to back this up,” said James Fennessy, SMI’s chief commercial officer. “The performance of national television is very exciting given the doldrums we were in over the summer. Media owners are justifiably looking forward to a bumper holiday season.

“While recent C3 ratings continue to be soft, the networks seem to be doing a great job of demonstrating to brands that their C7 performance and well-engaged and targeted audiences more than make up for any shortfalls.”