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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
11. Evaluation of Broadcast
Media
However, many national advertisers have been shifting some of their
advertising budgets to spot cable and purchasing through local operators
as well as the national cable networks. Over the past four years,
spot cable revenues have averaged 20 percent annual growth, reaching
nearly $33 billion in 2002.
Like broadcast TV, cable time can be purchased on a national,
regional, or local (spot) level. Many large marketers advertise on cable
networks to reach large numbers of viewers across the country with a single
media buy. Regional advertising on cable is available primarily
through sports and news channels that cover a certain geographic area.
Many national advertisers are turning to spot advertising on local
cable systems to reach specific geographic markets. Spot cable affords
them more precision in reaching specific markets, and they can save
money by using a number of small, targeted media purchases rather
than making one network buy. The growth in spot cable advertising is
also being facilitated by the use of interconnects, where a number of
cable systems in a geographic area are joined for advertising purposes.
These interconnects increase the size of the audience an advertiser can
reach with a spot cable buy. For example, Chicago Cable Interconnect
reaches more than 1.7 million subscribers in the greater Chicago metropolitan
area; the ADLINK Digital Interconnect delivers 3 million cable
subscribers in Los Angeles and four surrounding counties. New York Interconnect
reaches 3.6 million households in the largest market area in the country and offers
advertisers 31 different cable networks (Exhibit 11-5). More sophisticated interconnect
systems are developing that will pool large numbers of cable systems and allow
spot advertisers to reach more viewers. These new systems will also allow local advertisers
to make more selective cable buys, since they can purchase the entire interconnect
or one of several zones within the system.
While spot cable is becoming very popular among national advertisers, it has some
of the same problems as spot advertising on broadcast TV. The purchasing process is
very complicated and time-consuming; media buyers must contact hundreds of cable
systems to put together a media schedule consisting of spot cable buys. Local cable
systems also do not provide advertisers with strong support or much information on
demographics, lifestyle, or viewership patterns.
Advantages of Cable Cable TV has experienced tremendous growth as an
advertising medium because it has some important advantages. A primary one is selectivity.
Cable subscribers tend to be younger, more affluent, and better educated than
nonsubscribers and have greater purchasing power. Moreover, the specialized
programming on the various cable networks reaches very specific
target markets.
Many advertisers have turned to cable because of the opportunities it
offers for narrowcasting, or reaching very specialized markets. For
example, MTV is used by advertisers in the United States and many
other countries to reach teenagers and young adults. CNBC is now the
worldwide leader in business news and reaches a highly educated and
affluent audience (Exhibit 11-6). ESPN has become synonymous with
sports and is very popular among advertisers who want to target men of
all ages. As discussed in IMC Perspective 11-3, ESPN has become more
than just a 24-hour sports channel and is changing its strategy to attract
a broader audience.
Advertisers are also interested in cable because of its low cost and
flexibility. Advertising rates on cable programs are much lower than
those for the shows on the major networks. Advertising time on network
shows can cost two to three times as much on a cost-per-thousand basis
in some time periods. 25 Spot advertising is also considerably cheaper on
most cable stations, while local cable is the most affordable television
advertising vehicle available. This makes TV a much more viable media
option for smaller advertisers with limited budgets and those interested
in targeting their commercials to a well-defined target audience. Also,
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Exhibit 11-5 New York
Interconnect promotes its
targeting potential to
advertisers
Exhibit 11-6 CNBC has
become the leader in
business news and has a
very affluent viewing
audience
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Chapter Eleven Evaluation of Broadcast Media