CHAPTER 11
EVALUATION OF BROADCAST MEDIA
Chapter Overview
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the broadcast media of television and radio. We examine the
general characteristics of television and radio as well as their advantages and limitations as advertising
media. Attention is given to how advertisers use TV and radio as part of their media strategy, how they
buy television and radio time, how audiences are measured and evaluated for each medium, and how rates
are determined. Recent developments in the area of audience measurement for television are examined.
Various factors and developments that are likely to change the future role of television and radio as
advertising media vehicles are also discussed.
Learning Objectives
1. To examine the structure of the television and radio industries and the role of each medium in the
advertising program.
2. To examine the advantages and limitations of television and radio as advertising media.
3. To explain how advertising time is purchased for the broadcast media, how audiences are
measured, and how rates are determined.
4. To consider future trends in TV and radio and how they will influence the use of these media in
advertising.
Chapter and Lecture Outline
I.
TELEVISION
Television has virtually saturated households throughout the United States and many other countries and
has become a mainstay in the lives of most people. They rely on TV for news and information and it is
their primary form of entertainment. The penetration and popularity of television makes it the
predominant form of mass media. It has often been noted that television represents the ideal advertising
medium with its ability to combine visual images, sound, motion, and color. While television has
numerous advantages, it also has some problems and limitations as an advertising medium.
A.
Advantages of Television
1. Creativity and impact—The interaction of sight and sound offers tremendous creative
flexibility and makes possible dramatic, lifelike representations of products and services.
2. Coverage and cost effectiveness—Marketers selling products and services that appeal to
broad target audiences find that TV lets them reach mass markets, often very cost effectively.
3. Captivity and attention— Television commercials are intrusive in that they impose
themselves on consumers. Unless we make a special effort to avoid commercials, most of us
are exposed to thousands of them each year. While some of the viewing audience may be
lost during commercial breaks, most viewers are likely to pay some attention to commercials.
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4. Selectivity and flexibility—TV has often been criticized for being a nonselective medium,
since it is difficult to reach a precisely defined market segment. However, some selectivity is
possible due to variations in the composition of audiences as a result of program content,
broadcast time, and geographic coverage.
B.
Limitations of Television
1. Costs—The absolute costs for commercial time can be very high, particularly on the major
networks. Production costs for quality commercials can also be prohibitive. The production
costs for a national brand commercial average more than $300,000 and can be much higher
for more elaborate spots.
2. Lack of selectivity—Advertisers who are seeking a very specific, often small, target audience
find the coverage of TV extends beyond their market, reducing its cost effectiveness
particularly within a local market area.
3. Fleeting message—Most TV commercials are only 15 or 30 second spots and leave nothing
tangible for the viewer to examine or consider.
4. Clutter—The problems of fleeting messages and shorter commercials are compounded by the
fact that the advertiser’s message is only one of many spots and other non-programming
material seen during a commercial break.
5. Limited viewer attention—The increased penetration of VCRs and prevalence of remote
control channel changing or zapping is creating a major problem for advertisers. Studies
have shown that nearly a third of a TV program’s viewing audience is lost during commercial
breaks as they stop watching television or switch to another channel.
6. Distrust and negative evaluation—TV commercials are probably the most criticized form of
advertising because of the intrusiveness of the medium. Studies have shown that of the
various forms of advertising, distrust is generally the highest for TV commercials.
Professor Notes
II.
BUYING TELEVISION TIME
There are a number of options available to advertisers purchasing television time. The instructor should
point out that the purchase of television advertising time is a very specialized part of the advertising
business, particularly for large companies spending huge sums of money and advertising on a national or
regional basis. The various considerations involved in the purchase of television time are examined.
A.
Network versus Spot—a basic consideration that faces all advertisers is the allocation of their
television media budget among network versus local or spot announcements. It is important to
cover each of the ways television time can be purchased including:
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1. Network advertising—a common way by which advertisers disseminate their messages is by
the purchase of airtime from a television network which assembles a series of affiliated
stations or affiliates to which its supplies programming. A major advantage of network
advertising is that it simplifies the purchasing process for advertisers who want to reach broad
target audiences. Most prime-time commercial spots, particularly on the popular shows, are
sold during the up-front market while time can also be bought during the scatter market
that runs throughout the TV season.
2. Spot and local advertising—spot advertising refers to commercials shown on local television
stations, with the negotiation and purchase of time being made directly from the individual
stations. All non-network advertising done by a national advertiser is known as national
spot, whereas airtime sold to local firms is known as local advertising.
3. Syndication—advertisers may also reach television viewers by advertising on syndicated
programs which are sold or distributed to local stations. There are three basic types of
syndicated programs:
 off-network syndication—reruns of network shows that are bought by individual stations
 first-run syndication—shows produced specifically for the syndication market
 barter syndication—both off-network and first-run syndicated programs offered free or
for a reduced rate to local stations but with some advertising time pre-sold to national
advertisers and the remainder available for sale by the local station
B.
Methods of Buying Time—Television advertisers must also make decisions regarding the method
by which they will advertise on a program. The options to be discussed include:
1. Sponsorships—under a sponsorship arrangement, an advertiser assumes responsibility for the
production and content of the program as well as the advertising that appears within it.
Examples of sponsorships include the Kraft Masterpiece Theater and Hallmark Hall of Fame
programs that appear on the major networks periodically.
2. Participations—most network advertising time is sold as participations, with multiple
advertisers buying commercial time or spots on a program that is produced by the network or
an outside production company which sells the show to the network.
3. Spot announcements—spot announcements are bought from the local stations and generally
appear during the adjacent time periods of network programs (hence the term adjacencies).
Spot announcements are most often used by purely local advertisers but are also utilized by
companies with no network schedule or by large advertisers that make dual use of network
and spot advertising.
C.
Selecting Time Periods and Programs—another consideration in buying television time is the
selection of the particular time period and program during which the commercial will be shown.
Considerations here include the selection of a specific time period or daypart segment and
audience size and demographic composition. Common television dayparts are shown in Figure
11-4 of the text. The different dayparts are important to advertisers because they attract different
demographic groups.
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Professor Notes
D.
Cable Television
1. The growth of cable—Cable or CATV (community antenna television) is probably the most
significant development in the broadcast media. By 2002 cable penetration reached 68
percent of the nations 106 million households. Cable programming reaches another 10
percent of the U.S. homes through alternative delivery systems such as direct broadcast
satellite (DBS). Cable channels now have approximately 32 percent of the prime-time
viewing audience and national cable networks such as CNN, ESPN and MTV have become
very popular.
2. Advertising on cable—as with broadcast TV, cable can be purchased on a national, regional,
or local (spot) basis. Many national advertisers are turning to spot advertising on local cable
systems to reach specific geographic markets. Spot cable is also becoming very popular
among local advertisers since they find it very affordable.
3. Advantages of cable—cable television has some important advantages including the
opportunities it offers for narrowcasting or reaching very specialized markets though
stations such as ESPN (sports) MTV (music videos) or CNN (news) and the various other
channels. It also offers lower rates and greater flexibility in the types of commercials that can
be used. For example, infomercials are often shown on cable television. The low costs of
cable make it a very popular advertising medium for local advertisers such as retailers.
4. Limitations of cable- limitations of cable include the fact that it is still overshadowed by the
major networks as it has less desirable programming and production than broadcast
television. Another drawback is audience fragmentation as the ratings for most cable channels
is very low. The prime time program rating for most cable programs is only about 1 or 2.
Lack of penetration is also a problem, particularly in some major market areas.
5. The future of cable—cable television faces a number of challenges over the next decade such
as competition from new channels, continued fragmentation, and changes in government
regulation. However, as cable penetration increases and its programming quality continues to
improve, more advertisers are discovering its efficiency and ability to reach very targeted
market segments. For example, cable has become a very popular source of sports
programming and is important to advertisers who want to reach the male market.
E.
Measuring the TV Audience—One of the most important considerations in using television
advertising concerns the size and composition of the TV viewing audience. Audience
measurement is critical to the advertiser since they want to know the size and characteristics of
the audience they are reaching when they buy time on a particular program. Audience size and
composition are important to the network or station as these figures determine the amount they
can charge for commercial viewing time. Programming decisions are made on the basis of
audience size.
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1. Audience measures—the sole source of network TV and local audience information is the
A.C. Nielsen Co. since Arbitron exited the TV ratings business at the end of 1993 due to
steep financial losses. There are some important terms and various types of information the
rating services provide which should be covered:
a. Television households – the number of households in a market that own a TV. Nielsen
estimates that 106 million U.S. household own at least one television set.
b. Program rating – the percentage of TV households in an area that are tuned to a specific
program during a specific time period.
c. Ratings point – a figure that represents 1 percent of the TV households in a particular
market tuned to a specific program.
d. Households using television (HUT) – the percentage of homes in a given area where TV
is being watched during a specific time period. This figure is sometime referred to as sets
in use and is always expressed as a percentage.
e. Share of audience – the percentage of households watching TV in a specified time
period that are tuned to a specific program. Share figure are important because they
reveal how well as program does with the available viewing audience.
f. Total audience – the total number of homes viewing any five-minute part of a program.
2. Network audience information—the source of national and network television audience
information is the A.C. Nielsen Company’s Nielsen Television Index (NTI) which provides
daily and weekly estimates of TV viewing and network program audiences. For many years
the audimeter was used as the basis for the famous “Nielsen Ratings.” However, the people
meter has become the sole basis for the Nielsen’s national rating system. The people meter is
an electronic measuring devices that records not only what is being watched but also by
whom in the 5,000 Nielsen households used for he national ratings.
3. Local audience information—Information on local television audiences is provided by the
Nielsen Station Index (NSI). These measures are taken using the diary method whereby
record what they are programs they are watching and who is watching. Nielsen provides NSI
measures in 210 local markets known as designated market areas (DMAs). DMAs are nonoverlapping areas used for planning, buying and evaluating TV audiences and are generally a
group of counties in which stations located in a metropolitan or central area achieve the
largest audience share. The ratings period when all 210 DMAs are surveyed is known as the
sweeps periods. As discussed in IMC Perspective 11-5, there are many problems with the
audience estimates gathered during the sweeps periods and advertising people are calling for
changes in this system.
4. Developments in audience measurement—the advertising industry is likely to see changes in
the way viewing audiences are measured. Much of the concern over the Nielsen audience
measurement numbers involves the use of the diary system to measure local viewing
audiences. Nielsen has begun exploring the possibility of expanding the use of people meters
to measure local viewing audiences. However, issues such as who will bear the costs of
installing the people meters and how much they would add to the costs of Nielsen’s services
are still major factors that have to be addressed.
The main focus in the future may be on a technology for measuring a rating system for the
commercial as well as the program. Concern over the reduction in the size of commercial
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viewing audiences because of zapping or remote control channel changing is a major factor
behind this. Current systems measure the audiences for programs surrounding the
commercials rather than the commercials themselves. An alternative system is being tested by
Arbitron which uses the portable people meter (PMM) system, which is a pager-sized device
that detects an inaudible code embedded in the audio signal of a TV program, radio show or
Internet streaming video. Nielsen has an agreement with Arbitron which gives the company
the option to develop PPM technology if it goes into commercial production.
Professor Notes
III.
RADIO
The role of radio as an entertainment and advertising medium changed dramatically with the rapid growth
in the popularity of television. Radio has evolved primarily into a local advertising medium characterized
by highly specialized programming which appeals to very narrow segments of the population. Radio has
survived and actually grown as an advertising media vehicle because it offers advertisers certain
advantages. However, radio does have certain limitations that affect its role as an advertising medium.
A.
Advantages of Radio
1. Cost and efficiency—Radio commercials are inexpensive to produce and the absolute and
relative costs for radio advertising time is generally lower than for television.
2. Selectivity—Radio allows marketers to focus their advertising on specialized audiences such
as certain demographic and lifestyle groups. For example, talk radio reaches the adult market
effectively while top 40 music reaches teens and young adults.
3. Flexibility—Radio is probably the most flexible of all the advertising media because it has a
very short closing period, which means advertisers can change their message almost up to the
time it goes on the air.
4. Potential for mental imagery—Radio encourages listeners to use their imagination when
processing a commercial message. Radio can also reinforce TV messages through a process
called image transfer where the visual elements of TV commercials are implanted in a radio
spot.
5. Integrated marketing opportunities—Radio provides marketers with a variety of integrated
marketing opportunities such as event marketing and point-of purchase promotions.
Advertisers often use radio stations and personalities to enhance their involvement with a
local market and to gain influence with local retailers.
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B.
Limitations of Radio
1. Creative limitations—Radio is an advertising medium without a visual image. The radio
advertiser cannot show the product, demonstrate it, or use any type of visual appeal or
information.
2. Audience fragmentation—The percentage of the market tuned to any particular station is
usually very small.
3. Chaotic buying procedures—Acquiring information and evaluating and contracting for radio
time with even a fraction of the 10,500 commercial stations that operate across the country
can be difficult and time consuming.
4. Limited research data—Audience research data on radio are often limited, particularly
compared with TV, magazines, and newspapers.
5. Limited listener attention—Radio programming particularly music, is often the background to
some other activity and may not receive the listeners’ full attention. Many people who listen
in their cars preprogram their radios and change stations during commercial breaks. Another
factor that is detracting from radio listening in motor vehicles is the rapid growth of cellular
telephones. Commuters who own a cell phone are talking on the phone more and listening to
less radio.
6. Clutter—Most radio stations carry an average of nearly 10 minutes of commercials every
hour. During the popular morning and evening rush hours, the amount of commercial time
may exceed 12 minutes. A new technology called Cash is making it possible for radio
broadcasters to reduce the pauses between words of radio announcers and add more time for
commercials.
C.
Buying Radio Time—The purchase of radio time is similar to that of television in terms of
purchasing options as advertisers can make either network, spot or local buys during various time
periods or dayparts. Various options should be discussed including:
1. Network radio – there are three major national radio networks, Westwood One, ABC, and
Premiere. Advertisers can reach a national audience by advertising on one of the networks.
2. Spot radio – national advertisers can use spot radio to purchase airtime on individual stations
in various markets.
3. Local radio – most radio advertising is done by local companies who purchase advertising
time from stations in local markets.
D.
Time classifications—the broadcast day for radio is divided into various time periods or
dayparts. The size of the radio listening audience varies widely across the dayparts, and
advertising rates follow accordingly. The largest audiences (and thus the highest rates) occur
during the early morning and late afternoon weekday drive times. Various dayparts for radio are
shown in Figure 11-8.
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E.
Audience Information—One problem with radio is the lack of audience information that results
from the vast number of radio stations with small, fragmented audiences. Developing precise
measures of radio listenership is difficult because of the nature of the medium and the many
station options available. There are two major radio rating services which should be discussed:
1. Arbitron—covers 260 local radio markets with one to four ratings reports per year by having
a sample of representative listeners in each market maintain a diary of their radio listening for
seven days. Various figures measured by Arbitron include person estimates, ratings, and
share. Arbitron also recently began measuring listenership to webcasts of radio stations.
2. RADAR— another rating service that is now owned by Arbitron and collects audience
estimates twice a year for the major radio networks on the basis of 12,000 telephone
interviews covering seven day of radio listening behavior.
Professor Notes
Teaching Suggestions
This chapter is designed to provide the student with a general understanding of the broadcast media of
television and radio. Radio and television are probably the most pervasive media in the lives of most
American consumers. The instructor may want to direct the students’ attention to the statistics cited in the
text regarding penetration of radio and television and the amount of time spent with these media. It is
important for students to understand the general characteristics of television and radio including their
specific strengths and weaknesses, the role they play as advertising media vehicles, how television and
radio time is purchased and how audiences are measured and evaluated for each medium. For nearly 80
years the broadcast media of radio and television have been a dominant part of the lives of most
Americans. Radio was a major news, information and entertainment medium from the 1920s to the early
1950s. The introduction of television as a mass medium began in 1950 and has seen unprecedented
growth over the past three decades, both as an entertainment and advertising medium. Much of the growth
in the popularity of television has come at the expense of radio, although the latter has been experiencing
a resurgence in popularity. As we enter a new millenium, television is changing as an advertising medium
as the growth of cable has led to a fragmentation of viewing audiences and the major networks are facing
a decline in the size of the viewing audiences they attract. An interesting and informative website that you
may want to visit is that of the Television Advertising Bureau which can be found at www.tvb.org.
The nature of television as an advertising medium has changed dramatically in recent years and will
continue to do so with the evolution of the information superhighway. The trend toward shorter
commercials and the resulting clutter problem, the growth of cable and concomitant decrease in network
viewing audiences, the continued penetration of VCRs, and increasing technological sophistication of
video equipment, such as personal or digital video recorders are likely to have a profound impact on
television as an advertising medium. Advertisers are increasingly calling for more precision in audience
measurement such as measures of commercial viewing rather than simply program viewership. The
instructor should encourage the student to explore these changes and consider their impact on advertising
in terms of not only media planning, but also creative strategy and sales promotional programs. It is
important to keep informed about the changes occurring in the areas of audience measurement such as the
development of the portable people meter system by Arbitron. We also encourage you not to contribute to
the “Rodney Dangerfield” problem of radio by giving it only limited attention. Radio has become a very
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viable media option for national as well as local advertisers. Examples of the creative and effective use of
radio are readily available just by spending some time listening to the medium. Since students tend to be
heavy listeners of radio, you might ask them to record some radio ads that could be discussed in class.
The Radio Advertising Bureau has a very informative web site (www.rab.com ) which you may want to
visit for some interesting material and information on the effective use of radio by various advertisers.
There are several interesting developments in radio that should be discussed including the growing
popularity of various formats such as talk radio and webcasts of radio stations. Radio is facing more
competition from cable television as advertising rates on local cable stations are often comparable to radio
and there is the added advantage of TV’s visual impact and creative options.
Answers To Discussion Questions
1. The opening vignette to the chapter discusses how personal video recorders (PVRs) being marketed
by companies such as TiVo and SONICblue are becoming more popular. Discuss how these products
are impacting the way people watch television. What are the implications for television’s traditional
advertising business model?
The opening vignette discusses the personal or digital video recorder, which is the major
technological development that is likely to impact TV viewing in the near future. The PVR uses a
phone line to download program schedules and with some simple programming they click on shows
they want to watch rather than punching in times and channels. These shows can be recorded and
saved to massive internal hard drive that can hold up to 30 hours of programming. PVRs also allow
users to rewind or pause in the middle of a live broadcast while the device keeps recording, resume
watching from the point where they stopped, and then skip ahead to catch up to the live broadcast.
These devices also allow viewers to skip past commercials at super high speeds. This new technology
will result in TV on demand as viewers will be able to control when they watch television shows and
what shows they watch. This will have a tremendous impact on television advertising as it will be
more difficult to measure TV viewing audiences. PVRs will also make it easier for content providers
to push programming directly to end users, potentially on a pay-per-view, commercial free basis.
If successful, personal video recorders will have a major impact on television’s traditional advertising
business model as households will not have to watch programs at scheduled times and will have the
ability to fast forward through commercials or skip them altogether. This will make it more difficult
to measure viewing audiences and make it more difficult to develop media plans for television.
However, companies such as SONICblue (which makes ReplayTV) and TiVo argue, that advertisers
should be embracing the new technology, as it will allow them to take certain commercials out of a
program and replace them with ads that are of more interest to certain types of TV viewers. They
also see their devices as helping in the move toward interactive advertising whereby consumers will
be able to purchase ads right off of the TV screen or enter contests or sweepstakes. One major impact
PVRs are already having is to encourage marketers to experiment with extended ad-forms and other
types of “advertainment” that can be shown to subscribers of these systems. It will become important
for marketers to make their ads more interesting and entertaining in order to encourage consumers to
watch them.
2. Discuss the advantages of television as an advertising medium and the importance of these factors to
major advertisers such as automobile companies or packaged goods marketers.
Television has often been described as the ideal advertising medium because of the many advantages
it offers. These include the opportunity TV offers for developing creative and imaginative messages
with high impact; its wide coverage and ability to reach large audiences in a cost-effective manner;
the captive nature of the TV viewing audience which usually results in attention to commercials; and
the selectivity and flexibility television offers for reaching various types of target audiences,
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particularly with the growth of cable television. These factors are very important to major advertisers
such as automobile companies or packaged goods marketers. These companies are generally trying to
reach mass audiences with their advertising messages and television is an excellent media vehicle for
doing this. However, they can also take advantage of the selectivity TV offers through various
programs or cable channels to reach more targeted audiences. Automobile companies and packaged
goods marketers also rely heavily on the creativity and impact that is possible through TV
commercials. These companies use the sight, sound and visuals offered through television to create
high impact ads, develop images for their brands, and develop emotional or entertaining appeals.
Television advertising can be particularly valuable for creating emotional or entertaining appeals that
help make a low involvement product more exciting or interesting.
3. IMC Perspective 11-1 discusses how some major companies are no longer advertising on the Super
Bowl. Discuss the pros and cons of advertising on the Super Bowl. Do you feel that paying more
than $2 million for a 30-second spot on the big game is a good investment? Why or why not?
There are a number of reasons why companies spend large amounts of money to advertise on the
Super Bowl. The Super Bowl has become the most important advertising showcase of the year. The
big game usually delivers the largest viewing audience of any program and it is the one program
where as much attention is paid to the commercials as to the program. Despite the high costs of
advertising time on the Super Bowl, from a cost per thousand perspective it is a very efficient media
buy. Also, there is a tremendous amount of attention and publicity given to the commercials that are
run on the Super Bowl each year, both in the weeks leading up to the big game as well as during the
few days immediately following. Many companies feel that by advertising on the Super Bowl they
can receive a considerable amount of publicity about their company and/or brands which extends the
value of the media buy. Finally, many companies are using their involvement with the Super Bowl as
an IMC opportunity. They run sales promotions such as contests or sweepstakes that are tied to the
game which can be promoted for several weeks prior to the game both in the media and on their web
sites. Some companies are official sponsors of the game and thus can leverage their sponsorship into
IMC opportunities as well.
There are, however, some valid arguments against spending large sums of money to advertise on the
Super Bowl. Many media experts feel that it does not make sense for companies with limited media
budgets to spend most of their advertising monies to advertise one or two times on the Super Bowl.
They note that the cost of advertising on the game has become too high and these companies would
be better off spending the $2 million they might spend for one spot on the Super Bowl on ads spread
across a variety of media and over a longer time period. As discussed in this vignette, many
companies are looking to other major events that deliver a large audience but do not cost as much as
the Super Bowl such as the Academy Awards and Grammys. The Super Bowl has also become a
showcase for new commercials that use humor and other types of emotional appeals. Thus it may be
difficult for a rational appeal message to generate much attention and/or interest among Super Bowl
viewers.
4. Explain what is meant by zipping and zapping and how they affect television viewing behavior.
Discuss some of the ways advertisers can deal with the zapping problem.
Zipping refers to the practice of fast forwarding through commercials during the playback of a
program recorded on a VCR or PVR (such as a TiVo). Zapping refers to the use of a remote control
to change channels and switch away from commercials during a break. The networks us a variety of
tactics to hold viewers attention during commercial breaks such as showing previews of upcoming
programs or short closing scenes at the end of a program. The ultimate answer to zap-proofing
commercials, however, is to produce creative and meaningful spots that will attract and hold the
attention of TV viewers. Techniques might help do this include the use of celebrities, humorous
appeals or unique executions. Students should be asked to take note of any commercials that catch
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their attention and that they like and discuss why they might watch the ad rather than switching
channels.
5. Discuss how the growth of Spanish-language television networks in the United States such as
Univision and Telemundo is likely to affect the media strategy of marketers targeting the Hispanic
market.
As discussed in Diversity Perspective 11-2, the Hispanic market is very large as there are now 35
million Hispanics living in the U.S. and this group is estimated to grow another 15 percent by 2010.
The availability of Spanish-language TV stations is important to marketers who want to reach this
segment as there about 9 million Hispanic-American television households in the U.S. and about onethird of them do not speak English at home. Language usage has an important impact on their impact
of TV programs and a substantial amount of the TV viewing in these homes goes to Spanish language
shows. Moreover, Hispanics tend to be younger, have larger families and watch nearly two hours
more of television per day than non-Hispanics. Thus, television is a very important medium for
reaching this market. A number of marketers have recognized the importance of the Hispanic market
and have developed IMC programs specifically for this market. These companies recognize that
Spanish language TV networks such as Univision and Telemundo are the best way to reach the
Hispanic market as these networks have larger viewing audiences than network shows in a number of
big city markets with large Hispanic populations such as New York, Los Angeles, Houston and
Dallas. As more companies develop marketing programs and commercials specifically for the
Hispanic market, Spanish language television networks will become increasingly important as a way
to advertise to this market segment.
6. IMC Perspective 11-3 discusses how ESPN is changing its strategy and adding more entertainment
programs such as variety shows, reality show and original movies. Discuss the reasons ESPN is
making these changes in its programming. Do you think these changes will be successful in
increasing the viewing audience for ESPN?
ESPN is changing its programming strategy for a number of reasons. A major reason is that its
prime-time viewership among the coveted 18 to 49 male audience has been declining while its main
rival, Fox Sports Net, is up 12 percent in the same group. Fox Sports Net is trying to break the ESPN
mold by putting more emphasis on regional and local sports, hoping to attract the less-hard-core
sports fan. ESPN is also facing competition from other cable networks such as the Turner
Broadcasting System (TBS) which is owned by the giant media conglomerate AOL Time Warner.
ESPN’s strategy includes expansion into original programming such as made-for-TV movies, variety
shows, and reality shows as a way of broadening its audience to include more than the sports junkie
who might be interested in watching its signature Sportscenter news show several times a day. It is
important to note that ESPN produced programs such as original movies will have secondary markets
on other channels owned by its parent company, Disney.
It will be interesting to see if ESPN’s new programming strategy is successful. Some media experts
argue that ESPN is taking a big risk with these changes as they may alienate its core viewers in an
effort to get higher ratings. However, the new programs that ESPN is producing are still related to
sports and may draw in the broader audience the network is seeking. By integrating shows it
produces and owns with the sports programming it must pay for, such as professional and college
sports, ESPN may be putting itself in an even stronger position and increasing the value of its overall
brand franchise.
7. Discuss the various reasons reality programs such as The Obournes, Survivor, The Bachelorette, and
American Idol have become so popular. How is the growing popularity of these shows impacting the
television viewing audience?
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Reality shows have become popular for a number of reasons. Television audiences are very interested
in the characters and situations that are portrayed in these shows and find them to be very
entertaining. They are very attracted to the way these shows take average, everyday people and turn
them into celebrities. They appeal to the average person’s desire to be famous, even if for a short
time period, and allow them to vicariously experience fame and celebrity by identifying with the
persons on the shows. Some of these shows such as Survivor and Fear Factor are like sporting events
and people are intrigued by watching the competition among the contestants and seeing people do
things they normally would never do. They also are intrigued by the social interactions and the
human emotions that are brought out by these shows. Television critics note that the reality dating
shows such as the Bachelor, Bachelorette and Joe Millionaire are like a combination of soap operas
and game shows. Viewers are captivated by the bickering and backstabbing that occurs among the
contestants as they search for the grand prize. These shows are also popular because they generate a
great deal of word-of-mouth among people who like to discuss what happened on the previous night’s
episode and debate who should or should not have been voted off of Survivor, American Idol or the
various dating shows. Another factor that contributes to their success is the high amount of publicity
they receive in the media. Entertainment shows such as Extra, Entertainment Tonight and Access
Hollywood regularly cover the developments on these shows and help turn the contestants into instant
celebrities.
One of the major ways these shows are impacting the television viewing audience is by bringing in a
younger viewing audience. Reality shows have strong appeals among the 18 to 34 demographic
group that is highly coveted by advertisers. However, it is important to note that many of the reality
shows are not successful and low ratings lead to their cancellation. Concern has been expressed that
these there are too many of these shows and viewers will soon tire or the genre. One of the problems
the networks face with reality shows is that they really can only be shown one time and have little, if
any, value in syndication. Television networks make very little money from the first airing of a
program as the bulk of the money is made in reruns, syndication, cable deals and foreign distribution.
However, most reality shows have only a one time appeal and thus are not suitable for these purposes.
8. Evaluate the use of sweeps ratings periods as a method for measuring local television viewing
audiences. Do you feel think sweeps ratings provide reliable and valid estimates of local television
viewing audiences? How might they be improved?
As discussed in IMC Perspective 11-5, there are a number of problems with the sweeps ratings
periods used to measure local TV viewing audiences. One of the major concerns is over the tactics
used by the networks and their local affiliates to bolster their ratings during the sweeps periods such
as special programming, contests games, and other promotional gimmicks. These extraordinary
programming and promotional efforts during the sweeps periods pull in extra viewers and negatively
impact the validity of audience measurements for the remainder of the year. They may inflate the size
of the viewing audience for a particular network show or a local news cast and result in advertisers
having to pay higher rates for advertising time during other nine months of the year. The advertising
industry argues that the only real solution to the problems associated with the use of the sweeps is to
do away with the “sweeps period” and move to a system of continuous audience measurement.
However, a continuous measurement system like that used for the national ratings would be very
expensive and the television and advertising industry would have to be willing to pay a higher price
for local ratings information.
9. Discuss the advantages and limitations of advertising on radio. Discuss how radio advertising might
be used by national versus local advertisers.
Advantages of advertising on radio include its low cost and efficiency. Radio commercials are
inexpensive to produce and the cost of advertising time on most stations is relatively low. This allows
advertisers the opportunity to build more reach and frequency into their media schedules. Another
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major advantage of radio is the high degree of audience selectivity available through various program
formats and geographic coverage of the numerous stations. Radio is also a very flexible medium with
very short closing periods for running a spot and also offers the potential for mental imagery in the
creation of a commercial. Many radio stations also offer valuable merchandising assistance and
support to advertisers.
Disadvantages of radio include creative limitations due to the absence of a visual image, a high level
of audience fragmentation because of the large number of stations, chaotic buying procedures for
purchasing radio time, limited amount of research data on radio audiences and limited listener
attention (particularly in cars where station changing occurs frequently or where commuter are talking
on cellular telephones). Radio is most likely to be used by local advertisers such as retailers who are
trying to reach consumers in their trade area However, radio has also become a popular medium for
national advertisers, particularly those with products and/or services which appeal to hard-to-reach
audiences such as teenagers. National advertisers can purchase time on network radio and the
growing number of nationally syndicated programming such as sporting events and talk radio shows.
10. IMC Perspective 11-6 discusses how companies such as XM and Sirius are trying to market satellite
radio. Discuss how satellite radio might impact traditional radio and the business model for radio
advertising if it is successful. Do you think satellite radio will be successful? Why or why not?
Satellite radio signals the most widely anticipated change in the industry since the introduction of FM
some 30 years ago. To receive satellite radio, consumers must purchase pay anywhere from $300 to
$1,000 for satellite-radio-ready receivers, antennas, and installation charges and then pay $10 per
month for the service. While some of the stations on satellite radio are commercial free, others run up
to six minutes of ads per hour. If successful, satellite radio will become a competitor for traditional
radio advertising dollars, particularly among national advertisers. Traditionally, companies that use
radio to reach consumers have had to target specific cities and rely on local media buys or purchase
time on some of the network broadcasts such as national news or syndicated programs. Through
Sirius or XM, advertisers will have the opportunity for a national reach through a single broadcaster.
Satellite broadcasters will also give advertisers more control over the content that surrounds their
message. Given the large number of music and other formats (news, sports, and business) available,
satellite radio offers advertisers the ability to target their messages to specific market segments.
Satellite radio can be a viable competitor to traditional radio if companies such as XM and Sirius
reach the critical mass of subscribers needed to survive. Skeptics argue that many radio listeners are
attracted to local stations and may resist paying for something they are used to getting for free. Many
consumers are already paying monthly for cable, Internet access, phone service and other utilities and
may balk at the idea of yet another monthly payment. However, if the satellite radio companies are
successful in getting the automobile companies to include the hardware as original equipment or even
reasonably priced options on new cars, this will accelerate the penetration of the technology and may
allow XM and Sirius to reach the critical mass needed to sell ad time and generate the revenue needed
to survive and continue to grow.
11. Discuss how the concept of imagery transfer can be used in radio advertising? Find an example of a
radio campaign that is using this concept and evaluate it.
Imagery transfer refers to a technique whereby the images of a TV commercial are implanted into a
radio spot. This can be done by establishing the video image of a TV commercial and then using the
audio portion as the basis for the radio message so that consumers hearing the radio spot will make
the connection to the television ad. Coordination of radio and television commercials is often done by
national advertisers in particular. Students should be encouraged to find and evaluate current
examples of campaigns using image transfer techniques.
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Additional Discussion Questions (not in text)
12. When the major networks began accepting 15 second commercials in 1986, it was predicted that these
shorter spot would become the dominant commercial unit. However, 15-second spots account for
only about a third of all network commercials and 9 percent of non-network spots. Why do you think
15 second commercials have not become more prevalent?
The growth in the use of 15-second peaked at 38 percent in 1989 and then declined in the early ‘90s
to a low of 30 percent in 1994. Since then their use has stabilized and they now account for about a
third of all network commercials. It appears that 15-second spots are not taking over as predicted. The
trend toward shorter commercials resulted from several factors including increased demand for a
limited amount of broadcast time on the major networks, which led to very high rates for commercial
time. Many advertisers saw shorter commercials as a way of getting more impressions from their
media budgets. Many advertisers also feel that shorter commercials can deliver a message just as
effectively as a longer spot and for much less money. Research has shown that the communication
performance of 15-second spots is very good. For many brands, such as those characterized by lowinvolvement buying behavior, the advertising message is often quite simple and can be communicated
effectively in a 15-second spot. Market leaders often seek only to use reminder advertising whereby
the brand name and a slogan or brand positioning statement is registered. This often can be done
effectively in a 10- or 15-second spot and the media budget can be used to run additional ads and/or
reach a wider audience. The down side of the trend toward shorter commercials is the increasing
clutter that results from shorter spots and the greater difficulty individual advertisers are having in
attracting and holding viewers’ attention. It is very difficult to register anything more than a brand
name, slogan and/or positioning statement in a 10- or 15-second spot. Thus advertisers may find it
difficult to differentiate their brands when they use short commercials.
13. Television is often described as a mass medium that offers little selectivity to advertisers. Do you
agree with this statement? What are some of the ways selectivity can be achieved through TV
advertising?
For many years television was essentially a mass medium as there were only three major networks
which accounted for over 90 percent of the prime-time viewing audience. However, some selectivity
has always been available due to variations in program content, broadcast time and geographic areas.
For example, Saturday morning cartoon shows appeal primarily to children while weekend sports
programs are watched primarily by males. Geographic selectivity is possible through local of spot ads
in specific markets. With the growth of cable TV television has become less of a mass medium. The
major networks now account for less than 50 percent of the prime-time viewing audience and the
market has become very fragmented. The selectivity of TV has increased significantly as advertisers
can reach groups with specific interests such as sports, news, music, the arts or business on cable
channels. There is even greater segmentation within these television programming categories. For
example, the Golf Channel is a new cable network devoted entirely to the sport. There are cable
networks devoted to a variety of music genres, such as MTV, VH1 and Country Music Television, as
well as to business and financial news (CNBC) and home decorating and gardening (Home and
Garden Television).
14. Discuss the advantages and limitations of advertising on cable TV. Discuss how both large national
advertisers and small local companies might use cable TV effectively in their media plans.
There are several advantages to advertising on cable including the opportunity for narrow casting or
advertising to very specialized markets that tune to a particular cable channel, its lower costs, and the
greater flexibility in the type of commercials that can be used. In regard to the latter, a big advantage
of cable is the ability to use longer commercials that can communicate more detailed and complex
messages. Limitations of cable include the fact that it is still overshadowed by the major networks as
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most households still watch considerably more network programming than cable shows. Many cable
networks and stations also have less desirable programming and poorer production quality than the
networks. A final problem with cable is its lack of penetration in many markets. Cable penetration is
currently at about 78% of U.S. households, which means nearly a quarter of the market cannot be
reached on cable.
Cable television has had a dramatic impact on advertising. While the growth in the number of cable
channels has resulted in much greater audience fragmentation, it has also provided advertisers with
much greater selectivity. Cable channels make it possible for advertisers to reach very specialized
market segments since they carry a specific type of programming that appeals to certain audiences. A
number of developments in cable are likely to affect the advertising industry. The number of channels
available will continue to increase which will result in more audience fragmentation but allow for
even greater selectivity. Cable TV will also continue to be a popular source of sports programming,
particularly at a local and regional level. Many of the information superhighway developments are
also likely to occur through cable systems. Many local cable operators are promoting the high-speed
access to the Internet that is available through cable modems and digital cable boxes. Another
important impact of cable will be at the local level as advertisers such as more retailers and service
companies are advertising on their local cable systems. The increased use of cable by these merchants
is coming at the expense of other local media such as radio and newspapers.
15. Why do you think the talk radio format has become so popular in recent years? What are its
implications for advertisers?
One of the main reasons talk radio has become so popular is that aging baby boomers are no longer as
interested in listening to music and are searching for other program formats that are they find more
interesting or entertaining. Many talk radio shows deal with issues such as politics or sports that
appeal to radio listeners of all ages (except perhaps teens). Talk radio has also become more popular
because celebrities are now hosting some of these shows which broadens their appeal and attracts
more listeners. Many talk radio shows are interactive as they take calls from listeners. They also have
guests on these shows and cover a variety of topic areas of interests to their listeners. All of these
factors get the general public more involved with these shows. The popularity of talk radio provides
advertisers with the opportunity to reach specific target markets. For example, as shown in Figure 116, the news/talk format is very popular among radio listeners in the 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 year old
age groups. Sports talk shows are particularly popular among males in these age groups which allows
for even more audience segmentation.
16. Discuss some of the factors that media buyers should take into consideration when buying advertising
time on radio.
Media buyers take a number of factors into consideration when buying advertising time on radio.
First they must decide whether they want to make a network, spot or local buy. National advertisers
such as automobile companies or major business-to-business marketers are likely to purchase time on
one of the three major radio networks since they are generally trying to reach a national audience.
Companies who are interested in buying time in certain geographic markets would make a spot buy
while local companies such as retailers will be the major purchasers of radio time on local stations. A
second major factor to consider is the audience that can be reached through various radio stations.
Radio allows companies to focus their advertising on certain demographic and lifestyle groups. As
shown in Figure 11-6, various radio formats vary in popularity among different age groups. Radio
stations also can appeal to listeners with various interests through programming that focuses on
specific topics such as news, sports, finance and investments, computers, cars, and many other areas.
Cost factors are also taken into consideration when buying radio time. As with any other type of
media, media planners consider both the absolute and relative cost of advertising time on radio.
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Radio stations generally promote their ability to reach specific target audiences which increases the
efficiency of an advertiser’s budget.
IMC Exercise
There are many advantages to advertising on cable TV including the opportunity for narrowcasting or
reaching a very specialized market and greater flexibility in the type of commercials that can be used.
Select a popular cable network from the list shown in Figure 11-5 of the text. Analyze several of the
different programs on this network and the types of companies who advertise on these shows. Discuss the
types of commercials used by the advertisers on these programs with respect to factors such as creative
style, objectives, length and format. Do the commercials appear to differ from those found on the major
networks? If so, in what ways?
Choose a particular television daypart other than evening prime time, such as early morning, the
afternoon or late fringe, and list the products and services advertised during these time periods. Analyze
the type of consumers these advertisers are targeting and the products and services being advertised
during this period. Why do you think these companies have chosen to advertise during this daypart?
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