Ad Market Remains Flat in April; Digital Media Surges; OOH Up

In April the overall market rose by 1 on a yearoveryear basis thanks largely to the digital sector whose healthy 21 increase propelled the market to land in the black SMIamp8217s data shows digital ad revenues rose across the sector attracting big gains in social media 70 video 44 ad networksexchanges 35 and Internet radio 32Television declined by 6 for the month led by declines in broadcast 8 and cable 7 Both spot and local TV deliver midsingle digit increases which helped the overall sectoramp8217s performance amp160CBS and ABC were the best performing broadcast networks delivering similar results to those achieved in 2014 On the cable side Discovery was the standout performer growing by more than 17 against the same period last year Food Network and HGTV also did well with solid single digit gainsSMIamp8217s data shows the big advertising categories that have changed their mix of spend this year continue to be CPG retail and financial services All three of these categories have shifted dollars away from television and have been recording significant doubledigit growth on digital spendScatter volumes were up in TV but pricing was not cooperating Broadcast scatter volume jumped by 18 in April and cable grew a more modest 5amp160 Observing broadcast year to date figures scatter spend on broadcast is up 19 and cable has grown by 16 Unfortunately both of these increases are not enough to make up for the pullback in Upfront dollars we have seen causing the ongoing softness in the TV marketIn other major media newspapers continued to fight back putting on a 1 increase for the month Magazines face a tough battle and lost 4 in ad dollars on a yearamp8211onyear basis SMIamp8217s numbers showed OOH enjoyed strong single digit gains but the news wasnamp8217t so good for radio which shrunk by 12 for the monthFour months into the calendar year SMIamp8217s data delivers a great picture on the health of the overall ad market The total market is up just 1 on a YOY basis In the year to date digital leads the way growing 22 Broadcast TV is off 11 due mainly to the absence of the Winter Games revenue from 2014 Cable also impacted here has managed to stay flat on the same period last year Magazine revenues have declined by 6 newspapers are off by 1 and radio is down by 3 OOH has joined digital as the only positive growth story of the year so far with its 3 rise for the first four months of the yearThe ongoing Upfront negotiations will show us whether the trends we have seen over the first four months of the year are systemic or likely to be reversed as traditional media owners look to bring new solutions and killer content to audiences and brands We look forward to reporting on whether May results bucked the trend in two weeksamp8217 timeThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Media Village management or associated bloggers Image at top courtesy of freedigitalphotosnet

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Ad Market Remains Flat in April; Digital Media Surges; OOH Up

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James Fennessy

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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Ad Market Remains Flat in April; Digital Media Surges; OOH Up

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James Fennessy

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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