TV advertising revenue ‘falls behind other media’
TV has emerged as the slowest-growing advertising medium, according to the latest quarterly report on ad expenditure produced for the Advertising Association.
TV ad revenues grew by only 1.5 per cent in real terms, between the second quarter of last year and the second quarter this year, trailing the 15.6 per cent leap in outdoor and transport, business press (up 13 per cent), national newspapers (up 11.1 per cent), radio (up 10.4 per cent) and consumer magazines (up 7.6 per cent).
Bob Wootton, director of media services at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, says: “The figures do suggest there’s a certain cooling in the enthusiasm for TV.”
Nevertheless, the figures are unlikely to stop the clamour by the advertising lobby for ITV, and other commercial broadcasters, to reduce airtime inflation by improving audience delivery to the industry.
According to the report’s summary, the strong performance in the outdoor sector is partly explained by the concentration of political advertising in the medium in the run-up to the general election.
Within the press sector, the rate of ad growth in business press and national newspapers accelerated over the quarter, while growth slowed in both consumer magazines and regional newspapers.
Tobacco advertising declined by 30.3 per cent in the second quarter of 1997, compared with the same period last year, according to the report. Spending by motor advertisers, household stores and government departments also fell in real terms.
