RAB's Todd Carruth talks with Interep's President/COO George Pine.

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Inside the Academy: Competitive Media - Cable TV

Cable Television Advertising: A Guide for the Radio Marketer

Cable Television has seen tremendous advertising revenue growth in recent years. This growth is believed to have impacted Radio's revenue share both nationally and locally. This report seeks to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of cable advertising, as well as outline the ways in which cable television and Radio can complement each other within the local media mix.

Report highlights:

• While cable television audience growth has increased considerably over the past decade, it has not kept up with revenue growth. Despite all the P.R. that select cable shows receive, most are not watched by upwards of 90 percent of the population.
• Unlike Radio, cable television gets most of its ad revenue from national advertisers. There are special problems for local cable advertisers, including the increasing popularity of satellite services, which do not carry local cable advertisements. In addition, since local commercials are place side-by-side with multi-million dollar national commercials, local advertisements can look shoddy and second-rate.
• Like broadcast television, cable TV is susceptible to "commercial zapping" via the increasingly pervasive DVR.
• On average, cable viewers can watch 91different channels, causing fragmentation and limiting reach.
• Commercial clutter is a concern; 25 percent of programming time is give n to commercial units. On average, this is 40 percent more than Radio.
• Cable ad costs can be misleading; high inventory loads can keep spot costs down, but the vast majority of these commercials will be placed in low-rated, low-interest programming.
• The addition of Radio can improve a cable TV campaign by offering a variety of complementary media assets.

To download the full Interep report, click here.

Coming Next Week: Breaking the Daily Habit