COVID-19 Hurts TV Advertising but Helps Digital Platforms
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the TV networks were expecting a strong 2020, reports The New York Times, which added that the presidential election and Tokyo Olympics would keep people watching, and companies would spend more than usual on commercial time.
But, continued The New York Times report, “with the Summer Games postponed and campaign rallies on lockdown, television advertising revenue is likely to drop 12 percent this year, according to a projection by the research firm MoffettNathanson. Networks will lose out on $25.5 billion in spending,” according to a report released by the WARC research group.
The Times post also stated: “Before the pandemic, 30 percent of ad spending in the United States went toward TV commercials, while 56 percent went to purely digital platforms. By the end of the year, “this gap is really going to blow out,” with TV “falling more dramatically,” said Michael Nathanson, a founding partner of the MoffettNathanson research firm.
“Many companies have cut back on the big-budget commercial productions out of necessity, with filming largely shut down. In the first weeks of lockdown, new commercials were cobbled together out of old footage, and viewers were served one ad after another showing isolated people and empty streets set to a soundtrack of plaintive piano chords. More recently, the tone has shifted, with commercials focused on a return to normalcy and praise for essential workers.”
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