Research: US TV ad impressions up 3.2% YoY
April 26, 2023
Findings from real-time TV measurement company iSpot.tv’s 2023 Q1 State of TV Advertising report, reveal that household TV ad impressions grew by 3.2 per cent year-over-year in Q1 – to 2.09 trillion – despite a lack of Olympic programming.
The growth results at least in part to shifting approaches to advertising as brands strategically opt for impressions during new dayparts and programming, while also trying to maximise both budgets and messaging reach.
For instance, GEICO, which traditionally invests heavily in tentpole events, reduced spend by over 50 per cent year-over-year, while putting greater emphasis on daytime TV ad impressions and sports commentary programmes relative to Q1 2022. Verizon’s Q1 household TV ad impressions grew 64 per cent year-over-year despite a smaller share allocated toward NFL games. The brand doubled its share of impressions during drama & action shows, and also increased during movies and reality TV, among other programme genres.
While many of the most-seen brands on TV in Q1 were predictable names such as Progressive, Domino’s and Liberty Mutual, which all had large ad budgets in line with high TV ad impressions, that wasn’t the case across the board. Brands such as Vicks, Blue Buffalo and Tide were all among the top 20 brands by ad impressions, but spent much less than peers on that list even as they reached a very large audience. These advertisers and others were able to maximise reach for money spent with daytime programmes, news commentary shows on cable, and syndicated sitcoms and dramas.
Weight loss brands were one of the hottest advertiser sectors, jumping from No. 16 to No. 11 among the most-seen industries year-over-year, while leaning heavily on drama and action TV shows, movies and reality shows for ad impressions. Meanwhile, legal services blitzed TV with spots around class-action suits for Camp Lejeune and mesothelioma – growing from No. 52 to No. 15 by household TV ad impressions YoY. Theatrical movies also continued to get back to “normal” moving up from No. 24 in Q1 2022, to No. 17 in Q1 this year.
Even with a focus on finding value, though, plenty of brands still pushed forward advertising during premium sporting events. Sports delivered for Fox, as the Super Bowl helped the network grow Q1 household TV ad impressions by 36 per cent year-over-year. Fox Sports 1 also climbed 24 per cent while leaning heavily on the World Baseball Classic during the quarter.
NBA and PGA TV ad impressions were also on the upswing. Year-over-year, NBA games in Q1 delivered 14.7 per cent more household TV ad impressions, while PGA Tour impressions climbed 31.8 per cent vs. Q1 2022.