The audience size at the major networks has been falling steadily for years. Last month Nielsen Media Research revealed that while online advertising spending in the US rose by 23% in 2005, network TV spending fell by 1.5%.
Now a new report from Nielsen indicates that top network shows may actually lose a large part of their viewers during commercial breaks. In other words, advertisers aren't getting the eyeballs they are paying for.
Using its new minute-by-minute ratings analysis, Nielsen found that the audience for the CBS hit show, "CSI," fell by 15% during commercial breaks in February. Among adults aged 25 to 54, the program averaged a 9.5 Nielsen rating during programming, but 8.1 during commercial breaks.
The Nielsen data showed that other hit shows on other major networks also lost viewers during commercials, though at a somewhat lesser rate. For example, Fox's "American Idol" Tuesday edition, currently the number-one rated show on television, experienced an 8% falloff in its 25-to-54 segment during commercials.
Advertisers are understandably upset.
Jean Pool, COO of Universal McCann, speaking at the annual American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) meeting, warned that networks risk losing more ad dollars going forward. She was quoted by a number of sources as saying that programmers had been "hiding a dirty little secret," and it was high time for them to disclose all their data.
In response, Mike Shaw, president of sales for ABC, told Adweek, "We pay 90% of the cost of the ratings. If they want to pay 50%, they can have the numbers, too."
It sounds like this show will run and run...
NOTE:This article was based on information from Nielsen published in a story broken on April 5, 2006, in MediaDailyNews, Prime Scene Investigation: Top Shows Kill Commercial Ratings.
For a peek at what else the future of advertising holds, read the eMarketer report, Ad Spending Trends.