For the past decade, media companies have been stung by a combination of an economic slowdown and a problem demonstrating growth in advertising revenue. But a change is in the air.
In fact, Janney Capital industry analyst Tony Wible is telling investors that the long-problematic media advertising picture is definitely looking up.
“Advertisers and media agencies are optimistic we will see higher ad budgets, reaching their highest point since the fall of 2006,” Wible points out, citing data from the Perception Group’s Advertising Optimism Index.
Television reigns supreme in discussions about ad spending, thanks to an improving economic picture and big events in sports and entertainment.
“This is a really strong advertising marketplace for television,” Brad Adgate, research director for Horizon Media, says. “We just had the most expensive Super Bowl ever, with $4 million for a 30-second spot. NBC reportedly sold a billion dollars in ads during the Olympics, and the Oscars had ads going for $1.8 million for 30 seconds.”
“Interestingly, marketers themselves are more optimistic than their agency counterparts on traditional [print] media and broadcast TV … which could imply that the demand for these media may be stronger than expected.”