Ad Cost Impact Analysis: Upfront TV Ad Sales

The Ad Cost Impact Analysis report released by SQAD LLC, an advertising research, analytics, and media planning software company, shows how networks like NBC and Fox News can be protected from revenue fluctuations in the face of controversies (see Matt Lauer) and/or advertiser boycotts (see Laura Ingraham).

"In analyzing the data from MediaCosts: National, we can clearly see that the impact of the boycott on Laura Ingraham's program — initiated by tweets she made after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting — was limited on the network's bottom-line," says SQAD Product Manager, Dan Klar. "Because so much inventory was sold in the 2017 upfronts, there was almost nothing an advertiser could do other than move their ads around on the network. It's easy to see in the numbers that not only did Laura Ingraham weather the boycott well, her average ad price was up from before the boycott started."

SQAD's Ad Cost Impact Analysis for Upfronts includes insights for three popular programs that have recently experienced controversy or heightened attention. The report looks at the cost impact on "The Today Show" after revelations and allegations surfaced around Matt Lauer; the ad boycott on "The Ingraham Angle"; and the unexpected "Trump Bump" in ad values for "Fox & Friends."

"The power of the upfront buying process is clear when looking at examples like these," comments Marc Krigsman, CEO of SQAD. "Networks provide themselves solid revenue consistency for the upcoming year even if a controversy takes the news cycle. The flip side of that coin is shown in the example of 'Fox & Friends' where the network was not able to fully capitalize on their VIP viewer (Trump) until after the upfronts of 2017, when there was an obvious market cost correction based on the influence available to advertisers targeting that program."

The full report is available for review on SQAD's website: COST REPORT: The Impact of Upfronts on Networks

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ABOUT SQAD

SQAD LLC has been an industry leader for more than four decades, processing more than $1 trillion in real transaction ad costs from advertising housekeeping system. Their MediaCosts data includes national broadcast, cable, and syndicated television, as well as local broadcast, cable, and Hispanic TV, radio, and out-of-home advertising. They also provide audience analytics research tools for Nielsen data through SQAD MediaLogic, and provide advertisers and agencies the mission-critical media planning software, MediaTools – a robust and flexible end-to-end media planning solution. Learn more at www.sqad.com.

Media Contact: 
Stephanie Chen
Phone: 914-803-8389
Email: newsroom@sqad.com