National Spot TV Surging in Q3

With both political and auto ad categories in high gear, national spot TV shows no signs of slowing down. In third quarter, national spot is pacing up between 48 and 54 percent, according to figures released Tuesday (Aug. 10) from Petry Television, which represents national spot sales for 150 TV stations in 35 states.Even though the business faces tougher comparisons to the second half of 2009 when TV ad conditions began to improve, third quarter this year is still expected to best 2010's estimated 30 percent growth in the first half, based on various company reports and sources."We're already past that, so we could realistically end up in excess of about 40 percent growth for the quarter," said Val Napolitano, president and CEO of Petry Television.Auto, which came to a screeching halt in the past three years, has been roaring back over the past eight months, with ad expenditures pacing up 53 to 58 percent.The other big factor in the marketplace is political, which along with auto, makes up more than 60 percent of the spending. Already this year, political represents about 12 percent of total spending and is projected to grow substantially, contributing 13 to 15 percent of total national spot.To understand just how much political is shaping this year's marketplace, political is adding about 10 points to the pacing figures.Political is also a wild card. Though bookings for most of spot are already in for third quarter, political is still booking for the end of August and could squeeze inventory conditions."There will be little [inventory] left in states where political is expected to be heavy, and spot will slow down," Napolitano said.Other categories also showing exploding growth in third quarter include packaged goods (up 36 to 41 percent); pharmaceuticals (29 to 33 percent); and financial services (45 to 49 percent). Retail, the second largest category after auto, while not growing as much as other categories, is still healthy, up in the high single digits.

Convergent TV

National Spot TV Surging in Q3

Katy Bachman

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Katy Bachman