iSpot Q1 Report Reveals Household TV Ad Impressions Up 3.2% Year-Over-Year

iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company, today released its Q1 2023 State of TV Advertising report, showcasing key themes from the year’s first quarter as brands and networks continue making adjustments to TV’s shifting landscape. Importantly, the report showed that household TV ad impressions grew by 3.2% year-over-year in Q1 – to 2.09 trillion – despite a lack of Olympic programming.

The growth is due at least in part to shifting approaches to advertising as brands strategically opt for impressions during new dayparts and programming, while also trying to maximize both budgets and messaging reach.

For instance, GEICO, which traditionally invests heavily in tentpole events, reduced spend by over 50% year-over-year, while putting greater emphasis on daytime TV ad impressions and sports commentary programs relative to Q1 2022. Verizon’s Q1 household TV ad impressions grew 64% 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 program genres.

While many of the most-seen brands on TV in Q1 were predictable names like 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 like 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 maximize reach for money spent with daytime programs, 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 & 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% year-over-year. Fox Sports 1 also climbed 24% 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% more household TV ad impressions, while PGA Tour impressions climbed 31.8% vs. Q1 2022.

For more information on Q1 2023 TV advertising, download the new report today.