Clutter Study Standoff

The TV commercial clutter study was absent from the 4A’s media conference this year because of a dispute over paying CMR’s fee.

CMR requested nearly triple the fee it previously charged the 4A’s and the Association of National Advertisers to measure broadcast and cable networks’ hourly nonprogramming time, bringing the cost to $48,000. Under a three-year contract that ended after last year’s survey, the 4A’s and the ANA paid $17,000 a year.

John Wolfe, 4A’s director of public affairs, said CMR had “sandbagged” the groups by not allowing enough time to work out a solution in time for last week’s conference.

For the study, CMR tracks commercials and other nonprogramming time per hour in each daypart for one week in May and November.

Donna Campbell, 4A’s vp of media services, said the trade groups’ dues have declined because of the industry slowdown, making it difficult to justify spending more money on the survey....