There is a misconception that affiliate TV advertising (spots purchased on local ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC networks) is not as strong of a player in today’s media planning. This is not at all true. Local affiliate TV advertising has experienced growth and efficiency with its gained reach in CTV, and it continues to be a strong staple in media plans.
The growth of local TV
Local TV affiliate networks are available with cable and satellite subscription. For the cord-cutters and cord-nevers, the networks are also available free to anyone with a digital signal. This signal can be picked up with a digital antenna (purchased for under $20) or with a smart TV. According to Nielsen, more than 40% of the U.S. households use a smart TV, with this number growing as smart TVs represent 70% of all TV sales today. These very smart TVs scan for local channels upon setup. So, they immediately cue up your local affiliate stations. They aren’t loading apps of these stations that can take some work to find. They are connecting you with the channel where you use the simple up/down arrow to find. Ease and access are making a difference. As subscriptions to cable and satellite TV decrease, we are seeing increased viewership from cord-cutters. This just makes sense. If you drop a package with 100-plus stations and only have a pool of 12 or so free stations (local affiliates,) then their viewership is set up to increase on those handful of stations. Some additional stats from Nielsen: 88% of all adults, A18+ watch TV spending four hours and 10 minutes watching “live” TV and an additional 36 minutes watching time-shifted TV, per day. Connected TV device usage is growing rapidly with an average of 46 minutes per day.
The growth in efficiency with local TV spots
This is the good stuff! Local stations offer a live pass through to vMVPDs (Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor.) This means when you purchase a local spot on an affiliate, your commercial is also viewable through CTV subscriptions. Local, linear-purchased commercials run on the station’s commercial feed that is passed through CTV devices. Consumers who subscribe to Hulu, fubo TV or YouTube TV see the same commercials as those purchased on local linear buys. All of this added exposure – added reach, is included when you purchase a local affiliate commercial. Additionally, more CTV vMVPD’s are being added to this mix. Soon DIRECTV Now, Sling and Sony will also offer affiliate stations – with the same commercials purchased on local linear TV. The vMCPD’s are adding/offering this programming because it’s in demand. It’s valuable. Consumers trust their local affiliates – especially local affiliate news, and the programming is desirable, has massive reach and the ratings remain high in all demos.
This bonus in commercial advertising is a one-way street. If you buy commercials on the vMVPD’s through other partners, then you don’t receive the local commercials. Only when commercials are purchased through linear local affiliates will the commercials run local and on vMVPD subscriptions.
The bottom line is that local affiliate TV-purchased commercials offer enormous reach for advertisers. As consumers continuously change their subscriptions between cable, satellite, Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling, etc., it doesn’t matter, the commercial will still be seen. Local affiliate TV’s strength isn’t decreasing. It’s stable with incredible reach and remains an efficient foundation in media campaigns.