Fourth quarter
broadcast pricing plunges
Other shorts: Fore! This year's Masters in 3D.
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Mar 16, 2010
Strong scatter can't buoy 4Q broadcast pricing
The networks have been eager to tout the strong scatter market over the past few months, but that did not help boost pricing for fourth-quarter broadcast ads. With low ratings and low pricing during the upfront dragging numbers down, the average price for a Big Four TV spot slipped 11 percent compared to the same period last year, to $105,821, according to a new study from TargetCast tcm. At $122,098, Fox had the highest per-unit average, while NBC lagged in fourth at $76,436. As the report points out, lower ratings accounted for part of the decline, with primetime down about 6.5 percent versus the previous year, though that's a lower decline than in recent seasons. But the lower cost of upfront market buys, which accounted for the bulk of fourth-quarter sales, also depressed average unit costs. TargetCast confirms that scatter prices have been much higher. Even cable pricing took a fourth-quarter hit. The report notes that pricing for the top 15 networks in primetime was off 2 percent.
Fore! This year's Masters coming at you in 3D.
Tiger Woods' return just might be seen in 3D, if he comes back in time for the year's first major. The Masters and its venue, Augusta National Golf Club, said yesterday that this year’s tournament will be produced in 3D HD and distributed for free by Comcast. That means early adopters with the new 3D TV sets will be able to watch two hours of 3D coverage each day, beginning with the annual Par 3 contest on April 7, and including the four-day tournament April 8-11. Most of the 3D cameras will be placed on the course’s back nine holes. The 3D announcement comes amid speculation that Woods will return from his four-month break in time for the tourney, which would send ratings soaring. The Masters is the latest major sporting event to jump on the 3D craze. CBS last week said it will produce this year’s NCAA Final Four in 3D, although that feed won’t be available in homes. It will be delivered to 3D-enabled movie theaters and viewable for a fee. Fox plans to produce this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 3D, and ESPN will do the same with select games of this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Game on: DirecTV and Versus end long dispute
Yet another carriage dispute has come to an end without a clear winner. Yesterday DirecTV and Comcast said they had ended their six-month standoff over sports network Versus, returning the network to some 14 million homes that had been without the NHL's main carrier since Sept. 1. The agreement came barely a month before the NHL playoffs began, and DirecTV subscribers' absence presumably would have hurt the league, which had its best-ever postseason on Versus last year. The two sides fought over several issues. DirecTV claimed that Versus owner Comcast wanted a big hike in licensing fees, while Comcast claimed that DirecTV wanted to move the network to a higher level of service, which would reach only about half the number of homes. Still, Versus wasn't hurt too badly by the standoff. In DirecTV's absence, Versus partnered with Dish Network, Time Warner Cable and Cox to offer free previews in select markets, making up for the 14 million household shortfall. Neither DirecTV nor Comcast disclosed the terms of their new agreement.
Programming notes: CW swaps 'Girls' and 'Society'
CW’s flight attendant reality series “Fly Girls” is taking off slightly ahead of schedule. The network will premiere the show on March 24 at 9 p.m., a half-hour earlier than previously planned, bumping “High Society” into "Girls'" original 9:30 timeslot. CW made the swap after “Society” premiered to just a 1.0 rating among the network's target women 18-34 last week, according to Nielsen, placing sixth in its timeslot. The network is apparently hoping that "Girls" can hold onto more of "America's Next Top Model's" substantial lead-in after "Society" squandered roughly 60 percent of it. Meanwhile, in other programming, MTV will premiere the scripted comedy “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” on June 6 following the “MTV Movie Awards.” The show will move to its regular Monday 10 p.m. time period on June 14. On June 13 at 9 p.m. HBO will premiere the third season of “True Blood,” amid rumors that one of the show’s main characters will die in the episode. Bravo has ordered a fourth season of the reality show “Millionaire Matchmaker,” moving the series East to New York City. And Syfy has ordered a 90-minute pilot for “Three Inches,” about superheroes with somewhat underwhelming abilities, like the main character who can move objects using just his mind, though he can only move them three inches.
New York story: WSJ and NYT sharpen their claws
Have you noticed a rise in sniping between The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times of late? It’s been hard to miss. The two papers are certainly interested in the goings-on at the other, which is apparent in their news coverage, and that seems to have intensified since the Journal announced that it would launch a New York edition next month. Now the papers are launching ad campaigns that directly attack the other. The Times is launching a trade campaign called “Numbers” that talks up its readership numbers while talking down the Journal’s, and the Journal is running a series of house ads titled "Stay ahead of the Times” in which it says the Times is cutting back on its news coverage while the Journal is investing in its coverage. All this raises a few questions: Is New York big enough for two great newspapers? Does one have to be better than the other? Can’t we all just get along?
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