Streamed ads now more expensive than cable
March 28, 2014
SQAD, the largest independent source in the US for TV, radio and digital costs and analysis, has announced the results of its in-depth study of 2013 advertising costs for TV and the Internet. For the first time ever, SQAD has created a comparison of four of its Media Databases from a CPM perspective: Display, Cable TV, Network TV and In-Stream Video. Utilising SQAD’s WebCosts and NetCosts databases, SQAD determined that the average CPM for an in-stream online video advertisement in 2013 was $23.03, or 38 per cent higher than the average A18-49 CPM for Cable TV. In this period, Network TV was the most expensive advertising medium with an average CPM of $44.11. Display ads trailed the pack with an average CPM of $10.88, and were 72 per cent cheaper than in-stream video.
The average cost for both Network and Cable TV ads increased in 2013. The average A18-49 CPM for a network primetime ad in 2013 was $44.11, up 5 per cent from $41.92 in 2012. Cable TV primetime A18-49 CPMs were also up 5 per cent to $15.63 in 2013 from $14.90 in 2012.
“In many cases, online premium video inventory is still somewhat limited, so it’s not that surprising that rates are high right now,” said Neil Klar, CEO of SQAD. “Broadcast TV networks command premium CPMs because of their reach and programming, and they have leveraged those commodities to obtain upper tier in-stream video CPMs.”
Of the sites reported in the In-Stream Video CPM classification, TV Network Websites commanded top positions. In 2013, the combined average CPM for NBC Universal, CBS Television, and ABC Television was about $30.00, more than $6.00 over the $23.00 all category, in-stream average.
The average display CPM in 2013 was relatively flat year-over-year, showing a slight dip of ten cents from 2012, and representing a decrease of less than 1 per cent.
“For direct, non exchange, display buys pricing has remained relatively steady over the past three years, and branded content sites continue to perform well,” said Tom Adams, Director of SQAD WebCosts.
WebCosts has been tracking real display CPMs every month since January 2010, and in-stream video CPMs since the begging of 2013, is the only unbiased source of in-stream video costs in the advertising industry.