Big 4 Networks Show Significant Primetime Ad Reach Boost In H1

Despite all of the headwinds for TV over the last year, Big 4 primetime programming was still a big winner on the advertising front.

iSpot’s new H1 TV Transparency Report shows that while household TV ad impressions were down 3.73% overall year-over-year, Big 4 primetime programming was an exception to that dip. Primetime TV ad impressions were actually up 14.27% year-over-year across ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, despite both ad minutes and airings being down slightly.

One of the major reasons for the rise in reach was the way TV appeared to consolidate around news and sports. News programming rose year-over-year from 18% of national linear TV household TV ad impressions to 19%, while sports grew from 12% to 13%.

Specific sports programming also increased. The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament increased TV ad reach by 2x vs. last year, and MLB climbed from No. 34 by TV ad impressions to No. 16. NHL action also jumped considerably, as a seven-game Stanley Cup Final on ABC helped fuel a 49% increase for the league vs. H1 2023.

Amid the shifting landscape, some major advertisers also made their own moves to grow TV ad reach. iSpot highlights that Consumer Cellular (the No. 6 most-seen brand on TV) spent 20% more on national linear while impressions were up 48% year-over-year. Safelite (No. 14 advertiser) increased spend even more — by nearly 40% year-over-year — and saw reach climb by 67% as it put more focus on primetime.

New iSpot data reveals how streaming factors into certain industry’s TV ad approach as well. In insurance, GEICO’s streaming share of voice is much higher (14.1%) is much higher than its linear TV share (8.9%). And in QSR, Taco Bell’s streaming share is more than double linear TV, at 10.69% vs. 5.02%, respectively. The automotive industry shows some brands with a much larger focus on linear vs. streaming, like Toyota (9.79% vs. 3.04%). While brands like Lexus are nearly identical (7.69% vs. 7.68%), though both Jeep and Ram made up much higher shares of automakers’ streaming impressions than linear.

You can check out iSpot’s full report for even more trends and insights from the first half of the year.