Commercial Spots

With less than five weeks to go before the game, CBS has only four commercial spots left to sell during the Super Bowl broadcast -- demonstrating that advertisers once again will elbow each other to get into TV's biggest event of the year. But will they always rush onto the field of sponsorship? One of the NFL's biggest sponsors, PepsiCo, sent a shudder through the television industry last month when it said it was benching its soft drink ads after 23 years and tens of millions of dollars of air time during the championship games.

Fox Broadcasting has kicked off this year's television advertising sales season — another sign that companies are stepping up their purchase of TV time to pitch their products after two years of cautious spending because of economic uncertainty and the recession. Demand for 30-second commercial spots on the Fox network has been strong, several people familiar with the sales said Tuesday. Advertising buyers and network executives predicted that all of the broadcast networks — CBS, ABC, NBC and CW — will begin selling their commercial time this week, a sharp contrast from a year ago when negotiations between the networks and advertisers dragged on through the summer.

There's finally some new life in old media. After pummeling traditional media companies for nearly two years, the advertising recession is showing signs of a recovery. TV networks -- including Fox, CBS and ABC and such leading cable channels as TNT, TBS, USA, Bravo and Fox News Channel -- have benefited the most as advertisers have been snapping up available commercial spots and agreeing to pay significantly higher prices than they did just five months ago. "In challenging times, people go back to what they know, and what they know best is television," said David Levy, president of sales for Turner Entertainment, which includes TNT and TBS. "It is a little too early to declare victory, but the market is definitely improving."

With less than five weeks to go before the game, CBS has only four commercial spots left to sell during the Super Bowl broadcast -- demonstrating that advertisers once again will elbow each other to get into TV's biggest event of the year. But will they always rush onto the field of sponsorship? One of the NFL's biggest sponsors, PepsiCo, sent a shudder through the television industry last month when it said it was benching its soft drink ads after 23 years and tens of millions of dollars of air time during the championship games.

NBC Universal, the television network that just broadcast the most-watched Olympic Games, said it had sold 85% of its commercial spots for Super Bowl XLIII and might sell the rest by year's end. NBC executive Seth Winter said the network had gotten as much as $3 million for a 30-second ad to be aired during Super Bowl XLIII, which will take place Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

Local governments, including the one that runs the city of West Hollywood, are trying to provide the most and best services with the least amount of revenue. The city of West Hollywood could use more revenue to benefit the community. But the question is how can revenue collected by the city be increased with the least amount of pain to the residents? One way to raise a little money might be the sale of commercial time on the West Hollywood cable television broadcasts. We must consider that even KCET public broadcasting sells brief commercial spots to "corporate donors."

In a rare move for a major radio network, ABC will broadcast a special program on abortion today with no national advertising. The network was forced to foot the bill when national advertisers refused to buy commercial spots on the hourlong program hosted by Barbara Walters. "We just kept getting rejections (from potential sponsors)," said Louis Severine, senior vice president and sales director for ABC Radio. "They just came right out and said they didn't want to touch it because of the explosiveness of the subject matter."

NBC could lose $1 million or more on its controversial movie about the landmark case that legalized abortion, network President Robert C. Wright said Friday, acknowledging that the network had been unable thus far to sell all of the commercial spots in the two-hour film that airs Monday night. But he said has no regrets about making "Roe vs. Wade." "No, none at all," said Wright, who on Wednesday urged advertisers and ad agencies to stand fast against advocacy groups seeking to dissuade them from buying commercial time in the movie.

Hollywood traditionally has turned a cold shoulder to sharing the silver screen with commercials from Madison Avenue. But theater chains that are spending heavily to erect costly cineplexes are warming up to the idea of the added revenue that pre-movie advertising can bring. Earlier this year, AMC began screening commercials at its movie theaters. In 1997, the fast-growing Regal Cinemas chain began showing ads, joining Carmike Cinemas, which has accepted commercials for more than a decade.

Succumbing to shifts in audience tastes, ABC is ending two long-running soap operas, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," and replacing them with lower-cost lifestyle shows. The cancellations, announced Thursday, mark the latest upheaval in daytime network television. Once a dominant source of escapism for tens of millions of women, the genre is losing ground to scores of cable TV networks, the Internet and social media. The move also comes just as two icons of the daytime screen, Oprah Winfrey and Regis Philbin, are getting ready to exit the stage after decades on the air, underscoring the biggest shakeup in daytime in a generation.

There's finally some new life in old media. After pummeling traditional media companies for nearly two years, the advertising recession is showing signs of a recovery. TV networks -- including Fox, CBS and ABC and such leading cable channels as TNT, TBS, USA, Bravo and Fox News Channel -- have benefited the most as advertisers have been snapping up available commercial spots and agreeing to pay significantly higher prices than they did just five months ago. "In challenging times, people go back to what they know, and what they know best is television," said David Levy, president of sales for Turner Entertainment, which includes TNT and TBS. "It is a little too early to declare victory, but the market is definitely improving."

NBC Universal, the television network that just broadcast the most-watched Olympic Games, said it had sold 85% of its commercial spots for Super Bowl XLIII and might sell the rest by year's end. NBC executive Seth Winter said the network had gotten as much as $3 million for a 30-second ad to be aired during Super Bowl XLIII, which will take place Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

CBS moved conservatively in announcing its new prime-time lineup on Wednesday. The network will keep 18 of its current shows and is adding just four new programs to the mix. (Three other shows were tapped as midseason replacements.) WHAT'S NEW *--* Title Description "The Class" Ensemble comedy about third-grade classmates reunited as adults. "Shark" James Woods as a celebrity defense attorney who becomes a prosecutor. "Jericho" Drama set in a small town following an apocalyptic event.

The TV advertising market heated up Thursday, with CBS and Fox winning modest rate hikes while the once-mighty NBC was forced to cut its prices after a bruising season. In years past, NBC's dominance had allowed it to raise its rates 7% to 15% year after year for commercials during prime time. But after falling from first to fourth place in the key demographic group of 18-to-49-year-old viewers, NBC on Thursday did what once would have been unthinkable: roll back its rates.

Hollywood traditionally has turned a cold shoulder to sharing the silver screen with commercials from Madison Avenue. But theater chains that are spending heavily to erect costly cineplexes are warming up to the idea of the added revenue that pre-movie advertising can bring. Earlier this year, AMC began screening commercials at its movie theaters. In 1997, the fast-growing Regal Cinemas chain began showing ads, joining Carmike Cinemas, which has accepted commercials for more than a decade.

This past holiday season, during such network shows as "ER," you could catch Wells Fargo's commercial about the stagecoach arriving in a Western frontier town, bearing goodies including Christmas trees from the outside world. A boy shouts excitedly that the stagecoach, which happens to be the bank's icon, is coming. The same 30-second spot was also being shown on KCET-TV Channel 28, Southern California's flagship public television station.

Fox Broadcasting has kicked off this year's television advertising sales season — another sign that companies are stepping up their purchase of TV time to pitch their products after two years of cautious spending because of economic uncertainty and the recession. Demand for 30-second commercial spots on the Fox network has been strong, several people familiar with the sales said Tuesday. Advertising buyers and network executives predicted that all of the broadcast networks — CBS, ABC, NBC and CW — will begin selling their commercial time this week, a sharp contrast from a year ago when negotiations between the networks and advertisers dragged on through the summer.

The TV advertising market heated up Thursday, with CBS and Fox winning modest rate hikes while the once-mighty NBC was forced to cut its prices after a bruising season. In years past, NBC's dominance had allowed it to raise its rates 7% to 15% year after year for commercials during prime time. But after falling from first to fourth place in the key demographic group of 18-to-49-year-old viewers, NBC on Thursday did what once would have been unthinkable: roll back its rates.

This holiday season, during such network shows as "ER," you could catch Wells Fargo's commercial about the stagecoach arriving in a Western frontier town, bearing goodies including Christmas trees from the outside world. A boy shouts excitedly that the stagecoach, which happens to be the bank's icon, is coming. The same 30-second spot is also being shown on KCET-TV Channel 28, Southern California's flagship public television station.

Local governments, including the one that runs the city of West Hollywood, are trying to provide the most and best services with the least amount of revenue. The city of West Hollywood could use more revenue to benefit the community. But the question is how can revenue collected by the city be increased with the least amount of pain to the residents? One way to raise a little money might be the sale of commercial time on the West Hollywood cable television broadcasts. We must consider that even KCET public broadcasting sells brief commercial spots to "corporate donors."