Research

Fourth Quarter Media Billings Offer Mixed Results

1 Mar, 2004 By: Response Contributor Response

---

Fourth-Quarter Long-Form Media Billings Show Nearly 4% Growth

Long-form media billings in fourth-quarter 2003 continued to climb out of its 2001 slump, despite posting a smaller-than-projected rise in holiday retail sales. For DRTV, long-form media billings totaled $232,552,406, which actually surpassed figures in 4Q 2000 and netted a 3.89-percent increase over 2002 fourth-quarter totals.

Figure 1: Total Quarterly Long-Form Media Billings

 

Leading the Pack

"Health and fitness" dominated all categories this quarter, outperforming 4Q 2002's figures by nearly 29 percent. Although the "Housewares and appliances" category suffered a slight decrease of 4 percent compared to last year, it still ranked second among total categories. The "Cosmetics, hair and personal care" category bumped the "Diet, weight loss, nutrition and food" category from its third-place spot, with $32,851,325.

 

The "Diet, weight loss, nutrition and food" category held fourth place, even after suffering an unhealthy 37-percent setback from the same period in 2002. Last year, "Automotive" ranked No. 1 among all categories; however, it skidded well below the top five categories this year, with a $2,313,583 showing.

Figure 2: Fourth-Quarter 2003 Long-Form Categorical Distribution

 

Honorable Mentions

Fourth-quarter 2003 heralded dramatic increases in three categories over the previous year. In fact, "Music and video" figures danced to the tune of $18,009,138, which is a 124-percent increase over 4Q 2002. "Sports and outdoor activities" and "Crafts, collectibles and hobbies" enjoyed 104-percent and 105-percent increases, respectively. "Home and garden" sprouted by nearly 56 percent over last year's figures.

 

 

Shifting Media Distribution

In terms of media distribution, "Broadcast" nearly caught up to "National cable's" 46 percent, garnering 41 percent of the total media billings. "Satellite and regional cable" continues to grow at a steady pace, with its 13 percent of the media pie.

Figure 3: Fourth-Quarter 2003 Long-Form Billings in the Top 30 Markets and Figure 4: Fourth-Quarter 2003 Long-Form Media Distribution

 

The average cost of a half-hour block of time in Q4 2003 was nearly identical to 1998 costs at $887. The number of time slots purchased at year-end was 262,178, with 66 percent of the slots devoted to "Broadcast."

The top 30 markets took a slight hit in late 2003, decreasing 4 percent below the previous year's numbers. The "top 10" markets performed below 4Q 2002 figures by 13 percent, or $64,874,719. Markets 11-20, on the other hand, rose by 20.3 percent, or $53,482,882.

 

Is the Tide Turning?

Overall, 2003 ended on an optimistic note, with significant increases in five major categories. So far, 2004 has gotten off to a slow start, with economic recovery moving at a quiet pace, a sluggish job market and an impending presidential election. However, what the past two years have taught us is that consumer spending in certain categories can overcome even the toughest of economic climates. Yet, only the First-Quarter 2004 Media Billings will tell the true story.

Figure 5: Number of Time Slots and Percentage of Total Time Slots Purchased

 

 

Short-Form DRTV Media Billings Fall by 11% in 4Q 2003

'Housewares and appliances' tops the list.

Short-form media billings performed below expectations in fourth-quarter 2003. In fact, total billings dipped 11.4 percent, to $96,649,427, compared to the same period the previous year in which short-form media billings were on the upswing.

 

 

There's No Place Like Home

Kitchen gadgets and cleaning devices continued to rein over all categories, as "Housewares and appliances" jumped by nearly 39 percent in fourth-quarter 2003. The "Home and garden" category finished a very close second with $16,197,529, which was slightly down from the previous year. The standout performance belongs to the third-place finisher, "Financial and business opportunities," which garnered a massive 127-percent increase over fourth-quarter 2002.

Figure 1: Total Quarterly Short-Form Media Billings

 

Rounding out the top five categories were the "Cosmetics, hair and personal care" category, with $9,097,692, and fifth-place "Health and fitness," with $9,057,884. Both categories suffered decreases from the previous year, with 9.1-percent and 3.3-percent drops, respectively.

In addition, four other categories experienced noteworthy gains from the previous year. "Sports and outdoor activities" enjoyed a record-breaking 166-percent increase, or $1,230,475, while "Music and video" ended the year on a positive note with a 37.2-percent boost, or $10,831,637.

1 2 

Bookmark it: digg del.icio.us technorati yahoo facebook twitter