But if there's a cable network advertisers looking for a good position should really avoid, it's E! Entertainment, which gave its own promo units A positions 71 percent of the time, according to the data from Media IQ's Commercial Positioning Monitor.
Like similar data released recently for the major broadcast networks (MDN Sept. 17), the new research shows that the major cable networks also do not provide equitable rotations of their most valuable inventory to major advertisers, even though their ad deals are premised on that.
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In fact, some cable networks - mainly cable news networks like CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and The Weather Channel - reserve only a tiny portion of their A positions for their own promos and give them to top ad categories, especially auto marketers.
But unlike the major broadcast networks, where the Entertainment/Media category, which includes the major Hollywood studios, generally got the best mix of A positions, the entertainment industry fared poorly on most cable networks with the exception of MSNBC, Nickelodeon and The Weather Channel.
Media IQ, which utilizes the pod position data as part of a sophisticated network report card it provides marketers, will make the data available to MDN on a monthly basis.
Percentage Of 'A' Positions Received By Top Ad Categories
Auto Computer Drug Media* Finance Food Telecom
Promo
A&E 11% 3% 5% 2% 5% 3% 7% 48%
CNBC 21% 20% 16% 19% 11% 15% 18% 7%
CNN 34% 29% 29% 9% 19%
17% 27% 2%
Comedy 4% 2% 1% 3% 2% 2% 5% 58%
Disc 21% 16% 10% 17% 19% 14% 14% 21%
E! 1% 2% 0%
2% 2% 1% 1% 71%
Food 11% 8% 3% 5% 13% 13% 11% 41%
Fox News 41% 10% 9% 14% 22% 6% 13% 7%
HGTV 10%
10% 14% 9% 4% 4% 35% 28%
History 14% 6% 5% 2% 6% 4% 13% 47%
Lifetime 27% 3% 4% 7% 7% 6% 6% 29%
MSNBC 23% 15% 11% 27% 15% 10% 26% 10%
MTV 6% 1% 4% 8% 6% 3% 6% 50%
Nick 6% 2% 3% 27% 7% 10%
4% 33%
Sci Fi 9% 2% 3% 4% 4% 5% 7% 47%
Spike 21% 13% 5% 14% 16% 18% 18% 29%
TLC 13% 10% 8% 12%
14% 19% 10% 37%
VH1 4% 3% 3% 5% 3% 2% 3% 49%
TWC 36% 48% 19% 40% 15% 26% 25% 3%
Source:
Media IQ Commercial Positioning Monitor, October 2003-September 2004. Analysis reflects all network units of 30-seconds or more. *Entertainment and media, including movies.