• by Wayne Friedman , June 8, 2010

Broadcast network unit pricing continues to drop -- this time 10% in the first quarter of 2010 versus the year before. Cable networks, however, continued to witness gains.

Media agency TargetCast tcm said the average price for a 30-second broadcast network commercial was now at $104,051. This didn't include NBC's higher-priced Vancouver Olympic commercials, which ran in February.

Fox continued to lead all networks, averaging $200,008 a commercial. ABC and CBS were next, each at around $94,000. NBC came in at fourth place, at $76,211.

TargetCast gleaned these results from data obtained by NetCosts, which is a division of Tarrytown, N.Y.-based media researcher SQAD Inc.

Gary Carr, senior vice president and executive director of national broadcast at TargetCast, stated even with the scatter marketplace lifting the CPM unit pricing of all networks shows -- some 20% to 30% or more, according to some accounts -- against upfront pricing set in July 2009, first-quarter numbers couldn't match those of a year ago.

"The drop in costs was due, in part, to lower ratings and lower overall dollars, but was also a result of the high percentage of units sold in the upfront market when prices were well below a year ago."

Broadcast network rating erosion continues to hurt unit pricing. For example, TargetCast says prime-time ratings of 25-54 viewers were down 9.2%, excluding the Olympics. This was a quicker decline than the fourth quarter of 2009, where there was a 6.5% decline in 25-54 viewership.

The pricing drop copies the same trend in the fourth quarter. Average unit costs on the Big Four nets fell 11% in the October-December period to $105,821 -- compared to the same period the year before.

There was continued good news, however, for cable networks, as their commercial prices continue to head north. The top 15 cable networks had a 7.5% hike to $9,968 in prime time for a 30-second commercial versus the same first-quarter period of 2009.

ESPN's continued to be the leader, averaging $19,301 a commercial. Next were USA Network and TNT, each with $15,500.

One wrinkle in cable's other positive story: After years of growth, cable networks are experiencing some down trends. TargetCast says cable ratings fell by 2% among the top 15 rated networks in prime time.