• Ad Age, Thursday, August 26, 2010 11:04 PM

Do advertisers consider Conan O'Brien's upcoming cable show equivalent to Jay Leno and David Letterman's programs on broadcast networks? asks Ad Age. Time Warner's Turner cable unit is securing $30,000 to $40,000 for 30-second berths in O'Brien's show on TBS starting this November -- an eyebrow-raising figure because it's close to the cost for commercials during NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," according to ad buyers.

Cable shows typically draw smaller audiences than broadcast programming but in recent years that gap has begun to narrow. "The value they are charging is in the ballpark" of the broadcast networks' late-night prices, said one buyer. The price of a 30-second ad on "Tonight" or "Late Show" can range from $30,000 to $45,000, buyers estimated.

Since young viewers don't make the distinctions that older viewers do between network and cable, the premium advertisers pay for network isn't as easy to justify. You know this is true, if you've ever found yourself explaining about the days when there were only three TV networks to a 25-year-old, notes BNET.

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