• by Wayne Friedman , June 9, 2021

In an effort to offer a more complete view of the ad-supported video marketplace, Standard Media Index is launching an “effective” cost-per-thousand viewer (CPM) cross-media comparison data platform.

Based on its national media agency billing data, the media data/analytics company is starting a “Pricing Intelligence Suite” showing comparison of advertising CPMs for linear and digital media.

For example, its national advertiser invoice database -- mapped to audience ratings for the 2020-2021 TV season-to-date (October 2020 to March 2021) -- shows the effective CPM (eCPM) in entertainment prime-time shows for Nielsen C3 data in the adults 18-49 demographic was $77. This compares to a $55 eCPM for late-night and $20 for daytime.

When it comes to cable networks' entertainment, there was a $26 eCPM for the top 10 networks, with $19 for cable networks ranked 11th through 30th and $15 for those ranked 31st to 50th.

In news programming, among 18-49 viewers, broadcast shows came in at a $45 eCPM for 18-49 (early program) and $38 (evening). Cable TV news networks came in at $20.

In terms of expensive sports programming, the NFL post-season for 2020 came in at a $92 eCPM, compared to $75 for NFL regular-season play and $58 for the 2020-2021 NBA regular season.

SMI will also monitor digital CPMs for streaming video.

In one case study conducted from October 2020 to March 2021, it says, an OTT platform had twice the effective CPM of broadcast prime time, with a $22 eCPM versus a $16 eCPM -- when looking at comparable programming.

This is the result for broadcast prime time for linear TV (excluding sports) for all viewers in the Nielsen C3 metric-- the average minute commercial ratings plus three days of time-shifting viewing.

Analyzing the rising broadcast TV advertising results this season, in a post-COVID period, SMI says season-to-date data shows a 70% premium in the eCPM when it comes to scatter-placed deals in prime time -- $124 -- versus an upfront secured deal for this season at $74.