• by Tanya Gazdik , July 11, 2022

Automakers' estimated TV spending dropped 23% in June compared to a year ago, according to iSpot.tv. 

The June 2022 estimated national TV spending was $161.3 million compared to $209.2 million for the same month in 2021. 

TV ad impressions, however, were up 4% for June to 26.0 billion, compared to a year ago. 

The top five brands by estimated national TV ad spending for June 2022 were Toyota ($18.7 million), Kia ($13.9 million), Nissan ($11.9 million), Honda ($11.3 million) and Chevrolet ($10.9 million).

Over 73% of Toyota’s June estimated national TV ad spend was during new-airing programming, with close to half of that attributable to the NBA Playoffs, per iSpot.tv.

Kia was similarly focused on the NBA, at 43.7% of spend during the month. The NBA Playoffs also made up nearly 92% of Nissan’s spend with ABC in June (ABC led all networks, with 40.7% of Nissan’s spend in June).

The top five brands by share of automaker TV ad impressions for June 2022 were Toyota (11.66%), Chevrolet (8.68%), Lexus (8.24%), Hyundai (6.90%) and Jeep (5.38%).

The most-seen automaker ads for the month were Chevrolet: Work Remote (3.08% of impressions); Cadillac: Lead the Charge (3.06%); Jeep: Jurassic World Dominion - Dinosaurs in Our World (2.66%); Nissan: Today Is Made For Thrill - What Wait For Tomorrow? (2.19%) and Chevrolet: The Future Is Right In Front Of You (2.04%).

The biggest spending increases in June 2022 compared to a year ago were Infiniti (up over 13,200% after spending less than $20K on national TV last June and $2.5 million this June), Acura (up 199%), Mazda (up 159%), Chevrolet (up 112%) and Dodge (up 95.2%).

Automakers continue to put less emphasis on local compared to last year, with 20.7% of June’s impressions attributable to local in 2022 versus 23.7% in 2021, as part of an industrywide move to apply greater focus to national campaigns, said Stuart Schwartzapfel, senior vice president, media partnerships at iSpot. 

“We’re seeing that come through in typical ways via ads during live sporting events, but brands are also embracing new and growing opportunities on TV, including more messaging tailored toward Spanish-speaking consumers,” Schwartzapfel tells Marketing Daily.

After barely advertising on national linear TV at all last June, Infiniti spent over $2.5 million in June 2022. That total was fueled by a wide range of programming from syndicated airings of "The Golden Girls" (5.70% of spend) to cricket highlights (2.80%) and the Jan. 6 hearings (2.18%). 

Acura’s increase came from a larger emphasis on reality TV programs year-over-year, with 7x more spend this June. Mazda spent over $400K during "SportsCenter," after zero buys during the program last June.

The top programs for automakers by TV ad impressions share of voice in June 2022 were NBA (4.43%), NHL (2.33%), "SportsCenter" (1.58%),the U.S. Open Golf Championship (1.45%) and "Law & Order: SVU" (1.33%).

After last year’s shifted playoff schedule, NBA games were a lesser part of the June calendar in 2022 than 2021 – leading to a smaller share of TV ad impressions for automakers (4.43% vs. 6.27% last June). 

For the month, sports programming made up just 21.4% of all impressions for auto brands, down from 26.0% a year ago. TV movies jumped from 8.05% of impressions to 10.84% of impressions year-over-year. Reality TV climbed as well, from 12.08% of impressions to 12.84%.

The top networks by share of automaker TV ad impressions in June were ABC (8.29%), Fox News (5.43%), NBC (5.36%), CBS (4.12%) and ESPN (3.99%).

ABC’s share of auto brands’ TV ad impressions rose year-over-year from 4.67% (No. 4 by networks) to 8.29% on the strength of the NBA Playoffs – and particularly the NBA Finals. 

Fox News jumped from No. 7 to No. 2 by impressions, with a particular emphasis on "Special Report With Bret Baier" (11.73% of all auto impressions on Fox News). Automakers also put greater focus on Spanish-language networks, as Telemundo and Univision went from a combined 3.57% of impressions to 5.53%, with both networks among the top 10 this June.