• by Wayne Friedman , July 14, 2023

With the backdrop of two major Hollywood strikes -- both writers and actors -- expected to have major disruptions on scripted TV shows, there is some positive news concerning unscripted TV shows.

Ad impressions for last season's top ten unscripted prime-time network TV shows last season rose 7% (to 60.4 billion TV ad impressions), according to estimates from iSpot.tv.

The top reality TV shows were NBC’s “The Voice," which saw ad impressions rise by 6.9%, followed by ABC’s “American Idol” (+3.7%) and “Shark Tank” (+3.7%).

The top cable TV reality shows were TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days" (+2.6%), Food Networks’ “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (+2.5%).

EDO Ad EnGage estimates that over the most recent 12-month period, “The Voice” pulled in $302.8 million in national TV ad dollars, based on delivering 12.8 billion impressions across 2,170 commercial airings. 

“American Idol” delivered $153.1 million (6.4 billion impressions), followed by ABC’s “Shark Tank” ($38.4 million/4.4 billion impressions).

“Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” pulled in $125.5 million, while “90 Day Fiancé” totaled $21.1 million in advertising (11,290 airings).