• by Tanya Gazdik , December 22, 2023

Automakers spent an estimated $274.3 million on national TV spending in November, down 8.9% compared to a year ago. 

Year-to-date through December 14, spending is down 15.8%, according to iSpot. tv.

TV ad impressions were down 18.5% in November to 25.2 billion. But year-to-date impressions were up 4% to 306.6 billion.

The top five brands by estimated national TV spending in November were Hyundai ($27.5 million), Honda ($26.8 million), Toyota ($23.5 million), Chevrolet ($22.9 million) and Nissan ($17.9 million).

The top five brands by share of automaker household TV ad impressions in November 2023 were Hyundai (9.13%), Nissan (8.31%), Toyota (8.02%), Ford (7.35%) and Chevrolet (6.94%).

The most-seen automaker ads by share of household TV ad impressions, November 2023 were Kia: Bird’s Eye View (2.39%), Honda: Keep Dreaming (1.95%), Hyundai: Get In and Get Away: Vail (1.47%),  GMC: THE Truck (1.33%) and Ram Trucks: Holidays: Tree Sap (1.15%).

Although the NFL was the top source of estimated national TV ad spend for four of the top five brands (except Nissan), it was college football that had a more notable focus year-over-year for automakers in November, per iSpot.tv.

Automakers continued to harness the broad reach provided by football, taking advantage of big college and NFL games throughout the month of November, said Stuart Schwartzapfel, executive vice president, media partnerships at iSpot. 

“But the in-season tournament also helped NBA games score for automakers, as increased audience interest in those regular season games helped deliver more TV ad impressions year-over-year,” Schwartzapfel tells Marketing Daily.

As a whole, the industry increased its national TV ad spend on games by 45% this November compared to last, with Hyundai having the largest jump; up 252% year-over-year. Honda also increased its outlay on college football games by 64%, while Nissan upped spend on games by 22% this November compared to last, per iSpot.tv. 

The top five brands also went bigger on NBA games this year, including investments from Honda and Nissan, which didn’t advertise with the NBA in November 2022. Hyundai’s estimated national TV ad spend for NBA games was up 170% year-over-year, while Chevrolet shelled out 145% more money and Toyota increased its NBA outlay by 82% compared to November 2022. 

The biggest estimated spend increases among top 15 brands by spend, November 2023 vs. November 2022 were Ford (+201.2%), Nissan (+23.4%), Honda (+15.4%), Subaru (+13.4%) and GMC (+0.6%).

Notably, among the top 15 brands by November 2023 spend, only five actually increased spend year-over-year — and GMC’s growth was by less than a percentage point, per iSpot.tv. 

Football drove much of Ford’s climb, with the brand spending 61x more on NFL games this November compared to last, and 16x more on college football games; its investment in NBA games was also up by nearly 27x.

Football played a similar role for Nissan, which increased estimated national TV ad spend by 43% on NFL games as well as the aforementioned 22% on college football. Outside of sports, the automaker upped outlay in "The Voice" (+40% this November vs. November 2022) and "Modern Family" (Nissan didn’t spend on that show during November 2022), per iSpot.tv.

The top programs for automakers by share of household TV ad impressions in November 2023 were NFL (10.54%), College football (8.96%), NBA (0.99%), Men’s college basketball (0.68%) and "Today" (0.61%).

Football is again a key driver of automaker TV ad impressions, with the industry seeing an 18% year-over-year increase in impressions during NFL games and a 36% increase in impressions from college football compared to November 2022. Automaker impressions during NBA games were up 32% year-over-year, per iSpot.tv.

The top five brands by estimated national TV ad spend year-to-date through Dec. 14 were Chevrolet ($191.8 million), Hyundai ($168.9 million), Toyota ($166.4 million), Ram Trucks ($156.3 million) and Kia ($145.2 million), per iSpot.tv.

Automaker estimated TV ad spend was down nearly 16% year-over-year, but part of that is due to the Olympics and World Cup — large advertising events for many industries, including automotive — that happened in 2022 but not in 2023. 

Sports were still the primary focus for the industry as a whole, with automakers seeing a minor 2% year-over-year increase in estimated TV ad spend for NFL and a more notable +23% for college football, per iSpot.tv.