• by Michael Shields , April 13, 2004

The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau wants to get Madison Avenue to think about cable TV differently--more like broadcast TV. In a road show that's already canvassed more than 20 big agencies and advertisers, the CAB pitch uses compelling research to dispel some old notions about cable advertising being limited to tiny audiences.

In fact, while it may be well-known that ad-supported cable has surpassed the major broadcast networks in share of TV rating points, the CAB pitch goes one step further, claiming that ad-supported cable, in aggregate, now delivers more reach than the broadcast networks do among some key audience demos.

"It's about interchangeability," says Sean Cunningham, president of the CAB. Cunningham, who this time last year was on the receiving end of the CAB pitch when he was a top executive at Universal McCann, now wants buyers to recognize a shift in viewership that has narrowed any audience gap between cable and broadcast network TV. "When you dive deeper into the data, you really see this migration from broadcast to cable," he says, playing an old CAB song, but with some new verve. "Share has tipped across the board. Ratings are up for cable, and broadcast is soft."

Across nearly every demographic, network TV continues to lose viewers to cable, which has recently surpassed the networks in audience share, pushing past 50 percent in prime time.

But it's the reach numbers that are perhaps the most compelling of the study, as they show that cable is within just a few percentage points of the networks' reach. For example, the reach among adults ages 18-49 is 68 percent for broadcasters and 64 percent for cable, based on a CAB analysis that lumped ratings for all measured cable networks as a single entity using December 2003 Nielsen respondent-level data. The CAB also used Audience Watch software to produce average weekly cume reach data for broadcast and cable. In several cases, cable out-reached broadcast in younger demos, such as men ages 18-24 (50 percent vs. 44 percent). In most other major demos, cable was near parity with broadcast reach.

As for rating points, cable's are up and broadcast network TV's are down for every demo measured. At the younger end of the spectrum, the changes are more pronounced. For example, ratings among adults ages 18-34 are down 9.9 percent for broadcast, and are up nearly 5 percent for cable.

In addition, the CAB study contends that broadcast ratings are inflated 45 percent by higher network viewership in non-cable homes, which Cunningham says are more downscale and rural. "We are asking advertisers, 'How important is that group to you?'" he chides.

The presentation has been met with some nods, and even a few wows.

"It is surprising how rapidly the landscape has changed," notes Lee Doyle, managing partner-director of client services at Mediaedge:cia, who saw the presentation Tuesday. He says the CAB's data confirmed many of his own beliefs. "It definitely addressed the issue of any lingering doubts about buying cable alone."

Does this mean that marketers will start abandoning pricey broadcast network TV inventory to buy cable exclusively? Doyle says that is already happening with clients that target younger demographics, which use events like the MTV Movie Awards as primary marketing vehicles. That event was actually able to deliver larger audiences than the Academy Awards for young adults, he points out.

Cunningham admits that the presentation, which views cable as a single medium comprised of more than 40 networks, does not exactly mimic the way buyers actually purchase inventory. "We don't purport that to be an actual buy," he concedes. But he believes it is not impossible for buyers to approach these numbers, particularly when buying specific demographics. "The reach numbers are driven by a dozen or so networks that do most of the heavy lifting," he notes.

In addition to ratings and reach, the presentation addresses the premium CPMs charged by broadcast networks, which the CAB says are 78 percent higher than cable's.

The CAB is also poised to release the results of a study it claims will demonstrate that viewers actually have a stronger affinity for cable networks than broadcast. The Mediaedge's Doyle was particularly interested. "That would do a lot to level the playing field," he acknowledges. "I am one of those who remembers the perception of cable was as a place you go when nothing else was on. Now it is definitely appointment-TV."