• by Joe Mandese , June 8, 2007

The recent slowdown in network TV ad spending appears to becoming mainly from shifts among fledgling networks, and not as much from weakening demand among the major broadcast networks, according to a detailed analysis of broadcast network advertising buys over the past year.

On Wednesday, competitive ad tracking firm TNS Media Intelligence reported that broadcast network TV was the hardest hit of the major national media during the first quarter of 2007, with total ad revenues declining 7.2% from the first quarter of 2006. That compares with an overall decline of just 0.3% among all measured media during the quarter.

However, that decline can be attributed primarily to the relatively weaker advertising performance of the two so-called "netlets:" CW and MyNetworkTV, which compare with UPN and WB networks, which were consolidated into CW this season.

"We've got two full quarters now with a new fifth and sixth network, and it's becoming clear that some of the erosion in total network ad spending is attributable to a net loss in revenues at the bottom of the network marketplace," concludes Jon Swallen, senior vice president-research at TNS MI.

"In first quarter of last year, WB and UPN together had advertising revenues of $332 million. During the first quarter of this year, the CW and MyNetworkTV combination had $254 million."

Swallen added that the real hit appears to becoming from News Corp.'s MyNetworkTV, and not CW, whose revenues are essentially at "parity" with last year's.

"It's not surprise given the lower ratings being generated by MyNetworkTV," says Swallen. "It makes perfect sense. Dollars are simply following the [gross rating points]."

According to the TNS MI data, the Big 4 network revenues during the quarter fell about 6.3% to $5.798 billion, after the impact of CW and MyNetworkTV are factored out.

And while the rest of the national TV advertising marketplace - especially cable TV networks - appear to be faring better, things are not even among certain types of cable networks.

Total cable network advertising sales rose 6.3% - coincidentally the same percentage the Big 4 broadcast networks fell by - during the quarter to $3.821 billion, but according to TNS MI's data, the growth came primarily from niche interest, lifestyle and thematic channels, the same sector that tends to be performing best in Nielsen's TV ratings trends. "News channels and general interest channels were much softer during the first quarter," says Swallen.

	JAN-MAR  2007 (Millions)	JAN-MAR 2006 (Millions)	% CHANGE
·    NETWORK TV	$6,052.5	$6,523.0	-7.2%
·    CABLE TV	$3,821.1	$3,593.4	6.3%

Source: TNS Media Intelligence.