• by David Goetzl , September 10, 2007

Even if Fox fails to produce a breakout new hit this fall, the revenues will no doubt keep flowing as the network returns the four most expensive shows on television.

A new report shows the two weekly versions of "American Idol" topped the list, with spots going for more than $615,000 on average during the 2006-07 season that wrapped in May. The juggernaut was followed by the surging "House" and "24," which saw prices rise 49% even with declining ratings.

The head-to-head Thursday match-up between "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI"--where both lost ratings steam--also appears to have caused prices to drop, according to the report from agency TargetCast tcm. In 2005-06, a 30-second spot on ABC's "Grey's" averaged $292,493, which fell to $277,387 last year; "CSI" went from $360,469 down to $294,796.

Also notable: With 18-to-49 ratings for ABC's "Desperate Housewives" falling 25%, the average unit cost also declined, although by a lesser 15% (to $308,640). In the reverse, "CSI: Miami" saw ratings drop some 10%, but prices rise, albeit slightly ($226,185 to $230,489). And Fox's ancient "Simpsons" rode its younger-skewing audience to the top-15 priciest shows, with an average :30 going for $217,500.

Overall, among the networks last season, Fox saw its average prime-time unit cost rising 26% to $197,640--despite "live" ratings falling 7% for regularly scheduled programs in the 18-to-49 demo. ABC saw a 4% bump in average price for a :30 to $127,690, while CBS saw its costs decline 4%, but still top ABC at $129,757. Fourth-place NBC had a 16% falloff to $107,449.

Independent media agency TargetCast based its findings on data culled from NetCosts, a service run by independent researcher SQAD that receives reports on spending from some 390 advertisers and agencies who buy prime-time spots. (SQAD says NetCosts represents 40% of all national TV ad expenditures in the $42.8 billion U.S. market.)

The average costs in the TargetCast report cover spots purchased in both the upfront and scatter markets. The figures are derived from regularly scheduled programs that ran in their standard time periods. The Super Bowl and other stunts such as a Thursday edition of "American Idol" were stripped out.

Despite the vagaries of prime-time pricing--due to factors including supply and demand, a network's need to offer makegoods, legacy CPMs and many others--the most recent upfront, which reportedly was robust, would seem to indicate that marketers still have an attachment to television. That comes despite all four networks suffering from significant declines in 18-to-49 ratings last season for their regularly scheduled lineups.

"The 30-second unit is very much alive, but its purpose is evolving--to drive people to the Web for more information or transactions," said TargetCast CEO Steve Farella. "The trend overall is to continue to use network television as a driver for one-to-one connections."

Once again last season, no series generated marketers' excitement more than "American Idol." The Tuesday version averaged $654,088 per :30, the highest in television, followed by $615,051 for the Wednesday results show. Those figures were up 13% and 12%, respectively, from the season before.

But "House" provided Fox with a higher growth rate, according to TargetCast. Its unit cost in 2005-06 was not among the top 15, but soared 79% to third place last season at $365,677. Ratings were up 19% to an 8.1 among 18- to-49-year-olds.

Fox Monday drama "24" saw prices skyrocket as well to $325,881, even with ratings down 11%.

"'House' this year became a bona fide hit, and everyone wants to be in it," said Gary Carr, senior vice president and director of national broadcast at TargetCast. "And even though '24's' ratings aren't through the roof, advertisers want to be there because it has an engaged, upscale audience."

ABC's "Lost," which posted flat ratings and suffered from critical disdain, posted an increase of nearly $50,000 per spot to a $288,387 average last season.

CBS's shift of "Without A Trace" to Sundays from Thursdays caused ratings to decline, but the network appears not to have suffered on the revenue front, with unit costs averaging $241,162. That was up from $225,693 the year before, when its Thursday slot presumably attracted the attention of free-spending movie marketers and others looking to deliver a message before the weekend.

CBS's shift of "Trace" off Thursdays may have given new life to NBC's "ER." Still, ratings were down for the medical drama and pricing slightly more, declining 22% to $224,768.

NBC's first-year hit "Heroes" appears to have performed well in the scatter market, with an average cost of $173,002.