Nielsen-rated to help grow their general
ad sales, this takes away from DR inventory (or increases rates) so the need for
finding new and emerging networks is always there. Next, as the trend continues
for more general advertisers to turn to DR
for various initiatives, we see these campaigns create shifts in the marketplace,
mainly driving rates up and at times utilizing dayparts or stations that have been
more traditional DR-focused. Third, lead-gen campaigns for financial services can
really impact the marketplace when they
come in early in the week with additional
scatter dollars and preempt DR.
How much is the expansion
of the DVR/on-demand/
over-the-top (OTT) content
universe affecting DRTV
media today? How about
three years from now?
Abusaleh: Several factors during the
past three years have had both positive
and negative impacts on the business,
of which DVR/on-demand is only one.
There is no doubt an impact, however,
and as that space has expanded, the long-
form response level by time period has
most certainly contracted in the same
time frame.
Garnett: Studies show that DVRs have
increased TV effectiveness. Before DVRs,
consumers mentally skipped a large
number of ads. Now, they can skip those
ads with the DVR, but must be paying
attention to do so. And, when they en-
counter that one ad they care about (out
of every 200 or so they see), with the
DVR they can rewind and re-watch. If I
had my preference, DVRs would be the
delivery mechanism of the future rather
than these other options. Both on-de-
mand and OTT primarily act as Internet-
delivered substitutes for the video store.
What about three years from now? Fun-
damentally, there will be far less change
than the industry of television disruption
pundits are shouting. The bulk of viewers
that technology siphons off will be those
that were never part of why TV advertis-
ing paid out. That said, some other view-
ers will siphon off as well. Will that cause
the destruction that changes wrought in
newspaper? I don’t think so. Newspapers
are dying off because of an Achilles heel
— dependence on classified ads for profit
margin. Craigslist eliminated all that rev-
enue in a very short period.
Koeppel: This is something that is almost
impossible to quantify, but here is what
we do know: Nielsen reports that time
shifting by way of the DVR has increased
in 2012 over 2011, and the trend is clear.
Nonetheless, sports, news and competitive reality television continue to lead
programming watched live because there
is a sense of immediacy about it. These
are all categories that short-form DRTV
