The big ad bargain of the TV season, when one compares actual performance to ad agency estimates, is The WB’s “Smallville,” which posted a whopping 84 percent overdelivery for advertisers. UPN’s new “Star Trek” show “Enterprise” was the second-best buy of all network shows this season, delivering nearly 70 percent more than share expectations.
A TV share is a percentage of those households viewing televison that are tuned to a particular show; a TV rating represents a percentage of all TV homes.
The data was computed by comparing actual Nielsen Media Research season-to-date household program shares with Advertising Age’s Survey of TV Household Share Estimates on May 10 that calculated preseason estimates by surveying media agencies and networks.
Advertising agencies typically figure estimates in the spring for the coming fall broadcast season to help determine the value and pricing of each network show.
Conversely, the worst buy of the season for any show still on the air, using the same formula, is ABC’s two runs of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,’ which is underdelivering by 27 percent. Of course with underdelivery, marketers get make-goods.
For national TV advertisers, new shows are the big gambles-unlike returning network shows, they have no track record.
But in buying these programs, advertisers can hit the jackpot by gaining more audience than they paid for. Still, big national advertisers hedge their bets, buying a range of other shows as well.