A new BIA/Kelsey study says that enhancing station ratings with third-party “Big Data” about viewers’ buying interests “adds substantially to the local TV value proposition” by permitting targeted advertising that would mean local TV broadcasters could become “more competitive with digital pure-play platforms and would see greater revenue growth in better monetizing their broadcast audiences.”
So, how much is a local TV ratings point actually worth these days?
And just how much money are TV stations leaving on the table when they distribute programming on Facebook?
Two tough questions, to which BIA/Kelsey says it has answers.
According to new research based on comScore ratings, it says, a ratings point for adults 25-54 in the market, averaged over the top six English-language stations, is worth $12.8 million a year.
That works out to about 23 cents per minute.
Of course, the research found that the smaller the market, the lower the value of that ratings point. In Kansas City, it’s worth $1.1 million a year, and in Madison, Wis., it’s $500,000.
In terms of time, that’s 12 cents a minute in Kansas City and 13 cents a minute in Madison.
Given the figures, BIA/Kelsey says, broadcasters and marketers have a “stake in accurate audience measurement.”
And, it says, enhancing the ratings with third-party “Big Data” about viewers’ buying interests “adds substantially to the local TV value proposition” by permitting targeted advertising.
With better measurement and targeted advertising, it says, “local TV broadcasters will become more competitive with digital pure-play platforms and would see greater revenue growth in better monetizing their broadcast audiences.”
BIA/Kelsey also looked at broadcasters’ digital media revenue.
This year, it will account for just 5% of TV stations’ $20.9 billion in advertising revenue from digital. Part of the problem is stations’ failure to monetize the audiences they create when they distribute their content on social media, and the lost revenue adds up.
The research estimates that the value of the audiences they bring to Facebook at $61.7 million a year in Los Angeles, $10.7 million a year in Kansas City and $2.35 million a year in Madison.
“Local TV’s social audiences are an undervalued asset in the local market — by both TV operators and marketers,” it says. “An essential point to see is that local TV operators have a path to doubling their digital revenue growth simply by monetizing the audiences they already create on Facebook.”
