TV Is Not Dead

TV commercials that appear in local newscasts are the most engaging, according to a recent study conducted for Hearst-Argyle Television by researcher Frank N. Magid Associates.

Speaking at the annual Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Conference in New York, Hearst-Argyle CEO David Barrett pointed out that local TV newscasts are more “DVR proof” than other broadcasts because viewers tend to watch the local news live and therefore are not as likely to fast forward through the commercials.

The study also found that viewers were more engaged with ads in local newscasts than with radio (72% compared to 28%) newspaper (64% compared to 36%), direct mail (55% to 45%) and magazines (57% versus 43%).  

Survey results also showed that 47% of the 2,500 respondents said local TV news was “my most important source of information in my community.” That figure was the same for newspaper, but topped Web sites (30%) and radio (17%).

Hearst-Argyle operates 29 TV stations from coast to coast, reaching 18% of U.S. Homes.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Media Planning, Trends, TV advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.