Local Cable Ad Sales Will Reach $6.4 Bil. by 2009

Kagan Research: US. Cable MSO ad revenues will grow at a healthy clip through 2009, as clustering and rising cable ratings make MSOs increasingly attractive to national and regional advertisers. Based on an extensive survey of cable operators in the U.S ., the report projects local cable ad sales will reach $6.4 bil. by 2009.

Cable will achieve a viewing share of 63% of all TV homes by the end of 2009, with total cable ad billings growing to $34.6 bil. Both local and national cable ad sales continue to outperform many other sectors. Digital ad insertion technology and interconnects are making cable an increasingly important part of local spot buys. On the national side, cable continues to take viewer share from broadcast, contributing to a continued shift of ad dollars to cable.

Cable as a percentage of TV ad billings will reach 33.4% by the end of 2005, rapidly closing in on broadcast's share, and forecasts that by 2014 cable ad billings will reach $55 bil., exceeding broadcast ad billings for the first time.

The cable industry continues to face sub losses to DBS and, as technology advances, the satellite providers are also projected to increase their ad billings at a fast pace. However, it will take a long time for DBS ad billings to reach the magnitude of cable. To put this in perspective, in 2010 DBS is expected to cash in $1.5 bil. from advertising – a revenue number the cable industry was approaching in 1995.

CABLE TV ADVERTISING STATISTICS Publ 20060202