»
The American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers will release a policy paper at the ANA 2008 TV forum next week that aims to push the Big Three networks to reconsider their policy of charging “integration fees.”
The fees, about $125 million total across the three networks, come from a bygone era - a time when someone had to physically insert the ads into a program, according to the paper (via Broadcasting & Cable). Advertisers represented by the paper include Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Ford and Kraft.
Some of the larger advertisers can be paying upwards of $1 million on integration fees per year.
The paper, which points out that newer networks like Fox and the CW do not charge integration fees, suggests that ABC, NBC and CBS join a task force that would provide a forum for them to defend the practice. Local TV stations and cable stations do not charge the fees, either.
Integration fees run, on average, about $470 per spot. Executive vp Bill Duggan points out that an advertiser can buy a spot on the 7:00 news on WNBC in New York and not pay an integration fee. “So why should there be an integration fee for an NBC Nightly News network spot at 6:30?” he asks.
A source at Fox says the network considered integration fees in its early days, but decided not to charge them because “in this day and age, there is no physical cost to integrate a commercial into the network feed.”
The policy statement asks, “Can network integration fees be rationalized? If not, let’s make them go away and end this debate so advertisers, agencies, and networks can talk about other issues.”
Clear Channel’s operating results for the first quarter were flat, reflecting a continued weak demand for radio advertising. Outdoor advertising performed better than radio in the quarter for the second quarter in a row, with revenue gains of 12 percent.…
Among the near-constant doom and gloom reporting about the newspaper industry, every now and then comes a story that points out how smaller, community newspapers are bucking the trend.
Small town newspapers are faring better than most of their regional…
Busy moms apparently aren’t willing to waste their “me time” watching television commercials.
According to new research from MindShare that focused on American mothers, reading, surfing the web and watching television were the top me-time - or personal down-time -…
Ryan Seacrest is in talks with CNN to replace Larry King, according to sources close to Seacrest.
The source, however, also says, “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” writes Fishbowl LA.
Seacrest is currently host of E! News, American Idol…
Editors at Hachette’s digital operation will do well to have their digital skill sets firmly behind them. The company has reportedly chopped 15 editorial jobs from a staff of about 100 in its digital operation; those positions will eventually be…
Most CMOs with more than 10 years of experience describe themselves as “extremely loyal” to specific brands, according to a survey of marketing officers at Fortune 100 companies conducted by LoyalTV.com, a video sharing website.
92 percent of CMOs with…
