Matrix Local TV Sales Report

Political spending came to the rescue in the quarter, soaring 640% from the previous year’s quarter. Auto advertising also was a strong contributor. Matrix Solutions President D.J. Cavanaugh said:  “We have seen steady year-over-year growth in automotive spending each quarter for the past few years.”

Auto dealer advertising is the big booster, up 18% from the same quarter last year and almost 30% from 1Q 2012.

Auto dealer advertising is the big booster, up 18% from the same quarter last year and almost 30% from 1Q 2012.

Total spot revenue dropped by double digits last year; the decline in political money and lack of Olympics were primary culprits. Discounting political, core business grew just 1.6%, according to Matrix Solutions. Automotive, TV broadcasting’s No. 1 ad category, led core growth, but trended down during the year and grew 6.4% over 2012. In the fourth quarter of 2013, it rose just 2.9% over the previous year. Among the downers for the year was the key restaurant category, it fell 7.1%.

Without the heavy political spending, total spot revenue dropped 17.4% in the third quarter compared to last year, according to Matrix Solutions. And core was dragged into negative territory by weakness in a host of categories, including including quick service restaurants (down 42.5%), retail (down 28.5%), legal services (down 22.5%) and telecommunications (down 6.2%). Auto was up nearly 5%.

Without the heavy political spending, total spot revenue fell 17.4% in the third quarter year-over-year, according to Matrix Solutions, the business software firm. Core revenue was dragged into negative territory by weakness in a host of categories, including quick service restaurants (down 42.5%), retail (down 28.5%), legal services (down 22.5%) and telecommunications (down 6.2%).

That core increase was driven by auto spending, which was up 7% compared to the second quarter of 2012. Other high-growth categories in the quarter: telecommunications (+34.1%), non-alcoholic beverages (+26.5%) and home products (+14.3%).

The core growth was particularly impressive given that political advertising displaced much of the other advertising in the fourth quarter, says Matrix Solutions President D.J. Cavanaugh, noting that the total revenue was up 30%, but core was flat with most categories negative in the quarter.