Broadcast Nets Legacy Ad Spend -0.6% In ’14

MyersBizNet today released its 20th annual advertising spending data for 19 media categories, estimating 4.1% growth in total ad spending for 2014, declining to 2.1% growth in 2015. The MyersBizNet data is unique among forecasters in its reporting of both legacy and digital ad spending with television, print, out-of-home and radio media.

Excluding digital media, MyersBizNet estimates advertising spend would have increased only 0.5% in 2014 with declines of 4% projected for 2015. Further exclusion of social/word-of-mouth and native advertising results in a 2014 downturn of 0.4% and a drop of 5.1% in 2015.

Broadcast network television legacy ad spending is estimated to have declined 0.6% in 2014, while digital ad spending with broadcast networks increased 22%, resulting in an overall increase of 1.3%, for a total $19.256 billion. Other leading forecasters and analysts typically measure only legacy ad spending, resulting in a significant under-reporting of actual spending in each media category, according to MyersBizNet.

Cable television networks generated 3.3% increases in 2014, reflecting 2.6% growth in legacy spending and 20% gains in digital ad spend. Network cable growth is forecast by MyersBizNet to slow considerably in 2015, with overall ad spending increases of only 0.7%, including 30% gains in cable network digital ad spend and a decline in cable network legacy ad spend of 0.8%.

Both newspaper and consumer magazine advertising declined significantly in 2014 but MyersBizNet forecasts that declines will slow in 2015, with both media offsetting some declines with 15% and 24% growth, respectively, in digital ad spend. Legacy newspaper advertising is estimated to have declined 9% in 2014 with consumer magazines’ legacy ad spend declining 9.2%.

Overall newspaper ad spending shrunk by 5.1% and magazines by 6.2%. In 2015, total newspaper ad spend is projected to decline 3.2% and magazines by 2.7%. This slowdown in declines in a difficult year for advertising overall suggests that digital advertising growth, and especially digital video advertising, is growing at the expense of television.

According to the MyersBizNet report, radio advertising (legacy and digital) declined 2.1% in 2014 and is forecast to decline 1.8% in 2015.

Out-of-home/place-based advertising (excluding digital place-based video and cinema) grew 0.1% in 2014 and is forecast to increase 3.3% next year.