TV ad revenues tumble in Boston
Local stations lose $66m, double '08 national average
Advertising revenue in the Boston TV market fell more than double the national average last year, according to a new report, as politicians spent less on commercials in Massachusetts than in other states and the recession caused auto dealerships and other companies to cut back on TV ads.
In all, ad revenue for Boston TV stations fell $66 million, or 13 percent, with WFXT-TV (Channel 25) having the biggest drop, losing more than a quarter of its revenue in 2008, according to a survey of 210 TV markets by BIA Financial Network, a Virginia-based financial and advisory firm. Nationally, stations on average had a 6 percent revenue decline in 2008.
"Those figures are stating the real truth," said Geoff Klapisch, a media and advertising professor at Boston University. "Advertisers and marketers are getting smarter every year, and they are finding other places to put their money."
To be sure, marketers long have been finding other ways to reach consumers besides the traditional TV commercial. But TV stations nationwide have been hard hit hurt by the recession, which caused many advertisers, particularly in the furniture, retail, and auto industries, to reduce spending even more on TV ads. Industry officials, ad buyers, and media observers say they don't know exactly why the Boston TV market fared worse than the national average in the report, but they point to two big factors - political and auto ads.
Media experts say some local TV stations in other markets that were swing or battleground states were boosted by political ads last year during the presidential campaign.
While Boston benefited in early 2008 from an increase in ads during the lead up to the presidential New Hampshire primary, Massachusetts did not get as many ads the rest of the year, they say.
"In Boston, you didn't have any competitive Senate or House races," said Mark Fratrik, vice president of BIA, which has been conducting the TV market surveys for 25 years.
Boston TV stations also suffered from a big reduction in auto ads, as several auto dealers began paring back ad spending early. Auto ads account for a third of a TV station's revenue, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising.
"This is a big truck market, a big SUV market," said Klapisch. "You can do a pretty good product mix here."
Tracie Manna Chinetti, a media buyer for Blitz Media in Needham, agrees. "Car dealers pulled their advertising fairly early [in 2008]. There are a lot of categories that cut down. The car dealers were the first points of pain and one of the biggest. Retail [advertising] was down. Entertainment was down."
According to BIA, of the local stations, WCVB-TV (Channel 5), had the highest estimated revenue with $100.8 million in 2008, down 8 percent from $8.8 million in 2007. WHDH-TV (Channel 7) followed with $100.7 million, declining 16 percent from 2007; WBZ-TV (Channel 4) drew $81.5 million, falling 8 percent; and WFXT-TV (Channel 25) had $50.7 million, a drop of 26 percent.
The three biggest Boston TV stations - WBZ, WHDH, WCVB - declined to comment on BIA's estimates or their revenue numbers.
Not all of Boston's TV stations were included in BIA's survey. Among them: cable-operated stations such as New England Cable News and nonprofit stations such as WGBH. BIA analysts say they focus on broadcast, for-profit stations.
Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com. 