There’s a constant stream of folks commenting on the site wishing that viewers outside the adult demo groups mattered to broadcast primetime networks (and advertisers). We’re constantly repeating the same refrain that younger viewers are harder to reach in TV advertising, so they’re more expensive to reach, so the shows reaching them have more expensive advertising and are therefore more valuable.

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Robert already posted about how a peek at the C+3 commercial ratings has confirmed that DVR viewing past what is captured in the Live+SD (Same Day) ratings shouldn’t effect the advertising revenue of individual shows, but here’s a look at C+3 ratings from an overall network perspective vs. last season.

In just-released C3 data (commercial ratings plus three days of DVR playback) for TV’s premiere week, Fox was up 16% higher in C3 ratings among 18-49 viewers versus the week ago, while CBS was 1.3% higher, per Nielsen Company data. ABC was off 13%, and CW was 18% lower, with NBC 19% below its first week of a year ago.

Even with the drop, ABC retained the top spot when it came to actual overall 18-49 viewers in C3, averaging 4.03 million in the first week. Fox was next at 3.93 million, followed by CBS at 3.79 million and NBC at 3.38 million. CW had 1.2 million 18-49 C3 viewers.

lots more where that came from at MediaDaily News.

While we constantly harp on the fact that it’s the adults 18-49 Live+SD program ratings that pay the bills at the broadcast networks, it’s really the C+3 adults 18-49 commercial ratings that pay the bills (although we, and the rest of the press rarely see them). For our purposes the Live+SD 18-49 program ratings provide a very close relative approximation of the C+3 commercial ratings and therefore the advertising potential for a show.

If you want to see how the broadcast program ratings are doing this season click here.

Update: If I understand the data posted directly by Nielsen, the DVR viewing actually does have a bigger revenue impact than I’d originally thought.  In the post below it seemed the C3 numbers were being compared to live program viewing and not live commercial viewing.  But it looks like I got that wrong, and it does change the way I think about the importance of DVR viewing, though not necessarily the Live+7 DVR viewing.

original post below:

Don’t read too much into these apples-to-pears comparisons where live PROGRAM ratings are compared to C3 COMMERCIAL ratings (live plus 3 days worth of DVR viewing).  When it comes to the Live+SD (same day DVR viewing) program ratings that are commonly reported, C3 numbers went DOWN, not up…

via Broadcasting & Cable:

Nielsen data for premiere week alone has three NFL games at the top of the C3 ratings list for the 18-49 year old demographic group. As expected with live sports none of them got much of a lift from the live number and the C3 number which measures the average rating of commercials in a given show with three days of playback added in.

The top show, Fox’s NFL Sunday Single was up two tenths of a rating point to 6.8. CBS NFL National scored the same, while NBC’s Sunday Night Football was up just a tenth of a point at 6.4.

When it comes to top entertainment programming Fox’s House rose more than a full rating point up to 6.3 from 5.2. ABC’s Grey’s the fifth biggest show on the C3 list for premiere week rose from a 5.1 live rating to a 6.1 rating on C3.

Those all sound well and good, but it’s not as good as you might believe.  Why?  Because  LIVE program viewing is rarely reported. That data isn’t used at all except in the context of DVR viewing.   And here’s what the above story didn’t tell you: based on the Live+SD program ratings that are commonly posted the  C3  commercial ratings WENT DOWN.  House from 6.7 to a 6.3 and  Grey’s from a 6.7 to a 6.1.

The good news is that DVR viewers are obviously watching some commercials — the bad news is there is no real benefit to the networks of adding in a couple of days worth of DVR viewing when comparing the commercial ratings to the live plus same day DVR program ratings.   The Live+SD program ratings appear to be a fairly good proxy of what the C3 ratings will look like.

I’m not usually big  on government regulation,  but I’m down with making it against the law to crank up the volume of commercials on television relative to the volume levels of the actual shows.   A new bill approved by The House Communications Subcommittee attempts to do just that.

Via Broadcasting & Cable with a hat tip to our friend Chris Albrecht at NewTeeVee:

Eshoo said the bill premise was simple: “To make the volume of commercials and programming uniform so that spikes in volume do not affect the consumer’s ability to control sound.” Eshoo said that ad volume spikes had “endangered hearing for decades.” She also said legislative spouses had been urging their husbands or wives to sign on as co-sponsors. “I think they are all tired of getting blasted out of their easy chairs or off their exercise equipment due to these ridiculously loud commercials.”

As reported by B&C, the bill was modified from the original form to give the broadcast and cable industry more time to implement the technology and to make an industry-backed engineering standard the rules for the road.

Of course, because it’s politics, it’s not as simple as “hey, cut that out!” and there are all kinds of details about the whens and hows of the bill, which still needs to get through congress before becoming a law.  For the details see John Eggerton’s full story on B&C.

via MediaWeek:

Boasting a murderers’ row of big-market clubs–along with the Yankees and a pair of Los Angeles-area contenders, no less than six of the playoff-bound MLB franchises represent top 10 DMAs–the promise of a deep run to the Fall Classic has Turner Sports practicing its home run trot. (Waiting on deck with its fingers crossed for a great World Series matchup
is Fox.)

Heading into its third year of October baseball, TBS has sold 75 percent of its avails, signing on a roster of clients that includes endemics Anheuser-Busch (official MLB partner) and JPMorgan Chase, returning sponsors BlackBerry and Captain Morgan, and rookie Hass Avocado.

more on MediaWeek.com

Thank goodness for Samsung.  All the advertising for the new LED TVs has accomplished at least two things.  1.) I want one!, 2.) it’s kept the drop in advertising spending on spots that pitch televisions from being as precipitous.  Since Samsung  has been such a good sport, let me give them a freebie.  My main TV for going on six years has been a Samsung, and I love it.   But ultimately I want be going with a new LED set until there are 60″ sets and the prices drop.  Either that or until Samsung sponsors our blog and as a part of the deal throws in LED TVs!

From AdvertisingAge:

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — If you think it’s a bad time to be in TV sales, try being in sales of TV sets.

With sales of TVs down more than 15% in the first quarter, marketers are largely sitting out the ad scene this year after several years of aggressive marketing and advertising. For the first six months of the year, media spending in the TV category fell $58.3 million, 27% lower than the same time period in 2008, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

And if hadn’t been for one aggressive spender, Samsung — which accounted for 40% ($23.8 million) of the total TV category in the first half, spending would have plunged 57%.

Full story on AdAge.com

via Advertising Age:

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Viewers of Sunday’s launch of the new season of “Desperate Housewives” may have noticed a little something extra during the proceedings. As the show broke away for a set of ads, viewers saw a brief sign announcing a segment titled “Another Desperate Housewife,” sponsored by Sprint.

During the short, which was crafted by “Desperate” staffers, romantic tension erupts among a married couple, with Sprint’s Palm Pre playing a central role in the proceedings. In the next seven weeks, viewers will see seven more vignettes featuring the couple, who find that Sprint products help them learn more about infidelity, betrayal and justice than they ever might have imagined.

much more on AdAge.com

Robert already commented on the group therapy session that is the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement*, the potential competitor to/ but not replacement of Nielsen for TV audience measurement. Now Nielsen says they’d like to be in on the group as well.

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