How the Coronavirus Is Disrupting the Advertising Industry – Adweek: Early indications are that overall ad spending could take at least a temporary hit, but TV could actually benefit from people staying home, tuning in to news and streaming programming.
Publicis Groupe’s Zenith said this week it would lower its December prediction of a 4.3% rise in global ad spending this year due to the coronavirus, according to The Wall Street Journal. Also this week, New York Times CEO Mark Thompson said the Times “is seeing a slowdown in international and domestic advertising bookings, which we associate with uncertainty and anxiety about the virus,” and that the publisher now expects first-quarter digital advertising revenue to drop 10%.
Meanwhile, the consensus from TV ad-sales professionals Adweek contacted was a combination of optimism—fueled by a belief that a ratings increase between the 2020 elections and coronavirus coverage should translate to an increase in ad revenue—and “it’s too early to tell.”
On the strength of the 2020 election cycle and the Summer Olympics, U.S. linear and digital ad revenue had been projected to grow 6.6% this year, to approximately $238 billion, according to Magna’s most recent global ad forecast.
And while coronavirus concerns have already upended some early upfront events, buyers and TV ad-sales execs tell Adweek it hasn’t yet affected any business in the scatter market, which has been robust this TV season, aside from the travel category scaling back its buys.
Publicis Groupe’s Zenith said this week it would lower its December prediction of a 4.3% rise in global ad spending this year due to the coronavirus, according to The Wall Street Journal. Also this week, New York Times CEO Mark Thompson said the Times “is seeing a slowdown in international and domestic advertising bookings, which we associate with uncertainty and anxiety about the virus,” and that the publisher now expects first-quarter digital advertising revenue to drop 10%.
Meanwhile, the consensus from TV ad-sales professionals Adweek contacted was a combination of optimism—fueled by a belief that a ratings increase between the 2020 elections and coronavirus coverage should translate to an increase in ad revenue—and “it’s too early to tell.”
On the strength of the 2020 election cycle and the Summer Olympics, U.S. linear and digital ad revenue had been projected to grow 6.6% this year, to approximately $238 billion, according to Magna’s most recent global ad forecast.
And while coronavirus concerns have already upended some early upfront events, buyers and TV ad-sales execs tell Adweek it hasn’t yet affected any business in the scatter market, which has been robust this TV season, aside from the travel category scaling back its buys.