Nielsen report: Local spot TV advertising is on the upswing as states begin to reopen

Looks at trends in local spot TV advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, by examining changes in the number of ad units by category and in individual markets.
  • Spot ad units thus far in 2020 reached a high of more than 1.8 million in early March, right before COVID-19 shutdowns began to roll out across the country, reaching a low of 1.56 million one month later.
  • Ad categories during the pandemic can be categorized into three buckets: reduced (gyms, salons, restaurants); resilient (direct response, engineering and government) and rebound (retail, automotive, communications and public utilities, hotels/resorts.
  • Even in an election year, and as primary elections continued throughout the spring, political campaign advertising across local TV dropped notably between late February and late March.
  • Ad units for retail stores,...

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