Australia’s TV market saw a near 5% fall in advertising revenues during calendar 2019, although the BVOD (broadcaster video on demand) segment grew strongly, by 39%, from a low base.
ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate said the figures reflected the state of the Australian economy and the impact of weaker consumer and business confidence.
The new report from the industry body covered the total TV advertising revenue figures for the 12 and six months to December 31, 2019 and includes metropolitan free-to-air, regional free-to-air, subscription TV and Broadcaster Video on Demand (BVOD).
While most TV sectors recorded drops in revenue, BVOD has remained positive. Growing consumption of content across BVOD platforms 7Plus, 9Now, 10 Play, Kayo and Foxtel Now, has resulted in a rapid revenue increase with BVOD up 42.8% for the six months to December 31, 2019.
For the 12 months to December 2019, the total TV market recorded A$3.86 billion in advertising revenue, down 4.8% compared to the 12 months to December 2018. For this period, BVOD saw an increase of 38.9%.
“This is an achievement all the more noteworthy given the challenging economic conditions the wider advertising landscape is currently grappling with,” added Portrate.
According to recent SMI (Standard Media Index) numbers, media agency bookings fell 5.3% to A$6.8 billion over the 12 months to December.
Analysts pointed to an “unexpectedly difficult” final quarter with bookings dropping 7.9% over the three months. The final month of the year saw ad spend down 6.9%, marking December as the 16th month in a row to see bookings fall.
In a bid to address the expected downturn in advertising spend, late last year, major media owners in Australia launched a combined campaign called “Advertise or Die” in a bid to encourage C-suite executives to put their dollars behind advertising.
Sourced from ThinkTV, Ad News
