• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album Releases
    • Single Releases
    • Industry Events
  • EVENTS
  • OBITS
  • CHARTS
    • Radio Chart (Current)
    • Radio Chart (Archives)
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Songwriter Chart (Current)
    • Songwriter Chart (Archives)
  • REVIEWS
  • ROWFAX
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Newsletter (Current)
    • Newsletter (Archives)
  • SIGN UP
  • STORE
  • Search
  • Menu

Live TV Events Are A Hot Commodity

September 8, 2011/in Featured, Sales/Marketing, Weekend /by Sarah Skates

Country music’s growing popularity isn’t the only thing fueling an all-out bidding war for television broadcast rights to the CMA Awards. Live events, particularly awards shows and sporting events, offer ever-growing importance to networks and advertisers because they attract millions of viewers watching in real time.

In the face of audience fragmentation, expanding entertainment options, and DVR infiltration, the opportunity to reach viewers watching live television is highly sought after. One-third of US households have DVRs, which means that they can fast-forward through commercials during a previously recorded program, much to the dismay of advertisers.

There are several reasons that live events remain attractive. For starters, fans want to know what is going on as it happens, this is crucial in sports, and also applies to devoted music lovers. Secondly, it’s exciting to know that millions of other fans all over the country are watching along too. This shared love among fans ties to another key point, which is the social media conversation going on simultaneously during a live program, creating awareness and driving tune-ins. Online or in person, people want to chat about what they think is exciting, and they can’t participate in the morning-after gossip if they didn’t see the show the night before. What’s the point of watching the season finale of American Idol on DVR? You already know Scotty McCreery won.

The best example of the importance of live viewing is skyrocketing Super Bowl ratings which make for outrageous ad prices. In 2011, the game was the most-watched telecast in U.S. history, attracting 111 million viewers (Nielsen). Getting a 30-second ad in front of that many consumers cost $3 million bucks.

Currently, the NFL is renegotiating the broadcast rights to its games, which averaged about 18 million viewers each last season. According to today’s Los Angeles Times, “The networks combined pay about $3.1 billion a year for the rights to the 16-game season, up 35% from their last deal. Although the NFL’s contracts with CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN still have two years to run, the league would like to have new deals wrapped up by the end of this season, in February. The three broadcast networks could end up joining ESPN in paying 10-digit dollar figures per season in their next contracts.”

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Sarah Skates
Sarah Skates has been a writer and editor in the music business since 2004. She is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.
Latest posts by Sarah Skates (see all)
  • Sony’s Beyond The Instrument Initiative Benefits Music Education - March 8, 2021
  • Weekly Register: ‘Dangerous’ Joins Elite List Of Record-Breaking Albums - March 8, 2021
  • Morris Higham / SB Projects Sign Alana Springsteen - March 8, 2021
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png 0 0 Sarah Skates https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png Sarah Skates2011-09-08 14:41:372011-09-08 14:41:37Live TV Events Are A Hot Commodity

RECENT NEWS

  • Corey Crowder Breaks Into Top Five On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart March 8, 2021
  • Kobalt Music Signs Admin Deal With Claire Guerreso March 8, 2021
  • Sony’s Beyond The Instrument Initiative Benefits Music Education March 8, 2021
  • Tim McGraw To Headline Virtual Heart Strings For Hope Benefit March 8, 2021
  • Big Yellow Dog Music Promotes Two In Label Services Department March 8, 2021
  • Weekly Register: ‘Dangerous’ Joins Elite List Of Record-Breaking Albums March 8, 2021
  • Guy Clark Documentary Offers Virtual Screening Opportunities March 8, 2021
  • Tauren Wells To Release ‘Citizen Of Heaven (Live)’ March 8, 2021
  • Details: Lambert’s Casa Rosa To Bring Taste Of Texas To Tennessee March 8, 2021
  • Morris Higham / SB Projects Sign Alana Springsteen March 8, 2021
  • Creative Nation Taps Emily Furman As Sr. Director, Creative March 8, 2021
  • Music Benefactors Launches With First Artist Partnership March 5, 2021
  • Lonestar Welcomes Drew Womack As Lead Singer March 5, 2021
  • Graham Sharp Paints a ‘Truer Picture’ On Solo Debut March 5, 2021
  • Justin Moore, Tracy Lawrence Set For Salute 2 Frontline Workers March 5, 2021

Like Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2021 Music Row Enterprises, LLC – All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Scroll to top