Advertisers looking to replace the reach lost due to pay TV’s steadily decreasing subscribers and household penetration should consider moving more of their budgets to network radio, according to an analysis of current trends and sample media plans in Westwood One’s weekly blog.
“It is getting harder to build national media plans with sufficient levels of reach,” Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard says. “One of the key reasons is the alarming drop in cable TV penetration. Many media plans need cable TV for all of the impressions and the reach it can generate on a national level, but the news has not been good in the world of pay TV penetration.”
The blog cites figures from media analyst firm MoffettNathanson’s quarterly “Cord-Cutting Monitor” report showing that cable subscriptions, which trended down just 2-3% in 2015-16, hit a 10% quarterly reduction rate by Q3 2022. Meanwhile, cable’s U.S. household penetration, which peaked at 88.9% in 2009, has fallen to 48.4%, a 35-year low. The result, based on MoffettNathanson’s estimates, is that there are currently 55 million homes outside the cable network ecosystem, and that half of American homes will not see traditional cable network ads. “This is an unprecedented erosion with no end in sight,” notes Bouvard.
