The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is causing disruption to the TV ad revenue industry. A study in June, before the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA went on strike, conducted by ad sales intelligence company Media Radar, found that talk shows, soap operas and sitcoms, which make up 9% of the $26 billion in TV ads overall, saw a 5% drop in sales compared to the first half of 2022. Primetime programming saw an even larger drop of 15% from $13.1 billion in H1 2022 down to $11.2 billion in H1 2023.
TV talk shows were down 1% in ad spend. Soap operas however, saw an increase in ad spend, with a 17% YoY rise from $101.5 million in H1 2022 to $118.6 million in H1 2023. Sitcoms also saw an increase of 16%, earning $2.2 billion in H1 2023, up from $1.9 billion in H1 2022.
The WGA strike is having an impact on both traditional and digital channels, with digital ad spend making up roughly three-quarters of overall spend. CTV is, on average, 10% of digital, and rapidly climbing. Streaming services have provided access to reruns of old episodes, but new hits like Max’s recently concluded “Succession” are all on hold.
For the summer, TV ad revenue is at a standstill and the full impact of the WGA strike is yet to be seen. With ad slots often bought several months in advance, expect the full brunt of the WGA strike to hit this fall.
Originally reported by Martech: https://martech.org/tv-ad-revenue-challenged-by-writers-strike/
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