Media inflation watch highlights pressure points

Inflation Watch, a service of IBIS Media Data, has released its figures for the first six months of 2010 for advertising agencies and media owners. The figures yield a multitude of individual trends and pressure points, with highlights for the six months against the same period in 2009.

28 Sep 2010

Highlights

Overall TV rates (43% of the index) are +9.8%, performance is +8.2% and MIW Index, roughly the cost per thousand (CPM) audience is +10.8%. The anomaly of increased TV performance combined with increased cost per thousand audience is explained by looking at free to air vs. paid TV. Free to air (SABC and e.tv) rates are +8.7%, performance is -12.4% yielding an uncomfortably high MIW Index of +21.3%. But paid (larger stations in the DStv bouquet) TV rates are +12.4% combined with a massive increase in performance of +59.5%. Thus a weighted average CPM audience of -23.2%.

Rates for print categories are +7.1% over 2009 Jan-Jun but weighted circulation is -3.5% providing a cost per thousand circulation of +11.9%. Weeklies' cost per thousand circulation is the highest in this category at +15.4%, dailies come in at +14.3%, consumer magazines at +10.6%, B2B at +8.2% and community newspapers at a low +4.3%.

Radio's rates are relatively modest at +10.5%. The category's performance slide continues leading to a hike in cost per thousand audience of +21.3%, way ahead of the All Media average of +12%. There are however pockets of real strength.

Out-of-Home has entered 2010 at a virtual standstill - rates up by a minimal +1.1%.

Cinema looks better than it has done for some time: rates +7.7%, performance +5.3% providing a low cost per thousand audience of +2.3%.

In 2010 Jan-Jun, All Media rates are +8.4% on the same period of 2009. Overall performance is +1.3%. Yet the MIW Index, the weighted cost per thousand of audiences/circulation, is +12.0%. The performance and cost per thousand figures have been skewed dramatically by Pay TV's good showing. The figures with this sector factored out give a very different picture of rates +7.9%, performance -6.9% and the key MIW index a massive +17.0%.