The Simpsons, viewed by many as an American institution, are currently celebrating their 20th year on TV..with an interesting twist.
It has recently become more expensive for advertisers to run their ads during the popular animated show on Hulu, than on TV. 30 second TV ads run at a rates between $20 and $40 per 1000 viewers, while the Hulu ads cost $60 at the same rate of impressions.
While this day may have been inevitable, with the emergence of websites such as Hulu and major networks putting their own content online, it still has an odd feeling to it. It raises the question “what about TV?” and the traditional 30 second spot advertisements?
For the time being, the 30 second spot isn’t going anywhere. Hulu only shows 37 seconds of ads during its shows, while half hour TV segments include 9 minutes worth of ads. This distribution shows the majority of advertising money is still spent largely on the traditional TV ads, but this shift towards online may be a growing trend.
One ad offering for online TV is a sponsorship of a specific episode, such as Sprint’s for this episode of NBC’s The Office. The company, or brand, sponsoring the episode has an outstanding opportunity to create a unique experience for the viewer. The most common approach has been a combination of a “skin” for the webpage and short video clip (or commercial). The spot is then ran 4 times during the online viewing, and a “brought to you by” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen throughout. It’s a golden opportunity for marketers to reach their target in an environment they willingly enter, by choosing to watch the episodes online.
Moving forward, do you believe more TV shows will become more expensive to advertise with online than during the actual TV programming? Do you watch TV shows online? Have you seen any online TV ads that you liked?
