Monday, May 18, 2009

Movies on Cable - A Good Fit

When considering cable as a possible medium for your campaign, think about your audience and what is being watched. Be aware of what films have generated big box office success and what following they generate; it may be a helpful tool in navigating which cable networks to pursue.

Cable networks are already in bidding wars to solidify the rights to 2009 summer’s biggest movie blockbusters. The three major cable movie buyers are considered to be Turner, USA, and FX. It was confirmed Monday that FX has received a standard four-year movie license for “Star Trek,” which means that FX could pay Paramount about $24 million for the deal. “Star Trek” is slated to appear on FX in time for the 2011 holiday season.

FX has acquired other blockbusters from this season to appear on the network. Some include “Monsters vs. Aliens” and “Wolverine.” The network also has the rights to “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” which has been speculated to be a blockbuster.

Earlier this year, FX secured the rights to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Cloverfield” and “Tropic Thunder.”

Friday, May 15, 2009

New PPM Currency Arbitron Markets Launching Soon

On July 16, the following markets are scheduled to convert from Diary to PPM estimates as the buy-sell currency: Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle-Tacoma.

Although PPM pre-currency data are available for this market, Diary data remain the ratings currency until July 16. Buyers and sellers of radio advertising must base their transactions on Winter 2009 or earlier Diary data until July 16.

Currently, PPM Currency data is available in the following markets (Per the Spring 2009 Book): Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston-Galveston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, Middlesex-Somerset-Union, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Diego, San Fransico, San Jose, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, DC

Thursday, May 14, 2009

17 New Markets Added to Scarborough Research

An expansion in it’s mid-tier local market service was announced by Scarborough Research today. With the addition of 17 new markets, Scarborough (a joint venture between Nielsen and Arbitron) will now be providing custom local market qualitative studies in 36 mid-tier markets. Some of the new markets include Bryan-College Station, TX; Charleston, SC; Joplin-Pittsburg, MO; Lincoln, NE; Peoria, IL; Youngstown, OH.

Included in this data will be retail patterns, lifestyles, demographics, and multimedia usage. Scarborough will begin to release the first data to clients next month.

Senior Director of Custom Research Kim Main stated, “In a down economy, local market research becomes even more critical. It can help marketers and media professionals fine-tune their strategies and better focus efforts in order to realize greater efficiencies for their marketing and advertising programs.”