The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) continues to claim that the sky is falling and that advertisers should be aware that more Americans than ever are getting their TV from sources other than traditional wired cable. Looking at it from the other side of the coin, however, the majority of Americans by far still use cable to get their TV.
Anyway, according to the latest data compiled by Nielsen Media Research and broken down by TVB, "ADS (Alternate Delivery System) penetration broke through the 30 percent milestone for the first time last month, reaching 30.3 percent of television households" which is an "all-time high that is up from 28.6 percent in May 2009."
On the reverse side, wired cable penetration fell to 61.1 percent of television households from 62.3 percent a year ago, the research showed.
"Advertisers who buy cable locally need to know that local wired cable systems' ability to deliver commercials continues to erode," said Susan Cuccinello, senior VP-research at TVB, in a corporate news release. "Local cable commercials are not seen in ADS homes."
There is a question, however, how much this matters since DirecTV--most definitely not a cable provider--has cut a deal to show local advertising to its satellite subscribers, proving that one loophole opens as another closes.
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TV ad bureau: local cable penetration falling