Turner Sports President Levy Wants To Shrink Broadcast Ad Rates

Levy Says Advertisers Who Buy Broadcast TV Pay Too Much

Turner Sports President David Levy is "lobbying media buyers to join him in calling for a repeal of what he calls 'TV's legacy tax,' shorthand for the pricey cost-per-thousand rates that broadcasters command even as their audience delivery shrinks," according to Anthony Crupi of MEDIAWEEK. Levy is "prepping a campaign to eliminate the breach that separates the broadcast and cable upfront markets, and in so doing, narrow the CPM gap." Levy: "Advertisers who buy broadcast TV have been paying too much for too long. The networks keep getting rewarded for how well they did 5, 10 years ago, and that doesn't hold water anymore. Smart agencies already realize this." Levy is "tilting against the disparity between broadcast's ratings share and the amount of ad revenue the nets command" in primetime. Nielsen data indicated that season-to-date broadcast accounts for "just 40[%] of primetime viewership and yet the nets have cornered 69[%] of the ad dollars." Among adults 18-49, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox "are down 7[%] through March 22, while ad-supported cable has grown 4[%]" (MEDIAWEEK.com, 4/13).