The future of TV – more reality shows, much more product placement
Posted on 06. Jun, 2007 by Jonathan Cherry in Branding
Although reality shows are supposedly unscripted, the products which just so happen to be lying around during the filming have all been stratigically placed, carefully light and cost their makers big budgets to be in the limelight.
This is clearly the future of TV advertising after the invention of the Tivo and PVR….and if you don’t like it, it’s probably going to be worse.
The amount of "branded entertainment" featured on prime-time network
television grew 89% year over year, according to a first-quarter report
released on Tuesday by TNS Media Intelligence. Six minutes and 22
seconds of the average prime-time hour are devoted to in-show brand
appearances, the report says.Pushing products during a show remains significantly more popular on
unscripted or reality TV, where branded entertainment makes up 10
minutes and 50 seconds of an average hour, compared with just four
minutes and 26 seconds during scripted programming. It grows even more
pronounced later in the night, where 12 minutes and 32 seconds of the
average late-night hour are dedicated to branded messages.
So when contestants in the Amazing Race drive around Germany in a Mercedes Benz, it’s no fluke.
Does this however mean, that because the business model has changed, television networks will now generate their revenue from the studios that produce the TV shows instead of the selling of media space?
