Air Time Academy

How Much Does Air Time Actually Cost?

They say that 50% of all advertising dollars are wasted, but nobody knows which half.  
We'll tell you which half, so you don't have to waste money ever again.

| AIR TIME BUDGETING EXAMPLES (CHART) |
| TV Air Time - How the Experts Buy It |
| SAVE MONEY on Air Time -- AVOID THESE COMMON MISTAKES... |

| The Secret to Surviving Slow Economic Times is... |

"Advertising offers exposure. Exposure creates awareness. Awareness inspires action."

Television is the awareness medium. TV, like any advertising, works through REPETITION. When you repeat your message to your customer, they become familiar with you. They start to understand and remember your product and your offer. When they're familiar with you, they will be comfortable buying your products or services.

How Much Does Air Time Cost? (How Much Should I Spend on Air Time?)

Question: What are the rates for air time? How much does a TV ad spot cost? How many spots can I buy, and when will they air?

Answer: Air time costs can vary wildly. Wildly! Each channel has different rates for every time of day, and every day of the week. A cable TV system or satellite TV system has multiple prices for each and every channel. Each local region has its own rate for its own local airings.

That's why the question shouldn't be "how much does air time cost?" but "how can I find air time that will be both effective and affordable?"

That's where Cheap TV Spots® comes in. We believe there's a right place and right price for any advertiser. We can work with the budget you have, make recommendations, and find the right air time buy to suit both your budget and your marketing needs.

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We Don't Supply a "Rate Chart" - here's why:

• Every network, day part and show is different, with different rates for each.
• The rates change often, and are controlled by the hundreds of networks and TV stations, themselves.
• There simply is no universal TV airtime rate chart. Air time must be negotiated for each buy.

The Networks set their own rates, which change on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. There are hundreds of TV networks in each of the hundreds of markets across the USA. Each of those networks has different rates depending on the time of day and show. That's why we don't have a "rate chart." It would be just way too much information, and you have better things to do than sort through it.

EWWW!!! - STALE RATES!!!  If you find a chart of air time rates posted on the web, be very afraid. If you are buying air time via an online form, and you're choosing from a chart of airings by price, be very afraid. These rates may give an exact price for airing on a particular network or show, but since rates change often, yesterday's bargain may be today's high-priced and hard-to-get airing. Often, the airings are not even available at the quoted rate - and you find out after you've failed to get on the air.

We offer you airings on real cable networks like CNN, MTV, ESPN, all your favorites and many more, and on major broadcast stations (like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, etc.). We won't stick you on low-power stations and obscure cable networks that nobody watches (unless you insist). We WILL make your advertising dollar go farther and work harder for you. You'll need the know-how of a media expert who can find you a real air time bargain. Let Cheap TV Spots® get you on the air -- on the right networks, for the right price.

Want the Current Rate for a Specific Network or Location?

If you need exact rates for a particular market, network, or show, try our friends at the TVAdRateStore.com. You can order an actual schedule, or just get rate information for a network, daypart or show. We'll honor those rates when we place your air time buy.

Maybe you're just trying to decide if TV will be affordable for you. YES, TV CAN BE AFFORDABLE, even on a start-up budget. We've worked with budgets big and small.

Just ask yourself:

• What is affordable for your business?
• What are your marketing goals?
• What type of business do you have?

NOTE: THE AMOUNTS BELOW ARE ONLY EXAMPLES.  This is NOT a "price list" or "rate quote."  This chart is for budgeting purposes only and should not be considered exact prices. These are examples of what other advertisers in your business sector are spending, so you can budget for your own campaign.

The table below shows the minimum you should typically spend per month for a 2-3 month, budget-savvy campaign. Your actual advertising expenditure will vary by location and goals.

For faster results, make a larger air time buy.

TV Air Time - How the Experts Buy It

air time prices - air time rates

If you have been searching on the web for prices so you can budget for your media buy, you probably haven't found much useful information. There's a reason.

Air time has to be tailored to your needs. How much you spend on your TV campaign depends on:

1.) Your business's gross monthly income (or your expected gross). Plan to spend at least 5-15% of your gross income on advertising.

IF YOUR GROSS MONTHLY INCOME IS $50,000 THEN YOUR ADVERTISING BUDGET SHOULD BE AT LEAST $2500 to $7500.

2.) How large an area you need to cover. Could be an area as big as the entire US, or as small as your neighborhood.

INTERNET BUSINESSES, MULTI-STATE COMPANIES, ETC., SHOULD MARKET NATIONWIDE. SMALL RETAILERS, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, ETC. TYPICALLY ADVERTISE ON NETWORKS THAT CAN BE VIEWED BY RESIDENTS CLOSE TO THEIR STORE OR OFFICE.

3.) The kind of person you want to reach. Some customers are highly sought after, and this drives up the prices on the networks where those coveted customers are watching. This is the trickiest part of the media buy to manage -- and it's where we can help you most!

STATISTICALLY, THE WOMEN OF THE FAMILY ARE IN CHARGE OF 80% OF HOUSEHOLD PURCHASES. THAT MAKES WOMEN AGED 25-45 A HIGH VALUE DEMOGRAPHIC.  NETWORKS PRICE THEIR AD TIMES ACCORDING TO WHO'S WATCHING.

Air time rates depend on:

• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - where you go on the air (a city, a region, the entire U.S.?)
• TIME OF DAY- from a fixed prime time slot (the most expensive) to overnight airing (the cheapest)
• NETWORK OR SHOW- the most popular ones, as determined by Nielsen Ratings and other ratings systems, usually cost the most
• AUDIENCE - income level, interests, age, sex, race
• AVAILABILITY - whether there are open time slots available. Fewer openings mean higher rates!
  

Air Time Prices Change Often - Using massive computers, the networks calculate and recalculate their air time prices often, depending on the ever-changing popularity of shows and channels. Even they do not know their prices, off hand -- they use computer databases to track their hundreds of times and shows, assigning prices that change with supply and demand, and whatever they feel they can get away with.

As your air time placement agency, we sift through the hundreds upon thousands of possibilities, match them to your product, message, and potential customers, and come up with the ideal strategic plan for your air time, tempered with the requirements of your budget.

We have researched our competitors in the low cost TV commercial production area, looking carefully at what they offer for their rates. We did find a few who charge less. Listen, if they're offering production cheaper than our bargain rates, they do not produce an effective ad. IT'S NO BARGAIN!! Your commercial would look like junk -- and make your product look like junk, too.

How to Save Money on Air Time

You have two basic choices for scheduling your air time:

* do it yourself,

* or hire an agency.

It's up to you, as the advertiser. After all, it's your money.  

Don't make these common mistakes. First, ask yourself: am I choosing my air time based on any of these assumptions:

"I want my ad to air on my favorite network (show)."

"My customer is 'everybody'."

"I heard that agencies cost a lot of money, and that's why
I'm going it alone."

"I just want the very cheapest spots, and it doesn't really
matter when or where they actually go on the air."

"I have a limited budget, so I want to buy just one airing
on a really popular show."

Think again.

The Right Words in the Right Ear at the Right Time (OR: Choosing TV Air Time Is an Art Form) - The medium really IS the message. Where and when your TV spot is shown is just as important as what your commercial says. Too often, advertisers waste valuable ad dollars by choosing networks and times based on too little information, by picking sentimental favorites, or by buying based on sheer price, without thinking about who will see their TV spots. Even a carefully crafted commercial intended for Medicare recipients will probably not bring in business if it winds up on, say, a teen-oriented music channel.

We're Cheap, not Sloppy: Blasting spots here, there, and everywhere is NOT what we do. We map out your air time plan as carefully as we craft your TV commercial message.

Rates...depends on who's asking! Each broadcast network, cable, or satellite system offers different rates depending on who is buying. (Do they purchase a large volume of air time, are they ready to buy right now for cash, do they have a good track record of on-time payment, etc.?) Essentially, the price depends on who's asking. Only an advertising and air time placement agency like Cheap TV Spots, who has cultivated a good relationship with the broadcast networks and cable/satellite systems (they remember us for our efficiency, high volume of business, and because we always pay our bills), can navigate the air time buying maze and get you priority placement at a good rate.

How we're paid: We receive a small commission from some of the broadcast networks and cable/satellite systems for placing air time with them. A fee (usually 5% to 15%) is included in the price of each airing. This fee is for the time and effort of marketing and arranging for the air dates, and frankly, it helps us defray production costs for your high quality, low cost TV spot, allowing us to go the extra mile for your message. We are frequent buyers of air time, so we receive the generous discounts available to us as a full-service TV advertising agency, and we pass along 100% of this discount to our clients. Air time really does cost less when you buy through Cheap TV Spots.

The complexity of air time pricing, plus our aggressive stance toward finding the best times, networks, and programs for your message (and your budget), are why we encourage you to let us place your air time.

What Kind of Business Are You? Read On:

Start-up Businesses - You need new customers to survive. You'll need to do more marketing than an older, established business, which has previous customers, general visibility, and trust in the community. Remember, you're trying to make your mark!

Established Businesses - Well-established businesses that rely on repeat business from existing customers can spend less than a business that needs new customers to survive, such as a start-up, or a business that offers products or services that are typically a one-time purchase.

Heavy Competition - No matter what business you're in, you'll need to spend as much as other businesses like yours are spending. You may even need to spend more, if there is lots of competition. Restaurants, for example, need to spend more than other single-location businesses because of the highly competitive restaurant industry.

Low Margins - If you have a small profit margin and rely on high sales volume, you need to spend more on marketing than a business that gains a high profit margin from a small number of sales. Why? You need to attract more individual customers. This is especially true in competitive business sectors where price is the main selling point.  Why do you think car dealers advertise so much?

NOW LET'S LOOK AT YOUR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING BUDGET

If you're like many small or start-up businesses, you may not have a clear picture of your marketing and advertising budget. Think of your marketing budget as a percentage of total revenues. Very generally speaking, in an "up" market, when business is booming, an average business can expect to spend 5% of revenues on marketing. In a "flat," or "down" market, when business is slow, expect to spend 10-25% of revenues.

Let's look at a really cheap TV ad campaign. Ms. Smith, owner of an auto body repair shop that is not part of a chain and has only one location, wishes to promote her services within her county, especially within just a few miles of the shop. She has already purchased a Cheap TV Spot, so she is ready to go on the air. Cheap TV Spots jumps in to locate cable networks in her area that give her the best air time bargain (greatest target audience for the lowest cost). Ms. Smith's sales are around $12,000/month. Since she knows there's lots of competition, she decides to budget $1,200 (10%) per month for advertising, which she puts into television airings. This amount is enough to place a minimal schedule which, over the course of several months, will provide Ms. Smith with plenty of positive exposure for her advertising message.

Ultimately, you get what you pay for (just ask Pepsi® and Pizza Hut®). If you already know where your audience will be watching, a single airing on a highly rated network during a popular TV program such as the Superbowl® (again, based on Neilsen and other ratings systems) can provide more - and more effective - exposure than a large number of un-targeted spots scattered randomly among various networks and times.

Additionally, by selecting the network and TV program carefully, based on your target demographic and your message, your commercial is seen by the people most likely to buy from you, at a time when they are most receptive to your message. This is why companies like Pepsi and Pizza Hut pay millions to air their commercials during the Superbowl.

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