Total advertising spend on TV in 2019 was the highest it’s been since TAM Ireland started reporting on actual TV Commercial Revenue. 2019 saw revenue of €249,708,684 demonstrating an increase of almost 1% against a backdrop of decreased spends across non digital media.
The growth in TV advertising spend, means that TV has held it share of total adspend in the Irish market at just over 23% – an impressive result in the face of strong competition from digital media companies.
Compiled by Guardian Management Accounting on behalf of TAM Ireland, these figures include spot, sponsorship, product placement, AFP and Broadcaster VOD revenue.
The figures are reflective of 2019 revenue. Looking at 2020, while the world takes on the challenge of dealing with the health and economic implications of COVID-19, TV viewership in Ireland continues to perform exceptionally well – April viewing for all Adults is up 12% year on year. Much of this viewing is driven by the trust people have in the medium of TV- An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s broadcast on RTE One and Virgin Media One (17th March @21.00) was the biggest TV event of the last ten years with a combined average audience of 1,828,900.
TAM Ireland data also shows that the average Irish adult watched 3 hours and 16 minutes of TV every day in April with 84% of this viewing to live (as broadcast) TV and 16% of viewing time-shifted. (April 2020 Avg. mins viewed).
TV remains the medium of choice for brand-building, accounting for one third of the media spend of Ireland’s top 20 advertisers.
Commenting on the performance, Jill McGrath, CEO TAM Ireland, said:
“The increased advertising spend on TV in 2019 demonstrates the power, robustness and agility of this medium throughout a continuously morphing media landscape. The current situation we are in with the COVID 19 pandemic demonstrates the value of TV as a trusted source of News and Information. Television is continuing to deliver on the key pillars of transparency and scale and its proven ability to build brands through mass reach and emotional connection is widely recognised.”