• 98% of the US households have at least on TV
  
• On average, Americans watch about 18 hours of television per week
  
• Some television programs can reach large mass audiences with a single exposure
  
• Pictures, sound and motion grab attention and create
  
• Cable TV has experienced a growth spurt and averages 80% penetration
  

• Cable is usually cheaper than network television
  
• Cable can subdivide its audience
  
• Cable viewership usually increases in the summer months
  

• Is sold in standard :30 units
  
• Logo promo tie-ins/sponsorships are available
  

Buying Tips

• Concentrate on the demographics desired and plan accordingly. Allocate roughly ½ of your TV budget to network TV buying and ½ to cable and independent networks.
  
• Take into account your heaviest seasons and begin your TV flight approximately 2 to 4 weeks prior to the beginning of your peak.
  
• Early morning news, evening news and primetime programming are recommended for network advertising. Cable programming on the following stations such as CNN, Weather Channel, A&E, TLC, HGTV, Discovery, and Lifetime perform well on a national average. Independent stations offer syndicated programs that perform well as reruns. These are usually programs such as Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, etc. that air against local news on the network affiliates.
  
• Varying commercial costs and market sizes make it difficult to evaluate a media plan by GRP alone. A good working base is to establish 100 to 150 GRPs per week of your flight.
  
• Given a fixed budget, you must decide whether to emphasize reach or frequency.
  
• Some local cable companies cannot offer rating points on their local programming - they should not immediately be discredited because of this.
  

Strategies for buying local Cable

• Place the majority of your budget in channels offering a particular programming format that draw the desired demographic
  

Strategies for buying local Network

• Obtain the preemption rate
  
• Invest a portion of your budget in special features
  
• Run of Schedule (ROS) rates
  
• Package Rates
  

• TV stations quote rates as gross
  
• When calculating a net number to obtain a gross number - multiply by 16.875%
  
• When calculating gross to net - multiply by 15%