BELLEVUE, Wash.—Despite ongoing worries about an economic slowdown or recession in the U.S., the TV measurement firm iSpot.tv has released a new survey that shows relatively bullish sentiment going into the 2023 TV Upfronts.
Based on a survey of more than 500 advertising professionals across TV’s top advertising sectors to determine how ad-buying plans will change this year, the study found that 78% of those surveyed still expected overall marketing budgets to increase or remain the same in 2023. In addition, nearly three in four (74%) of respondents expected to spend much more, a bit more or the same as last year during the 2023 TV upfronts.
After three consecutive years of increasing flexibility amid pandemic-related lockdowns, show delays and sports cancellations, some of those dynamics may simply be reverting back to pre-2020 norms, the researchers explained.
iSpot’s survey found that 61% of respondents expect 2023 upfront commitments to be similar or less flexible than previous years.
In terms of budgets, streaming remains a major focus for advertisers. Of those surveyed, 30% indicated at least one-fifth of their upfront budget will be allocated toward digital streaming platforms in 2023. Hulu had the highest percentage of any streaming service, noted by 74% of those that intend to spend on streaming. YouTube was second at 48%, followed by Peacock (46%) and Roku (45%).
The transition to more streaming ad buys requires modern currencies, and industry professionals are eager to embrace them. iSpot found that 69% of survey respondents indicated they were very interested or somewhat interested in transacting on non-Nielsen currencies at this year’s upfronts, the study reported.
