Nightly News Revenue | Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ)

March 13, 2006

In our report last year, an analysis of partial-year data suggested that the 2003 increase in advertising revenue for the Big Three evening news broadcasts would reverse. With complete figures for January 2004 to December 2004 that was true for only two of the three. Advertising revenues for NBC’s “Nightly News” and CBS’s “Evening News” declined. “World News Tonight” on ABC continued the rebound it started in 2002 and, once again, assumed a No. 2 position in advertising revenue totals among the three programs. The revenue totals are much closer to one another than the audience sizes and, in contrast to other news programming, invite more direct economic comparisons between networks.1

In 2004, the last year for which we have complete data, figures from the research firm TNS Media Intelligence show that NBC maintained its No. 1 position, earning some $155 million during the calendar year. That was a decrease of 4% from the year before. ABC evening-news ad revenue was up 1% to $151 million. CBS, which had been steadily increasing its advertising revenue since 2001, stumbled in calendar year 2004, declining 4% to $149 million. But that only brought revenue back to roughly where it was in 2002.

An examination of TNS data through August 2005 gives an admittedly rough idea of what took place with advertising revenue over the whole calendar year. And the hint is that NBC may have fallen into third place for ad revenue, even while retaining first place in audience size. According to TNS, CBS and ABC were about equal with some $113 million. That would project to roughly $169 million by year’s end. NBC’s evening newscast had fallen behind its competitors with $110 million, which would project to $165 million. Why would the No. 1 audience show be in last place for advertising revenue?

Part of the answer probably has to do with the fact, discussed in earlier years, that so much network advertising today is bundled across more than one program and even one platform. An advertiser might be sold time on the nightly news along with other NBC or even MSNBC programs. Thus, untangling how revenues are allocated across shows can be difficult. The data are the best available, but they should be taken for what they are, especially the projections for 2005.

Added to that, ad bundling may tie NBC News’s fortunes somewhat more to the larger picture for NBC TV, which has lost its prime-time leadership to CBS and ABC, dragging down its advertising revenues.2

Over the six calendar years between 1999 and 2004, ad revenues for NBC’s “Nightly News” had dropped 14%, based on the TNS data. ABC’s “World News Tonight” advertising revenue dropped 5%, while those for CBS’s “Evening News” climbed 8% (though still remaining on the bottom of the stack). None of those declines or increases took place in a direct fashion. The trend lines, like so many when discussing statistical data for the Big Three network news programs, are rocky and tend to move in cycles. Over all, though, in ad revenues at least, CBS tends to be on the biggest upswing and NBC on the biggest downturn.