Day 045 - 03 Nov 94 - Page 66


     
     1        time.  That is when the three networks and other cable and
     2        syndicated features for prime time are put on the air.
     3        Sports would be football games, basketball games and other
     4        sports programming that would usually be on a Saturday
     5        afternoon or a Sunday afternoon, which is when most of the
     6        broadcasts of sports activities happens in the United
     7        States.
     8
     9   Q.   Is that, kind of, the best spot to have on television?
    10        A.  No, I would say the prime time is probably the best
    11        spot.
    12
    13   Q.   Yes, that is what I meant.  The prime time and the sports
    14        would be the -----
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Hence its name?
    17        A.  Yes.
    18
    19   MS. STEEL:  Yes.  Does that mean as well that would be the most
    20        expensive time to advertise?
    21        A.  That is the only time that you can really -- I mean,
    22        that is the basic time that the networks offer for reaching
    23        a broad majority or a broad target, yes.
    24
    25   Q.   So that would be the most expensive?
    26        A.  Yes, prime time is the most expensive time on
    27        television other than, maybe, specials.  In general.
    28
    29   Q.   Is it much more expensive than other times?
    30        A.  Well, maybe this will help to explain from some of our
    31        other conversation:  You are not paying really for the time
    32        period, you are paying for the number of viewers that are
    33        watching and, in general, the price of a commercial varies
    34        by the number of people who are watching it.
    35
    36        For example, if I was to put a commercial on the air at
    37        2 o'clock in the morning and put a commercial on the air at
    38        9 o'clock at night, it would not cost me the same thing.
    39        It would vary on how many people are watching the
    40        commercial.  So, the reason that the commercial is more
    41        expensive in prime time is that is when the majority of
    42        people are actually watching.  That goes back to what I was
    43        referring to the other day as a rating point within that
    44        context.
    45
    46   MR. MORRIS:  Is it sheer numbers or is it percentage of the
    47        target audience?
    48        A.  It is both sheer numbers and percentage.  Sometimes you
    49        can buy on what is called a household rating, which is all
    50        households in the United States, how many of those 
    51        households are watching.  Then sometime you will buy a 18 
    52        to 34 or 18 to 49.  So, you just take that population or 
    53        that age group and the number of people that are watching
    54        within that age group.  So, it depends on what target you
    55        are trying to reach as to how you would look at the cost.
    56
    57   MS. STEEL:  Have you any idea of, say, how much a 30 second
    58        commercial would cost to show during prime time?
    59        A.  Well, in general, and I have to go by today's standards
    60        because ---

Prev Next Index