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 ---
