Local TV to Grow Online Biz by 25 Precent in 2009, Gordon Borrell
Online video accounts for only a small portion of Internet revenue for local broadcasters, but the long-form infomercial business for their sites should grow three to four times this year, the CEO of local media research firm Borrell Associates told Beet.TV at the OMMA Video conference June 16 in New York.
“Health is the largest category and we also see automotive and travel picking up as well,” Gordon Borrell said.
He predicts local TV broadcasters will generate $1.31 billion in online revenue this year, but video will only account for $52 million, or 4%, of that figure. About 70% of online sales for broadcasters comes from text and banner ads, but long-form informercials are drawing a lot of interest from local advertisers. “Small businesses are jumping on video advertising as a way to compete on the Web,” he said.
Stations focused on Web video are best positioned for the future; groups doing well so far in this area are NBC, Belo, Raycom and Lin, Borrell said. Broadcasters that haven’t yet invested in online video need to bite the bullet and invest resources because relying on existing staff is too challenging, he said. Daisy Whitney, Senior Producer