Discovery and Starcom Strike Minute-By-Minute Deal
June 19, 2007
(New York, NY and Chicago, IL) Representing the first minute-by-minute Upfront deal negotiated for the 2007-2008 season, and the first cable deal conducted by media agency Starcom USA this year, Discovery Communications announced today that it has forged an agreement with Starcom for advertising across its client base with 11 of Discovery’s networks. The deal is based on exact minute ratings delivery sourced from Nielsen All Minute data (minute-by-minute).
“Marketers expect a far greater level of accountability from their agencies and advertising partners than ever before and we are thrilled to offer Starcom’s clients the first opportunities across our top-quality platforms, backed by the most accurate data available,” said Joe Abruzzese, President, Advertising Sales, Discovery Communications. “In this way, we are taking a significant step forward in offering advertisers increased assurances of the value of their partnership with Discovery’s brands and programs.”
For Starcom, Discovery will combine audience information from Nielsen All Minute data – rather than Average Commercial Minute data – and its own logs to provide accurate commercial occurrence data. Added Beth Rockwood, Senior Vice President, Market Resources for Discovery: “We believe the industry will eventually move to the Exact Minute delivery metric as a basis for guarantees. By closely tracking client schedules since January using this methodology, we have found the data to be consistent and reliable. By moving directly to this metric now, Discovery can fulfill a chief demand by advertisers in this Upfront.”
“All of Starcom’s performance, secured deals and research firsts in this space – including minute-by-minute, TNS, TiVo and beyond – have shown that more precise and accurate data is extremely advantageous to our marketers,” said Chris Boothe, Starcom USA President/Chief Activation Officer. “We need to be able to approach different partners in different ways to find solutions to more specific client business objectives, and as such it’s important that forward-thinking partners like Discovery can provide us with such precise, client-specific audience accuracy and accountability.”
Networks included in the agreement include the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Health, The Science Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Times Channel, Discovery HD Theater and Discovery Home Channel, as well as the Travel Channel and BBC America. As part of the deal, Starcom’s clients will also be given digital media and cross-platform sponsorship opportunities.
This first Upfront deal for Discovery coincides with a period of great ratings momentum for several of the company’s networks. The Discovery Channel’s primetime household ratings grew 10% in the 2006-07 season vs. the previous year, highlighted by the record-shattering PLANET EARTH series. The network’s primetime P25-54 delivery has also grown 11%. For TLC, May heralded the 15th consecutive month of year-over-year total day delivery gains for both P2+ and P25-54. Among its emerging properties, The Science Channel was the fastest-growing network in cable last month in terms of total day household ratings growth (100% -- tie with MTV2) and Military Channel grew 33% vs. 2006.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications is the number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Through TV and digital media, Discovery's 100-plus worldwide networks include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, The Science Channel, Discovery Health and Discovery HD Theater. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Co. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman. For more information please visit www.discovery.com .
About Starcom USA [ www.starcomworldwide.com ]
Starcom USA is a full-service media division of Starcom MediaVest Group (www.smvgroup.com), which is ranked one of the largest media communications agencies in the world and encompasses an integrated network of highly specialized consumer contact companies. SMG's global organization includes strategic marketing communication architects who are highly specialized in media management, response media, internet and digital communications, as well as multicultural, entertainment, sports sponsorship and event marketing and media. With nearly 3,500 employees in 89 markets worldwide, SMG delivers brand-building results for many of the world's leading companies.