2009 TV Ad forecast looking bleak...
Pittsburgh:Now that the 30+ thousand political ads have gone away, TV stations are expecting to feel the pinch of the current economic crisis. Local spot advertising is expected to decline between 4 and 8 percent in 2009. WPXI-TV (11) GM Ray Carter has talked to his staff on several occasions about where costs can be cut suggesting that every job in the building be reviewed and taking fewer out-of-office lunches with vendors. That may or may not include on-air contracts. While Cox Enterprises may be privately held - which is a better situation to be in during these times - layoffs could still be a possibility.
That might be why WTAE shuffled their anchors a few weeks ago. The change in schedule could allow the station to shell out less for talent like Sally Wiggin and Michelle Wright now that their anchor duties are lighter. WTAE GM Rick Henry tells the Post-Gazette that auto ads make up the largest advertising category and if auto sales are down, so are auto ads. But new ad categories pop up frequently to take the place of spots that may no longer exist.
Meanwhile, KDKA-TV (2) GM Chris Pike says that while other markets are trimming staff and broadcasts, Pittsburgh tends to be isolated from the downturn. That isn't to say there isn't a downturn, it's just not as bad as it is elsewhere. One theory is that Pittsburgh stations are leaner than others because of the economic downturn in the 1980s.