Product Placements Rose 6% in First Quarter, Nielsen Reports

Product Placements Rose 6% in First Quarter, Nielsen Reports

NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nielsen Company today reported that product placements for the first quarter of 2008 rose 6% on primetime programming for the 11 measured networks on broadcast (ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, MNT, NBC) and cable television (A&E, Bravo, HGTV, MTV, TLC). Broadcast television placements rose 39%, while cable television was essentially flat at -1%.

There were 117,976 brand occurrences on cable and broadcast networks in the first three months of the year, according to Nielsen Product Placement Service. The most prevalent placement type on broadcast television was "foreground," which represented 35% of all product placements. On cable television, "wardrobe" placements were most common, accounting for 32% of all placements.

   Broadcast Television Product Placements    Top Broadcast Television Programs  

Prime-time product placement occurrences on broadcast networks increased overall by 39% during the first quarter of 2008. The top 10 programs featured 15,404 occurrences in the first three months of this year-compared to 8,893 occurrences in the same time period in 2007. "The Biggest Loser," with 3,977 occurrences, was the top program, in terms of the number of placements. Four of the top 10 programs aired on CW, and six programs had over 1,000 placements.

Because of the recent writers' strike, many programs were shifted from their standard airing times. "Big Brother," which usually airs during the summer months, was moved up to the first quarter to fill in empty slots. "The Apprentice" also altered its normal schedule of episodes, airing the same number of episodes between January and March of 2008 as were run from January through April of 2007.

In addition, "Deal Or No Deal" featured a special NFL-themed episode, originally aired in September 2007 and re-run in the first quarter 2008, which featured an NFL logo on the stage, NFL helmets throughout the set, and models and contestants clad in NFL apparel. That episode alone had 1,372 product placements. All other "Deal or No Deal" episodes during the first quarter of 2008 had less than 100 occurrences.

                        Top 10 Programs for Q1 2008:                     Product Placement on Broadcast TV                                                                    Total #   Program                                            Network     Occurrences    The Biggest Loser                                    NBC          3,977   American Idol                                        FOX          3,291   The Apprentice                                       NBC          1,646   Deal Or No Deal                                      NBC          1,603   Extreme Makeover Home Edition                        ABC          1,011   Big Brother 9                                        CBS          1,011   CW Now                                                CW            929   Pussycat Dolls Present                                CW            805   Americas Next Top Model                               CW            574   One Tree Hill                                         CW            557   Total                                                            15,404   Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service   Coverage - prime time entertainment programs on ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, MNT,   NBC     Top Broadcast Television Brands  

The top 10 featured brands on prime-time broadcast network television increased by 52% in the first quarter this year, from 4,253 occurrences in 2007 to 6,453 during the first three months of 2008. Coca-Cola, primarily through its association with "American Idol," was again the top brand, with 2,380 occurrences for this time period. The February 21st episode of "American Idol" with Coca-Cola was especially well received by the viewing audience- nearly 60% recognized the brand and responded positively to it.

24 Hour Fitness Centers (1,545 occurrences) and Pussycat Dolls Lounge Nightclubs (479 occurrences) rounded out the top three brands on Broadcast television. Notably, six of the top 10 brands are associated with sports/exercise.

                         Top 10 Brands for Q1 2008:                     Product Placement on Broadcast TV                                                                    Total #             Brand                         Product Category       Occurrences     Coca-Cola Soft Drinks                Soft Drinks                 2,380    24 Hour Fitness Centers-Clubs        Fitness Centers-Clubs       1,545    Pussycat Dolls Lounge Nightclubs     Nightclubs                    479    Freemotion Fitness Exercise     Equipment                           Exercise Equipment            396    Precor Exercise Equipment            Exercise Equipment            352    AT&T Teleph. Svcs-Wireless     Text Messaging                      Wireless Teleph. Svcs.        325    New Balance Sport Footwear           Sporting Footwear             294    National Football League     Association                         Sporting Assn.                250    Apple Computer Sys. Laptop           Computer Sys.                 218    Nike Apparel                         Apparel                       214    Total                                                            6,453   Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service   Coverage - prime time entertainment programs on ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, MNT,   NBC     Top Broadcast Television Product Categories  

The top five product categories on broadcast network television had more than 1,000 placements each. Among these, Soft Drinks ranked first, with 2,502 placements. Of these, Coca-Cola accounted for 2,380. The Apparel, Fitness Centers/Clubs, Football Team, and Exercise Equipment also made the top five.

   Cable Television Product Placements    Top Cable Television Programs  

The top 10 cable programs that featured product placements accounted for 59,308 occurrences in the first quarter of 2008-an increase of 16% from 50,940 during the first quarter of 2007. "American Chopper" on TLC was again the top program, with 16,164 placements. Half of the programs in the Top 10 air on MTV, and another three air on BRAVO.

                        Top 10 Programs for Q1 2008:                       Product Placement on Cable TV                                                                    Total #          Program                                    Network     Occurrences    American Chopper                                    TLC          16,164   Project Runway                                     BRAVO          9,816   L.A. Ink                                            TLC           5,684   Real World Road Rules Challenge                     MTV           5,435   Making The Band 4                                   MTV           5,330   Rob & Big                                           MTV           4,929   Americas Best Dance Crew                            MTV           4,525   Life Of Ryan                                        MTV           3,191   Make Me a Supermodel                               BRAVO          2,268   Top Chef                                           BRAVO          1,966   Total                                                            59,308   Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service   Coverage - prime time entertainment programs on A&E, Bravo, HGTV, MTV, TLC     Top Cable Television Brands  

The top 10 featured brands on prime-time cable network television in this year's first quarter accounted for 17,356 occurrences-a 28% increase from 13,501 occurrences in 2007. Under Armour Apparel was the top brand, with 2,960 occurrences for this time period-mainly through its association with the program "Real World Road Rules Challenge." Each brand in the top 10 placed more than 1,000 placements.

Notably, the top performing placements were not heavy weights in terms of activity; these included Home Depot on the February 10th episode of HGTV's "Color Splash," Flow Power Tools on TLC's "American Chopper," and Hershey's integration on BRAVO's "Project Runway." Each impacted more than half the viewing audience in terms of brand recognition and positive feeling.

                         Top 10 Brands for Q1 2008:                       Product Placement on Cable TV                                                                    Total #    Brand                                   Product Category      Occurrences     Under Armour Apparel                  Apparel                    2,960    Elle Magazine                         Magazine                   2,429    Orange County Choppers Apparel        Apparel                    2,264    Orange County Choppers Motorcycles    Motorcycles                1,978    New York Yankees Baseball Team        Baseball Team              1,155    Big Black Apparel                     Apparel                    1,149    Parsons School Of Design              School                     1,117    Metzeler Motorcycle Parts-     Access Tires                         Motorcycle Parts-Access    1,101    New Era Cap Hats                      Hats                       1,099    Airgas Industrial Supplier (tie)      Industrial Supplier        1,052    Monster Energy Drinks-     Isotonic (tie)                       Drinks-Isotonic            1,052    Total                                                           17,356   Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service   Coverage - prime time entertainment programs on A&E, Bravo, HGTV, MTV, TLC     Top Cable Television Product Categories  

With 18,307 placements Apparel was easily the number one product placement category on cable television during the first quarter of 2008. The top three apparel brands each had more than 1,000 placements during the first quarter: Under Armour Apparel (2,960 occurrences), Orange County Choppers Apparel (2,264 occurrences), and Big Black Apparel (1,149 occurrences). Nike Apparel and Sean John Apparel also ranked among the top five apparel brands.

The chart below lists the top cable programs with the most apparel placements. Four of the top five cable programs with the most apparel placements air on MTV.

     Top Cable Programs for Apparel                                  # of          Product Placements                          Network     Placements     Real World Road Rules Challenge                     MTV          3,268    American Chopper                                    TLC          2,559    Americas Best Dance Crew                            MTV          1,869    Rob & Big                                           MTV          1,778    Making The Band 4                                   MTV          1,372   Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service (Or The Nielsen   Company)   Coverage - prime time entertainment programs on A&E, Bravo, HGTV, MTV, TLC     About The Nielsen Company  

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more that 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

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Source: The Nielsen Company

CONTACT: Anne Saini, +1-646-654-8691, for The Nielsen Company

Web site: http://www.nielsen.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment