Spending By Top 10 Cable Network Advertisers Up In 2002.

The Top 10 cable network advertisers spent an average of $181 million each during the full 2001/2002 television season-a 2 percent increase over the $177 million averaged by the previous season’s Top 10. According to a Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Competitive Media Reporting data, the #1 spender in ’01/02 was Procter & Gamble, whose $348.3 million outlay represented the largest-ever annual investment in cable advertising by a single company. General Motors, ranked #2, also broke its own record for cable spending-plowing almost $290 million into the medium in 2001/2002.

In other changes in the Top 10 rankings, Pfizer moved up a notch to #6, and Walt Disney Companies and National Amusements joined the list, replacing Worldcom and Ford Motor.

Procter & Gamble had the largest dollar increase in cable network ad spending for the full 2001/02 season, investing $87.4 million more (+33.5 percent) than it did the season before. Dell Computer, which recorded the second largest increase of $56.4 million, also had the largest percentage gain (+239 percent) among advertisers that spent more than $50 million on cable in ’01/02.

“With their growing investments, the nation’s largest advertisers are confirming that cable is providing tremendous value in meeting their marketing objectives,” said CAB President/CEO Joe Ostrow. “We believe that the 2001/2002 season results signify even more robust revenues for the cable networks in the season ahead.”

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