surveyed 40 ad executives about how they're shifting the more than $90 billion they collectively manage in ad spending, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Connected-TV platforms like Roku and Hulu are expected to see the biggest gains in TV advertising and Disney is the best-positioned cable-network group.The coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty around how long it will last is forcing many advertisers to rethink their media strategies and budgets for the year.
Not all advertisers are pulling back on spending. A small share of those respondents, about 14%, said they planned to boost their ad budgets for the remainder of the year. UBS asked ad execs about their clients' plans to shift ad spending between TV and digital platforms over the next 24 months. Around 12% of the advertisers expect to shift spending toward TV, compared with 9% during the prior 24-month period.
Sports ranked fifth among six TV-advertising categories that advertisers planned to buy from in the coming 12 months, down from second place during the previous 12 months. Disney is in the lead despite the absence of live sports on ESPN, its biggest cable network. The company could be faring better than others because of the cable channels it acquired from Fox last year, including FX and National Geographic.
: Disney is extending "until further notice" its closures of its US theme parks, Disney World and Disneyland, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced on March 27.