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With COVID cases soaring and companies extending work-from-home plans again, it’s easy to peg the media business outlook for 2022 as more of 2021. That would be a mistake. Three trends lead me to believe that 2022 will offer significant opportunities, and challenges, for the industry.
Advertising
The first thing I’ve been watching is the advertising outlook. Last week, Wayne Friedman reported that sports betting advertising tripled in the four-month period beginning September 2021. Numbers from iSpot.tv show $175.7 million in national television advertising. Expenditures for the same period in 2020 were $60.3 million. With “just under 20 states with legalized sports gambling” and another 20 states considering legalization, this category is certain to grow in 2022.
Political advertising is also expected to be on the rise this year. A contentious political environment in which both political parties want to increase their elected representation all but guarantees greater spending in areas where the parties see a chance to shore up power. BIA projects $4 billion going to local TV.
In the minus column is the ongoing fragmentation of outlets and audiences. The growth of streaming, connected TV (CTV) and even ongoing DVR usage means that live linear media consumption is the exception, not the rule.
The Association of National Advertisers sees an increase in what it calls “retail media.” These are “ad networks operated by mega retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens, that offer both digital and in-store ad space.” Lowe’s channel, One Roof Media Network, is looking