According to News Corp. (NYSE: NWS-A) Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, the larger advertisers are still looking for big audiences to market to in a fragmented media world.
He said this at the Bear Stearns Media Conference: "The big advertisers, whether they be P&G, or Coca-Cola, or AT&T -- they want mass audiences."
Murdoch added that advertising sales for the Fox Broadcasting Network have surged by 40 percent over the upfront in summer 2007.
It's interesting to note that while markets will continue to fragment, that very fragmentation will make anyone who can create a mass market for a product differentiate themselves even more, as Murdoch has shown, which could command even more dollars from the larger advertisers.
What's significant about that, is in the past, advertisers to niche audiences would usually pay more for their marketing campaigns per viewer or participant. While in certain markets that will still continue, it shows how advertising overall is being turned upside down.
Even with the increase by Fox, that isn't going to change the fragmenting marketplace, but it will reward those like Fox who are able to develop shows like American Idol, which is one of the remaining, few shows that can draw huge audiences. I'm sure that accounts for a large portion of the 40 percent increase enjoyed by Fox.
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