SNTA Plays Santa, Calling December Syndicated TV a 'Christmas Present to Marketers'

By John Consoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/7/2012 2:12:51 PM

The Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA) has released its annual holiday shopping research aimed at motivating media agencies and their marketer clients to spend some holiday ad dollars in syndicated shows.

And the SNTA believes it has a mighty bright "Miracle on Main. St." story to tell: Syndication TV viewers are active holiday shoppers at major retailers and online and big purchasers of electronics, toys, jewelry and gift cards. The group also says that syndicated shows deliver higher ratings in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas than broadcast TV repeats in primetime.

Using Nielsen C3 ratings, the study shows syndication last December had four of the 10 highest rated shows in the 18-49 demo in daytime on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and seven on Fridays -- more than any of the Big Four broadcast networks.

The study also taps Nielsen NPower data to show that last December, 43% of all broadcast network programs were repeats that averaged only a 1.1 in the C3 18-49 demo, 48% lower than total broadcast network programming in first run. Conversely, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, primetime airings of the syndicated version of The Big Bang Theory averaged an adult 18-49 rating of 3.8 with Two and a Half Men averaging a 3.2, Family Guy a 2.9 and How I Met Your Mother a 2.3. The study lists 16 other syndicated shows that averaged higher last December than the cumulative 1.1 of broadcast primetime repeats.

According to the study, club stores such as Sam's Club and BJ's, and discount and department store chains such as Walmart, Kmart, Macy's, Marshalls and Sears all index higher among viewers watching syndicated shows than they do among viewers watching broadcast network repeats.

Favorite syndicated shows of Walmart shoppers include Entertainment Tonight, The Doctors, Family Feud, Maury, TMZ, America's Funniest Home Videos, Inside Edition, House, House of Payne, Wendy Williams, Criminal Minds, Dr. Phil and That ‘70s Show, among others.

Syndicated show favorites among Macy's shoppers include Access Hollywood, Insider, Friends, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, The Office, Wendy Williams, The Doctors, Jeopardy, Everybody Loves Raymond, Inside Edition and House of Payne.

Sears shoppers prefer watching syndicated favorites that include Rachael Ray, Family Feud, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy, Monk, Wheel of Fortune, Burn Notice, Cops, Entertainment Tonight, Jeopardy!, Criminal Minds, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Friends, Access Hollywood, House and Divorce Court.

And syndicated favorites among J.C. Penney shoppers include The Doctors, According to Jim, Frasier, Live! With Kelly and Michael, Inside Edition, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Wendy Williams, Judge Mathis, Rachael Ray, Extra, Judge Joe Brown, Insider, Wheel of Fortune, Dr. Phil and Access Hollywood.

Syndicated game show viewers are the biggest shoppers at Abercrombie & Fitch, while heavy watchers of syndicated entertainment news show are big shoppers at H&M and Old Navy.

The study says men are spending $50 more overall this holiday season than women, with men also being more likely to shop in December than women. It also points out that there are more top 10 C3 rated syndicated shows in December among men 18-49 and men 18-34 than there are broadcast network shows.

Among the top rated shows reaching adults 18-34 in December are The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy (both 3.4), Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother (both 2.7), Futurama (2.4) and King of the Hill, Friends and That '70s Show (each 1.5), plus 18 more that rate higher than December broadcast primetime repeats.

Finally, the study points out that 7 in 10 smartphone owners plan to use their phones to shop this holiday season, and 45 million smartphone owners have downloaded shopping apps. 

Those smartphone owners are also watching lots of syndicated shows, according to the study.

Among adults 18-49, the syndicated shows (in order) that are watched most by smartphone users are It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Office, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, American Dad, Access Hollywood, Futurama, That '70s Show, 30 Rock and Maury.

Among adults 18-34, the top syndicated shows watched by smartphone users (also in order) are It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Family Guy, American Dad, The Office, Friends, Futurama, How I Met Your Mother, Access Hollywood, That '70s Show, Scrubs and Meet the Browns.

Granted, the study is a sales pitch aimed at bringing more scatter dollars into the syndicated TV marketplace in the month of December. But savvy media buyers can wade through the 45-page document, glean pertinent information, check it out for themselves and decide whether to invest on behalf of their clients. That said, they'd better hurry: It may be a few weeks away, but on TV, it's already beginning to look a lot like Christmas.