Advertisers Are Turning Up Their Noses at Reality Programming

“Anything that ends up in a hot tub, you don’t want to be around,” said Tom DeCabia, executive vice president of PHD USA, a major ad-buying firm. “Reality is not something that a lot of advertisers are beating down the door to get into.”

That seems to be the prevailing opinion as buyers head towards this year’s upfront. Trouble is, the networks are still cranking out the junk. And on top of that, when buyers and viewers finally give up on trash TV, there isn’t really anything good in the pipeline as a replacement.

What’s a media buyer to do?

Picture of Steve Hall

Steve Hall

RECENT ARTICLES

TRENDING AROUND THE WEB

8 things genuinely classy people never do in public, no matter how much money they have

8 things genuinely classy people never do in public, no matter how much money they have

Hack Spirit

People who are secretly jealous of you usually give themselves away with these 8 behaviors

People who are secretly jealous of you usually give themselves away with these 8 behaviors

Hack Spirit

9 signs you raised a child who genuinely enjoys your company, not just tolerates you

9 signs you raised a child who genuinely enjoys your company, not just tolerates you

Hack Spirit

A study spanning 1,700 languages found a hidden pattern that no single grammar book ever taught — and it says something about how human thought organizes itself before words do

A study spanning 1,700 languages found a hidden pattern that no single grammar book ever taught — and it says something about how human thought organizes itself before words do

Global English Editing

8 habits of people who stay young at heart (without ever trying to look young)

8 habits of people who stay young at heart (without ever trying to look young)

Hack Spirit

7 small courtesies that are quietly disappearing from everyday life

7 small courtesies that are quietly disappearing from everyday life

Hack Spirit