Masterchef has become the ratings phenomenon of the century for television. With individual shows taking up three positions in the top 20 this week, it’s reminiscent of Beatles hits in the top 40 during the 1960’s . The final is tipped to be one of the most watched of all time, up there with Olympics and football grand finals. The fact that big audiences bring in big money from big advertisers is a given – it’s the same for radio. But the really big money doesn’t come from the ad breaks, it comes from the products placed in the show. Product placement reportedly attracts a rate per second that’s three times that of a national ad that’s played just after that fiery Masterchef logo appears to annoy the carp out of us just as we’re about to find out who’s for the chop. And compared to reality shows of the past Masterchef has taken product integration to another level. Can radio compete?
True, Radio has digital and online outlets from which to create promotions that provide the opportunity for advertisers to go beyond the commercial break. There have been plenty of groundbreaking integrated cross-platform campaigns in recent months to demonstrate its worth. Trouble is that advertisers have so far resisted paying anywhere near its worth.
Yet they’re happy to pay a hefty premium for product placement on TV. Why is this so?
As for radio, TV has had to build and staff online infrastructure, but the bulk of the ad revenue comes from integration into a show that they would have had to make anyway. It’s money for jam.
Television executives are no doubt looking for more shows like Masterchef – partly in the hope of emulating its ratings – but mostly they’re looking for formats that can accommodate a broad range of products in situ. This could be unfortunate for producers of Australian drama who will find it difficult to provide anywhere near the return on investment that a Masterchefesque program has the potential to achieve.
It would be a sad day for viewers if FTA TV becomes overpopulated with reality shows about cooking, gardening and DIY. But it could be equally sad for commercial Radio if these shows drain most of the available national advertising dollars.
Does Radio have an answer?