‘Bumblebee’ Once Again Tops Studios’ TV Ad Spending

In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the TV advertising attention analytics company iSpot.tv, Paramount Pictures claims the top spot in spending for the third week in a row with “Bumblebee.”

Ads placed for the sci-fi/action film had an estimated media value of $7.84 million through Sunday for 1,299 national ad airings on 44 networks. (Spend figures are based on estimates generated from Dec. 10-16. Estimates may be updated after the chart is posted as new information becomes available.) Paramount prioritized spend across networks including CBS, NBC and ABC, and during programming such as NFL Football, “The Loud House” and “The Amazing World of Gumball.”

Just behind “Bumblebee” in second place: Universal Pictures’ “Welcome to Marwen,” which saw 916 national ad airings across 35 networks, with an estimated media value of $7.08 million.

TV ad placements for Annapurna Pictures’ “Vice” (EMV: $5.66 million), Walt Disney Pictures’ “Mary Poppins Returns” ($5.29 million) and Universal’s “Mortal Engines” ($5.03 million) round out the chart.

Notably, “Vice” has the best iSpot Attention Index (128) in the ranking, getting 28% fewer interruptions than the average movie ad (interruptions include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Top Movie Commercials by Weekly TV Spend

Data provided by iSpot.tv

$7.84M – Bumblebee

Impressions: 377,154,718

Attention Score: 88.65

Attention Index: 75

National Airings: 1,299

Networks: 44

Most Spend On: CBS, NBC

Creative Versions: 51

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $28.56M

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Started Airing: 06/08/18

$7.08M – Welcome to Marwen

Impressions: 341,881,924

Attention Score: 92.01

Attention Index: 106

National Airings: 916

Networks: 35

Most Spend On: NBC,CBS

Creative Versions: 20

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $19.83M

Studio: Universal Pictures

Started Airing: 09/24/18

$5.66M – Vice

Impressions: 291,853,994

Attention Score: 93.85

Attention Index: 128

National Airings: 717

Networks: 25

Most Spend On: NBC, CBS

Creative Versions: 11

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $14.45M

Studio: Annapurna Pictures

Started Airing: 10/06/18

$5.29M – Mary Poppins Returns

Impressions: 403,855,289

Attention Score: 89.69

Attention Index: 83

National Airings: 852

Networks: 32

Most Spend On: NBC, ABC

Creative Versions: 72

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $22.65M

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Started Airing: 03/04/18

$5.03M – Mortal Engines

Impressions: 348,566,608

Attention Score: 89.09

Attention Index: 78

National Airings: 1,441

Networks: 42

Most Spend On: ESPN, NBC

Creative Versions: 30

Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $25.61M

Studio: Universal Pictures

Started Airing: 11/07/18

¹ Movie titles with a minimum spend of $100,000 for airings detected between 12/10/2018 and 12/16/2018.

* TV Impressions – Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.

* Attention Score – Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

* Attention Index – Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs the average. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Variety has partnered with iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention analytics from more than eight million smart TVs, to bring you this weekly look at what studios are spending to market their movies on TV. Learn more about the iSpot.tv platform and methodology.

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