Why Hollywood’s Love of Billboards (Yes, Billboards) Is on the Rise in the Digital Ad Age

Beatrice Verhoeven

Drive along Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, and you’ll see one colorful billboard after another marketing the new blockbuster Disney movie or the next season of Netflix’s upcoming show “The Witcher.” Studio executives and billboard companies don’t think that will change anytime soon despite the rise of targeted digital advertising. In fact, the aggressive marketing push by Netflix — which has locked down two dozen billboards on the Sunset Strip from Regency Outdoor Advertising in a deal the L.A. Times estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars — has driven up the price of key billboard locations as much as 20% to 35% in recent years. Monthly billboard rentals in L.A. can range from $190,000 to almost $800,000, according to Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the biggest players in outdoor advertising. A digital billboard, a screen that plays a video, can run up to $400,000. In New York, billboard costs run between $230,00 and $460,000. And the major outdoor advertising companies are cashing in. Clear Channel Outdoor this month reported $928.1 million in revenue in the Americas for the first three quarters of 2019, an 8% increase year over year. Rival Outfront Media reported revenue of nearly $1.3...

Read original story Why Hollywood’s Love of Billboards (Yes, Billboards) Is on the Rise in the Digital Ad Age At TheWrap