Blackwell Reference Online

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In the 1960s, Chevrolet spent almost its entire US television media budget on one program – the Dinah Shore Show . At that time prime-time viewers had only three network channels to choose from and an advertiser could reach 80 percent of US households on any given evening by running commercials on CBS, NBC, and ABC programs (→  Television Networks ). Newspapers were a primary source of information, and →  cable television and the →  Internet were decades away from development. Currently there are over 400 cable TV channels in the US, TV audiences have declined at the rate of approximately 2 percent over the past decade, and cable now commands a larger audience than networks. The Internet has experienced unprecedented growth, and →  advertising can be seen on one's mobile phone, in bathrooms, and almost every conceivable (or inconceivable) location imaginable. Product placements and integrations have increased dramatically. Erwin Ephron – a media consultant – estimates that in the 1980s a media planner had nearly 1,250 scheduling options on television alone. In the 1990s, with 100 broadcast and cable channels to choose from, the number of options rose to 1.25 quadrillion. With over 400 channels, the number of options is incalculable ( Mandese 2005 ). Now add to this the fact that there has been a proliferation of new media including the Internet, interactive wireless, podcasts, ... log in or subscribe to read full text