NEW YORK—The TV ad market saw a significant turn in March, with ad spending levels increasing 13% over March 2020 and edging closer to pre-pandemic levels of spending, according to the latest findings from Standard Media Index.
SMI’s March 2021 Performance report covered all media ad spending in March 2021 as compared to March 2020, when lockdowns began and many live events were cancelled because of the pandemic.
The 13% increase that TV ad spending saw year-over-year put it just 6% below what the ad spending levels were for March 2019. Quite possibly contributing for the increase in ad spending was the return of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, both of which were cancelled in 2020.
