Game industry’s TV ad spend drops in January

As you’d expect after the holiday season, gaming brands pulled back from TV advertising in January to the tune of a 60% decrease in estimated spend, down to $12.3 million for the month. Most (77.5%) of that outlay came from PlayStation, although it mostly shelled out only in the first half of the month. Overall, 15 brands aired 29 spots over 1,900 times, generating 398.2 million TV ad impressions.

GamesBeat has partnered with iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution platform, to bring you a monthly report on how gaming brands are spending. The results below are for the top five gaming-industry brands in January, ranked by estimated national TV ad spend.

PlayStation spent an estimated $9.5 million on five ads that ran 183 times, resulting in 280.2 million TV ad impressions. “New Worlds to Explore,” promoting the PlayStation 5, had the biggest budget (est. $4.4 million). According to an iSpot Ace Metrix survey, this spot performed above average across all industries, ranking high for attention, likeability and watchability in particular. When asked about the ad’s “single best thing,” 30% of survey respondents cited the visual scenes. Additionally, curiosity and excitement were the top two emotions stated by viewers. Top programming by spend for PlayStation overall included college football, the NFL, and the college football national championship; top networks included ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2.

Nordeus, a newcomer to our ranking, takes second place with an estimated outlay of $1.2 million for two commercials that aired 652 times, resulting in 22.9 million TV ad impressions. The top ad by spend (est. $852,917) was “Got This,” promoting Top Eleven and featuring José Mourinho. Nordeus targeted a sports-loving audience, with top networks by spend including Fox Deportes, NBC Sports, and ESPN Deportes, while top programming included the NFL, college football, and Lock It In.

At No. 3 is GameFly.com, which spent an estimated $438,175 on four ads that had 759 airings, generating 35.8 million TV ad impressions. “54 & 77 Cents: Call of Duty: Cold War” was the top spot with an estimated budget of $211,145. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pro Football Talk, and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the programs with the most spend, while top networks included Disney XD, Comedy Central, and Nick Toons.

Jackbox Games takes fourth place with an estimated outlay of $318,145, all of which occurred in the first week of January. The company aired two ads 169 times, resulting in 18.2 million TV ad impressions. The top commercial by spend (est. $226,800) was “Roommates,” advertising Jackbox Party Pack 7. E!, NBA TV, and Freeform were three of the top networks by spend, while top programming included Las Vegas, Game of the Day, and college basketball.

Nintendo rounds out the ranking, spending an estimated $294,667 on three ads that aired once each, generating 19.6 million TV ad impressions. The brand spent the most ($139,397) on “Awkwafina Plays Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.” According to an iSpot Ace Metrix survey, this spot scored above average across all industries, ranking especially high for attention, likeability, and watchability. Respondents cited “love it,” “funny,” and “authentic” as the top three emotions, and 24% of viewers felt the product itself was the best thing about the ad, while 18% considered the characters the best part. In a departure from its normal family-friendly targeting, Nintendo only ran ads on ABC and NBC, and solely during The Bachelor, Shark Tank, and This Is Us.