The old media (a.k.a. heritage media) versus new media discussion continues to rage amongst the cognoscenti but the facts are speaking for themselves.

Brian Steinberg writing in Ad Age reports that:

“Continued audience erosion, combined with the effects of the writers strike, helped drive the average cost for a 30-second commercial in prime time down 4.1% to $130,089 during the 2007-2008 season, according to an analysis performed by independent media agency TargetCast TCM. The drop marks the second consecutive seasonal decline in pricing for 30-second TV ads and represents a noticeable widening over last season’s 0.7% drop. The analysis showed prime-time ratings for the four major broadcast networks fell 13% last season. TV-ad time pricing is based on the number of viewers a network can deliver for a marketer. When ratings go down, so do prices for the ads.”

Advertising will move to where the audience is no matter what esoteric debate the professionals want to have about which media channel is better or more appropriate. The trend towards erosion in advertising value of free to air television continues. The trend towards advertising via new media channels also continues.