Less is More


The major broadcast network value proposition these days is as follows: you pay more money to advertise to fewer people. People like NBC's Jeff Zucker and Les (who cares about the CBS News brand?) Moonves maintain that this is a "win-win" situation. Finally, one brand (Mitsubishi Motor) has pulled the plug:

Last week, the Mitsubishi Motor Company pulled every penny of its advertising from prime-time network shows, $120 million worth, because, as Ian Beavis, its senior vice president for marketing, put it, "There's nothing compelling in the new network programming."

Mr. Beavis, who said Mitsubishi would place more ads on cable and local television shows, as well as spend more on magazines and Internet sites, said he was just one of many advertisers expressing frustration with the networks.

"How long can you pay more for less?" he asked. "Someone has to finally say enough."