PlayStation continued its trend of spending big through the month of December, accounting for almost half of all gaming industry advertising on TV. Xbox and Nintendo were a distant second and third, respectively, as consumers headed to the stores for holiday giving.
GamesBeat has partnered with iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from more than eight million smart TVs, to bring you a monthly report on how gaming brands are spending. The results below are for the top five gaming industry brands in December, ranked by estimated national TV ad spend.
There was a slight downshift in gaming industry spend, going from November’s estimated $102.3 million to $90.5 million in December. Overall, 31 brands aired 113 ads over 24,500 times, racking up 5.4 billion TV ad impressions.
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Once again in first place, PlayStation led with $38.1 million in estimated spend on 13 commercials that ran over 5,300 times, generating 1.8 billion impressions. “Journey Ahead” was the spot with the biggest budget (est. $7.7 million). The company prioritized reaching a sports-loving audience, allocating spend across networks including ESPN, Fox, and Adult Swim, and during programming such as NFL Football, College Football, and NBA Basketball.
Xbox snuck by Nintendo to snag second place with an estimated spend of $10.8 million on seven spots that aired over 3,500 times and generated 758.5 million impressions. The Battlefield V ad “Official Launch Trailer” had the biggest budget (est. $5.2 million). Xbox concentrated on reaching people watching sports, with heavy spend during programs including NBA Basketball, College Football, and NFL Football, and on networks such as ESPN, Comedy Central, and TNT.
Right behind Xbox was Nintendo with a budget of about $10.5 million for 18 commercials that ran over 4,700 times, resulting in 609.1 million impressions. A spot called “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate: One More Try” advertising the Switch had the biggest spend (est. $2.1 million). MTV, Teen Nick, and Adult Swim were three of the networks with the biggest budgets, while The Amazing World of Gumball, NBA Basketball, and Ridiculousness were three of the programs with high spend.
No. 4 goes to Facebook-owned Oculus VR, with an estimated spend of $10.1 million on nine ads that aired 750 times and generated 485.5 million impressions. The spot with the biggest budget, an estimated $5.8 million, was “Adam and Jonah Sit Courtside” featuring Adam Levine and Jonah Hill. Networks with the highest spend included Fox, CBS, and ABC, while some of the programs Oculus prioritized were NFL Football, NBA Basketball, and Modern Family.
Although missing from last month’s ranking, King is back this time with about $3.3 million in spend on just two spots which aired over 2,400 times, resulting in 407.5 million TV ad impressions. The vast majority of budget (est. $3.1 million) was allocated to “Candy Crush Friends Saga: But Sweeter.” King spent heavily across networks including Comedy Central, Hallmark, and ABC, and during shows such as South Park, GMA Day, and The View.
