March 20, 2020

How is the Coronavirus Impacting DR?

Have you been wondering about the impact of the coronavirus on our industry? Me, too. Now, DRMetrix is helping to provide an answer.

Yesterday, the research firm launched a new interactive tool that monitors daily airings (ad units) for different types of direct-to-consumer advertising across the 130 national networks its AdSphere system monitors.

"TV viewing should be on the rise due to the coronavirus pandemic leaving millions of Americans housebound," DRMetrix CEO Joseph Gray wrote in his blog post announcing the new tool. But several questions remain, he added. For instance, "will greater television viewership levels help to sustain the industry or will there be a pull back?" And if traditional brand advertisers pull back, "will we see more direct-to-consumer advertising filling the gap and, if so, what types?"

The interactive chart is meant to provide those answers. It shows ad units by day beginning March 1 and will be updated daily. However, it "may take a week or two before the chart begins to paint a picture of what’s [actually] happening," Gray said.

You can access the DRMetrix tool here or by clicking the image above.