Product Placement - Which is Better - TV Or Movies?

Product Placement Execution Should Focus Almost Entirely On TV/Streaming vs. Film.  The reasons for this are simple: Timing, Math, Variety/Volume, Talent, and Viewers. 

Timing - The shortest time from Placement to Airing is with TV/Streaming. A TV show generally takes between 6-9 months.  Occasionally, it can happen in 3-6 or even less.  A movie takes at least 12-18 months to be released from when they start shooting.  The shorter time frame allows for faster ROI and far better coordination with ongoing marketing activities.

Math - More Viewers will see you products with TV/Streaming.  A $100,000,000 film is a successful film.  Divide that by $10 as an average ticket price and you get 10,000,000 viewers.  A successful TV show can see equal or greater viewership in a single episode.  And, if your product is part of a permanent set on a show, it can show up in multiple episodes across a season, and possibly multiple seasons.  A single placement goes much further with TV/Streaming versus Film.  

Talent - The best talent now works on TV/Streaming. In the past, A-Listers focused on Film and frowned upon TV.  However, with the increased amount of original material being produced by Cable and Streaming Networks, along with Films moving primarily to Franchise Action Movies, the equation has completely reversed. The best Writers, Directors, and Actors now seek projects on TV/Streaming Networks.  For example, Director Susanne Bier heading “The Night Manager,” David Fincher’s “House of Cards” and “Mindhunter” are just two examples, not including the acting talent leaping from big to small screen, such as Cillian Murphy’s turn in “Peaky Blinders.” And, there is no question that the most creative productions are all on TV/streaming and have been for years.  

Volume/Variety - Over the last 10 years, the number of original series on TV/Streaming has skyrocketed.  What started with original series on HBO, Showtime and StarZ, evolved to the same on cable stations like AMC, TNT, and FX, and has exploded with the entrance of Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Hulu.  A few examples include “Breaking Bad”, “Mad Men”, “A Handmaid's Tale”, “Ozark”, “The Wire”, “The Sopranos”, “House of Cards”, “Succession”, and “Homeland”.  And it reflects where the money is now being made.  Netflix alone has increased revenue tenfold in the last ten years - from $3.1 billion in 2012 to $31.5 billion in 2022.

Viewers - TV/Streaming is where the bulk of the viewers are.  The trend was already heading that way pre-COVID, and the migration has dramatically increased since.  It’s not just the number of viewers. Due to the Variety and Volume of Original Programming created for TV/Streaming, you can target Product Placement for specific demographics and markets more precisely.

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Eclipse Worldwide specializes in and leads the industry in Organic, Fee-Free Product Integration in Television and Film Productions.  Founded in 1997, it has placed over 170,000 Products seen in over 30,000 Episodes, with a value of over 10 Billion Dollars, reaching over 100 Billion Viewers for its clients, all without paying fees to productions, agencies, actors or studios.