Digital Games Luring Away More TV Viewers

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Advertising is increasingly expanding beyond the 30-second TV commercial to games operated via console, online and through wireless devices, said executives at today's AdWatch: Outlook 2004 conference at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers here.

One reason is the cost of entry into TV is higher and higher, said Tim Hanlon, senior vice president and director of TV 2.0 at media agency Starcom MediaVest Group, part of Publicis Groupe. "Fewer people are playing this crazy upfront game every year," he said, referring to the broadcast and cable TV's ad buying bazaar.

The biggest request is to produce advertisements with gaming functionality, said Julie Shumaker, director of sales for online and in-game advertising at Electronic Arts.

The demographic of people passionate about games has changed over the years, too. They are older than the teenage male that was video gaming's early adopter 15 years ago, said Ms. Shumaker. The average age for a console gamer is 28. And 43% of video gamers are women whose average age is 40, she added.

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