Cable Runs Through The Land of Adobe

Cable World,  June 2, 2003  

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Comcast reached an agreement with Chavez in May 2002 that will allow it to continue to provide service to Albuquerque residents for the next 15 years. Tina Otteni, a public-relations director for Comcast, says the company spent $100 million upgrading the network, even though its franchise had lapsed. "That just shows how committed we are to the community we serve," Otteni says. "We decided to go forward in good faith, without a contract, to make an investment in the community."

True to their roots, the community has invested back. Mary Ann Weems, owner of the lauded Weems Gallery, says she buys on average from "about $6,000 to $10,000 worth of ads every year." Weems, who also operates a small ad agency, handles all her buys.

"My cable spots average about $30 for each 30-second spot," Weems calculates. "With those kind of rates, I get to saturate the market. Compare that to $400 for the same 30-second spot on one of the networks, where you're on and then, boom, it's gone. That's why I love cable."

Weems says her gallery and the annual Weems Artfest show attract a clientele that ranges from 18 to 80, a spread which cable serves more effectively than do the nets. "I don't go by the numbers. I pick and choose where I want to place my spots. I like scary movies, so I advertise on Sci Fi. But I'm not stupid; I know that Home and Garden is where I need to be. At the rates I get, I can afford to mix it up a little."

Much as she's become a figure of renown - friends tell her she could run for mayor - Weems doesn't put herself in her ads. "Art is what's important. The artists are what's important. I'm not some car salesman screaming at the top of my lungs, jumping up and down," she laughs.

Of course, those kind of spots, the ones that feature pitchmen screaming over a palette of helium balloons and guys in gorilla suits, are the bread and butter of the local cable ad space. John Hurley, GM of ad sales for Albuquerque, says his market is no different. Automotive is at the top of the heap, followed by quick service restaurants and DIY.

"The phenomenal growth in ratings of the cable network programmers - the ESPNs, the A&Es - have driven our subscriber levels, and in turn, our ad sale rate," Hurley says. "The big investment cable has made in original programming and sports has been a big boost for us. We're a metered market, so we can see the effect of this kind of thing the very next day."

With a total of 24 total account executives reporting to him, Hurley and the Albuquerque interconnect have begun to outpace the local broadcasters in terms of market growth. "Because we can now offer advertisers the choice to cover the entire DMA, they see us as a viable alternative to broadcasters," Hurley says.

In other words, it's a good time to be in cable.

"I remember everybody would run behind the trucks when they first put cable in the neighborhoods," says VP of finance and interim area VP Kevin Bethke. "That's the feeling we're getting again with digital."