Response Magazine reports that the buyer’s market for short-form DRTV rates is disappearing. Prices are increasing for the first time in 2 years while the general economy rebounds and inventory shrinks. Depending on the network, pricing went up by 25 to 40 percent for late 3Q and 4Q 2009. 2010 is expected to bring more of the same, that is, prices will continue to increase. Brian Fays, executive vice president of advertising sales at MTV Networks, put it this way, “I know it’s going to continue because in the first quarter, Viacom had the best first quarter we’ve ever had, revenue-wise.”

According to Fays, one bright spot in DRTV is the educational category. Unemployed or under-educated consumers create a new demand for self-improvement (e.g., UTI and ITT Technical Institutes, Rosetta Stone).

The change in the DRTV market will require marketers to be more strategic. For example, Michael Lyons, vice president of advertising sales at A&E Television Networks, shares with Response Magazine that, “What we’ve seen is direct response advertisers get much more involved in the planning of their campaigns as opposed to waiting around for remnant inventory that really doesn’t exist these days.” Likewise, Fays points out, “Doing business like we did in 2008 and 2009 is not going to fly in 2010. You have to start thinking more creatively.”