Vancouver: Even though the onset of Vancouver Television Sept. 22 has opened up inventory for television advertisers this fall, demand has been so strong that primetime advertising is completely sold out a month earlier than usual and Vancouver ad rates are expected to jump more than 10% this year over last.

Michelle McCurdy, president of Kaizen Media Services in Vancouver, says she began buying fall time back in June and most of the good time was booked by mid-July. Advertisers, she says, were nervous about being locked out in the rush to buy the fall season, so they started much earlier. So quick off the mark were Vancouver advertisers that they finally beat Toronto buyers to the premium times, which is a rare situation, she adds.

‘What we’ve got is more inventory at the same high costs,’ McCurdy explains, adding that there was no surprise locally that demand would remain high even with the addition of a new station. ‘We’re approaching double-digit growth [in rates].’

Fueling the rush is a growth in new advertising business and advertisers willing to increase spending limits to secure the appropriate time.

Advertisers, meanwhile, want the tried-and-true programs and then the efficient programs. As stock dwindles, prices increase and so as the fringe hours become more appealing, their prices have risen.

‘There is very limited inventory in any day part,’ McCurdy says of the Vancouver ad market.

As for vtv, the new station is having a very good fall, she reports.

Because Baton is reclaiming key programs like Melrose Place from bctv, advertisers are following. vtv, therefore, can demand regular prices and doesn’t have to discount to attract advertisers. ‘vtv has a very strong station mix,’ says McCurdy.

bctv, meanwhile, isn’t hurting (at least from the ad side) from the loss of programming to vtv. ‘bctv has a very strong foot in b.c.,’ she says. ‘You still can’t buy the same market coverage [from another station].’ And advertisers consider the news hour and Canucks hockey coverage as premium buys.

cbc Vancouver’s sales department is also busy even though the new season is completely Canadiana. ‘They offer a very different demographic and not necessarily one that mass marketers buy,’ says McCurdy. ‘But they, too, have few avails this fall.’

Global Vancouver (formerly u.tv) is, as she puts it, ‘incredibly strong, as always,’ referring to the station’s most-watched status in Vancouver primetime.