TEMECULA, Calif.

DRMetrix, a leading television research company, has released a study that reveals the size of the direct response television (DRTV) industry to be many times larger than previously thought.

The company began monitoring national cable networks 24/7 beginning with the 2015 broadcast season, using its AdSphere monitoring platform to identify ads that featured direct response calls to action using phone numbers, web addresses, mobile apps, and SMS. Monitoring 92 national cable networks during the 2016 broadcast year, AdSphere identified more than 3,500 DR brands.

In addition to more than 89,000 long-form infomercial airings, AdSphere detected an astonishing 7.9 million spots with an average run time of 39.65 seconds, or an average of 6.5 minutes of DRTV advertising running every hour of every day. Including brand/DR, lead generation, short-form product, and long-form infomercials, DRMetrix calculates the total value of all DRTV ad inventory bought in 2016 at $6.4 billion.

That’s three to four times greater than the value that other leading television research companies have reported based on differing philosophies of what constitutes direct response vs. brand advertising. “The AdSphere awards data demonstrates that the DRTV industry is much larger than traditionally thought and continues to experience rapid growth,” says Joseph Gray, CEO of DRMetrix.