Reference library · TV budgeting
Make-Good
A make-good is the free airtime or GRPs a seller provides when actual campaign delivery falls short of the contracted guarantee. It restores the buy to its promised GRP level at no extra cost to the buyer, and is triggered once the shortfall exceeds an agreed tolerance band, typically 5%.
Formula
Worked example
A national TV contract guarantees 650 GRP (Adults 25-54) over a 4-week flight, with a 5% tolerance (32.5 GRP). Post-buy analysis shows actual delivery of 580 GRP. Shortfall = 650 − 580 = 70 GRP, which exceeds the 32.5 GRP tolerance, so the full 70 GRP is owed. If the make-good spots average 2.5 GRP each on the contracted station and daypart, the seller must add 70 / 2.5 = 28 free spots. The buyer gets the campaign back to its contracted weight, but the extra spots run after the original flight, which can push delivery past the campaign's optimal window.
How it is used
Make-goods are settled after post-buy reconciliation, comparing the delivered GRP report against the contracted guarantee. The seller compensates with spots, not cash, valued at the same currency and daypart mix as the original buy. Practitioners routinely let the seller fill the make-good with mismatched dayparts or lower-rated spots that hit the GRP total but not the target audience or reach the original plan called for.
The common mistake
Buyers accept make-good spots that match the GRP total but not the original daypart and target-audience mix, which quietly degrades the campaign's actual reach.