Startups paid that much because they didn't buy lots of air time and they went directly to networks (paid "retail") instead of going through a media planning an

Startups paid that much because they didn't buy lots of air time and they went directly to networks (paid "retail") instead of going through a media planning and buying agency. Most startups couldn't afford to go to major media planning and buying agencies because they mostly had very high monthly commitments and were owned by the major ad agency holding companies. Nowadays with Google, it's much easier and much cheaper to get your ads on TV, but it's still much more expensive than going through media buying agencies.