Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
April20, 2017
HALF OF TV BUYS WILL BE PROGRAMMATIC IN 3-5 YEARS
ADVERTISERS, AGENCIES LIKE PROGRAMMATIC
Nearly two-thirds of advertisers and agencies believe more than half of all TV buying will be programmatic within three to five years. Mediapost quotes a survey from ad-tech firm Videologyand Advertiser Perceptions. And the survey shows that most advertisers and agencies are already embracing advanced TV as an advertising medium.
Among those currently spending on advanced TV, 57% say they plan to increase their data-enabled TV budgets this year. 75% plan to increase thOSE budgets in the next 12 months.
Advanced television can be characterized by four features: time shifting, addressability, interactivity and interoperability. But advanced TV remains a mystery to some. In the survey, advanced TV was defined as both linear TV that uses advanced data to define a consumer target known as data-enabled TV, as well as TV advertising delivered at the household level, or addressable TV.
There’s still a need for more information. More than half (57%) of advertisers and agencies say they don’t understand the difference between data-enabled TV and addressable TV. 20% say that advanced TV advertising is still funded primarily from test budgets.
SINCLAIR BUYING TRIBUNE?
Bloomberg is among the news organizations that report Sinclair Broadcast Group is interested in acquiring Tribune Media - and may be offering in the high $30s a share.
Sinclair is one of the largest station groups in the country, with 173 stations that it owns, or has agreements in place to provide shared services. Tribune owns 42 TV stations and the WGN America cable network, the Tribune Studios programming production unit, and has stakes in Career Builder and the Food Network.
The Chicago Tribune says Sinclair wants to finalize a deal on or before the same day Tribune reports first-quarter earnings, which is slated for the week of May 8.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has alredy voiced opposition to the deal. Variety quotes a letter from Pelosi that states, “That would be bad news for consumers in Tribune’s markets in two ways: first, consumers would lose an independent voice in their media market; and second, consumers could see their cable bills go up because Sinclair charges cable operators more than Tribune for retransmission consent.”
“We don’t see a better buyer for (Tribune) given (Sinclair)’s diversified portfolio and size,” Marci Ryvicker of Wells Fargo Securities wrote in a Wednesday note.
Shares of Tribune gained 1.9% to $38.41 on Wednesday. Sinclair increased 3% to $40.40 on Wednesday and gained another 1.4% to $40.95 after the close, according to thestreet.com
ADVERTISER NEWS
Automobile sales are slowing and so too appear to be motorcycle sales. Harley-Davidson first quarter sales in the U.S. were down 5.7% despite the company’s efforts to broaden its customer base by attracting younger people, women, African-Americans, Hispanics and city-dwellers (including trying a rider academy run by its dealers). The company is now offering dealer incentives to help move out old inventory……Coca-Cola is bringing back its Share A Coke campaign which utilizes special packaging with names and slogans. It will be expanded with more names (including some last names) and will take in other varieties including Coca- Cola Life and Cherry Coke. Customers can again go online to buy personalized bottles……GNC, the vitamin chain that had wanted to buy a Super Bowl spot but was vetoed by the NFL, had a 3.9% same-store sales decline in the first quarter, in which it made several changes including store redesigns and a revamped loyalty program. The company had reallocated the money it would have spent on the Super Bowl spot into other marketing endeavors but the CEO still said “We got the marketing impressions, but it wasn’t as strong a lift as we would have gotten (if it had been allowed to advertise in the game). Despite that disappointment, the results were a bit better than had been seen in previous quarters, and GNC is also noting the Amazon.com marketplace it launched has exceeded expectations……A couple of technological advances in the restaurant business: Pizza Hut is “taking a mobile-first approach” updating its pizza builder for digital customers, with more than 70% of the chain’s digital orders now coming through mobile sources. And Subway customers can now order and pay for meals via Facebook Messenger……PetSmart is buying online site Chewy.com, in a deal that’s expected to close in the second fiscal quarter. It’s the second time PetSmart has bought out an internet competitor—it had bought Pet360 three years ago. The chain still has a big presence in the bricks-and-mortar world though, currently operating more than 1,500 stores……Another major regional bank, Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares, reported improved numbers for the first quarter with a 21% increase in profit to $208 million. Net interest margin came in at 3.30%, an improvement of 19 basis points over the first quarter of 2016 and average core deposits were up 39%. Huntington operates 996 branches in eight Midwestern states……There have been reports lately that even luxury-oriented department stores are suffering along with more moderately-priced chains, and Chain Store Age says Neiman Marcus has had to take on more debt via issuing bonds in lieu of making a current interest payment of $29 million.
NETWORK NEWS
Actor Kevin Spacey has signed on to host the 71st Annual Tony Awards, to be telecast live on CBS June 11th from Radio City Music Hall in New York. It will be the first time to host for Spacey, who won a Tony in 1991 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers. That’s in addition to his two Oscars for his 1996 performance in The Usual Suspects and in 2000 for American Beauty. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing…… CBS has recast the lead role in its new cop comedy Brothered Up. Original star Romany Malcowill be replaced by comedian D.L. Hughley. Hughley will star opposite co-lead AdhirKalyanin the buddy cop sitcom that centers around two cops, an emotionally guarded African-American (Hughley), and an emotionally available Pakistani (Kalyan). The pair must find a way to connect as they patrol their Detroit neighborhood. The comedy comes from Mark Gross, co-executive producer of CBS’s Man with a Plan. Gross is writer and executive producer for Brothered Up……Alec Baldwin explained to Stephen Colbert on CBS’s Late Show this week how he gets into character to impersonate President Donald Trump on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. He said that he needed “to make it a total caricature” to play the real estate developer-turned-reality TV star-turned- President…… All four of the Sunday morning news shows were retitled on Easter Sunday meaning the audience numbers will not count towards program averages for the quarter or the season. CBS’s Face the Nation with John Dickerson finished number one on Sunday this past week with 3.350 million total viewers and 728,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo. NBC’s Meet the Press with Chuck Todd fell to number two posting 3.244 million total viewers, but won the demo race with 949,000 adults 25-54. ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos was third in total viewers with 2.905 million, but placed second in the demo race by posting 820,000 adults 25-54. Fox News Sunday hosted by Chris Wallace was fourth managing 1.599 million total viewers and 516,000 25-54 viewers……Eliza Dushku(Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is set to guest star on a three-week arc on the CBS freshman drama Bull. Dushku stars as J.P. Nunnelly, a top criminal attorney in New York City that Bull brings in as a consultant on three cases. The first episode of the arc will air on Tuesday, May 9th, and many are speculating that Dushku will land a series regular role.
CHINESE AUTOMAKER: ONE IN, ONE OUT
SAIC Motor Corp., the largest automaker in China, is putting plans to enter the U.S. market on hold, due to what Automotive News reports to be uncertainties about U.S. policy under the Trump administration. The company, which has a manufacturing joint venture with General Motors in China, says it will instead concentrate on entering the European market until there’s more clarity about trade policy between the U.S. and China. Another Chinese automaker, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) is going ahead with plans to bring cars here, and says it will enter the market no later than in 2019, with its Trumpchibrand.
DONE DEALS
The Telemundo Station Group has named Sabrina Lopez VP of Sales for Telemundo 20 in San Diego. She will be responsible for developing and implementing all local, national and sales strategies for all Telemundo 20 platforms. Lopez will report to Richard Kelley, President and General Manager of Telemundo 20 and NBC 7/KSDN. She begins her new duties on June 1st.
BUSINESS BYTES
Progressive Grocer’s annual survey of the supermarket business says the percentage of grocers with a “full-fledged” omnichannel program was up 3 points to twelve percent last year, with another 71% of operators saying they are either just getting started or have a strategy that they’re in the process of executing. 23% say they now have a click-and-collect program in place (not necessarily available in all units), but that’s up from just 15% with a program a year ago. There’s also been significant growth on the third-party-delivery front, with the number of operators with at least some availability more than doubling from 8% last year to 17% this year. PG notes that Instacartand Shipthave made big inroads into supermarket deliveries in the past year, each company entering new markets and making deals with additional grocers. Use of mobile apps hasn’t changed much, however, up just two points to 30%.
This Week In Consumer Electronics reports that more than half of U.S. consumers plan to buy a smart-home device in the next two years and of those that already own one, 84% plan to buy another such device. The study done by Z-Wave Alliance and PlumChoicefound the majority of consumers report owning 4-6 smart-home devices and 61% have interconnected some of them. “Interoperability” has become a key factor as consumers add more devices. Smart appliances and smart smoke detectors are among the smart-home products with the highest year-over-year growth, with 267 percent and 250 percent, respectively.
INTERNET VIEWING OF TV KEEPS GROWING
Total use of television across all sources of content inputs was down again in March, reports Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieserbased on his monthly crunch of Nielsen data. The decline was 4.2% on a total day basis for adults 18-49 during March, although only down by 1.6% among all households. Viewing of English-language broadcast networks and ad-supported cable was down by 9.6% for adults 18-49 and down by 3.8% for households, both on a total day basis.
As for advertising, National TV commercial impressions delivered among adults 18-49 fell -6.8% in March 2017 vs. March 2016. For primetime alone the equivalent figure was -6.9%.
Meanwhile, consumption of TV content via Internet-connected devices—including Roku, Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast—rose by 54% year-over-year to account for 10.3% of total TV use among adults 18-49 on a total day basis vs. 6.4% in March 2016 and 3.7% in March 2015.
National commercial loads which qualified for C3/C7 ratings across the industry rose to average 10.8 minutes per hour across all Nielsen-tracked programming during March 2017, up from 10.7 minutes per hour in March 2016. By network group, Wieser reports that CBS, Discovery, Fox and NBCU raised their ad loads during the most recent period, while AMC and Time Warner reduced theirs slightly.
COMPETITIVE INFO
Streaming NFL football is a loss leader, not a profit center, for OTT players, according to a blog post by Joel Espelienof The Diffusion Group (TDG). Amazon outbid last year’s Thursday Night Football (TNF) streaming partner, Twitter, by increasing the price five-fold to $50 million. But it is all about making a PR impact, not turning a profit. “Given the basic rules of the game, there is virtually no way for a streaming provider to make money off of NFL games,” Espelien says. NBC and CBS already provide free access to the games and Amazon’s advertising avails are strictly limited by the NFL.
That said,Espelien figures Amazon has more to gain from streaming TNF than Twitter did. A few people might decide to subscribe to Amazon Prime in order to access the games. And Amazon can afford to drop $50 million to build its brand. “All Amazon needs to do to benefit from this relationship is plaster the NFL logo and a picture of Tom Brady’s face on the side of a bus next to the Amazon Prime Video logo. Many consumers will see the ad and realize a couple of things. First, that Amazon actually has a video service. This is no small thing, and not necessarily easy or cheap for Amazon to achieve otherwise. Second, an Amazon/ NFL combination is unusual enough to get your attention,” the analyst writes.
AMERICANS: HAPPY AND HEALTHY
The Temkin Group’s Well-Being Index for 2017 reached 65.9%, the highest level since the study was started six years ago; the study averages the percentage of consumers who agree with the following statements: “I am typically happy,” “I am healthy,” and “I am financially secure.” All three elements increased between 2016 and 2017, with financially secure up from 45.0% last year to 50.5% this year.
AVAILS
WIVB News 4 (CBS) and CW 23 in Buffalo, NY is looking for a Director of Sales to lead its Broadcast and Digital sales operations. We are seeking a «game changer» and proven leader who can communicate a vision, while developing a management and sales team to generate extraordinary growth. Our DOS has direct responsibility for national sales efforts. Bachelor’s degree and a minimum five years’ experience in television sales management required. CLICK HEREfor additional info or to apply now. EOE/M/V/F/D.
The New England Sports Network is searching for an Account Executive. This position requires a team oriented, aggressive, creative sales professional adept at growing existing accounts while developing new business utilizing NESN’s and NESN.com’s unique brand position. This position actively manages the sales cycle including mining existing accounts for new opportunities, developing new relationships, negotiating contracts and closing business by expanding existing services, cross selling, and/or adding new services. CLICK HEREfor more info or to apply now. EOE.
WNCN, CBS North Carolina, in the growing Raleigh market has an immediate opening for a Traffic Coordinator to support the sales department with inventory management and maximization. The coordinator works with our central traffic hub double checking the dub list, looking for missing copy and going over the log once released to make sure there are no issues. A minimum of 2-3 years of experience working in a TV station traffic department producing and editing logs required. CLICK HEREto apply. EOE M/F/V/D Background check required.
NBC Connecticut is searching for a Vice President of Sales. This position oversee entire sales and marketing department employees, and provides strategic input to setting and maintaining sales targets and new business development opportunities for the sales managers and their teams. Minimum 7 years’ prior experience in a TV, broadcast, digital sales or marketing managerial role and a bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing or related field and/or equivalent experience preferred. CLICK HEREfor more information or to apply now. EOE.
I’m not sure what my husband is planning on doing for me on Mother’s Day but I hope it’s laundry.–FunnyTweeter.com
A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested for having a loaded gun hidden in his carry-on bag. The pilot was fired from Southwest and immediately hired by United.–Conan O’Brien
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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
April20, 2017
Phone: 888-884-2630