Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
February 3, 2016
BLIZZARD HIT JANUARY 2016 CAR SALES
FIAT CHRYSLER STILL WON BIG
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles overcame the “Blizzard of 2016” and posted its 70th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. Reports from other car makers were mixed as total U.S. sales of cars and light trucks declined 0.4% to 1.148 million units. But since the month had one weekend fewer than January 2014, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales rose to 17.55 million from 16.71 million a year ago and a SAAR of 17.32 million in December 2015.
The Jeep and Dodge brands led growth at FCA, where unit sales rose 6.9% to 155,037. The Jeep Compass (pictured), Cherokee and Patriot set January sales records, as did the Dodge Journey, Challenger and Charger. Dodge was up 19.1%, Jeep 14.6% and Ram 5.2%, while Fiat was down 20.3%, Chrysler 22.1% and Alpha Romeo 30.9%.
General Motors managed to squeak out a 0.5% sales gain to 203,745, with GM touting Chevrolet for gaining two percentage points of retail market share. Still, Chevy sales were down 3.6% and Cadillac 8.0%. The gains came at Buick, up 45.5% (attributed to “owner loyalty” by GM) and GMC, up 3.5%.
Ford Motor Company noted that SUV sales shot up 3%, although total sales dropped 2.8% to 172,478. The Lincoln brand was up 8.4%, but Ford down 3.2%.
Who else was up? Nissan North America was another large maker with a gain, up 1.6% to 105,734, with Nissan up 2.9% and Infiniti down 11.8%. Hyundai-Kia was up 0.6% to 83,316, with Hyundai up 1.1% and Kia flat.
Though a smaller producer, Jaguar Land Rover was hitting on all cylinders as sales rose 7.0% to 7,007, with Land Rover up 7.1% and Jaguar 6.8%. Volvo continued its comeback with an 11.9% improvement to 4,244. Daimler AG rose 1.3%, with Mercedes-Benz up 1.7% and Smart down 18.9%. Subaru was up—although not by double-digits as seen in so many recent months—rising 0.7% to 41,101.
Toyota Motor saw U.S. sales slip 4.7% to 161,283, with Scion up 38.2%, but Toyota down 5.0% and Lexus off 9.5%. Volkswagen AG was down 6.9% to 36,364, with Porsche up 10.6% and Audi 2.7%, while Volkswagen was down 14.6% and Bentley 15.6%. BMW Group was down 4.0% to 21,320, with Mini up 0.3% and BMW off 4.7%. American Honda declined 1.7% to 100,497, with Honda up 0.1% and Acura down 14.5%. Mitsubishi was down 3.5% to 6,264 and Mazda 2.8% to 19,703.
Kelley Blue Book reported that the average transaction price in January was $34,112, up 2.8% ($919) from a year earlier, but down 1.6% ($553) from December.
ADVERTISER NEWS
Publix Super Markets is very focused on its regional footprint, so it’s not often that the supermarket chain adds another state. Virginia will become the seventh state of operations for Publix, with the company announcing that it has signed two leases. The Bristol store, 54,000 square feet, will be located in Washington County in southwestern Virginia. And in the greater Richmond area, the Glen Allen store, 49,000 square feet, will be located in Henrico County. The Bristol store is tentatively planned to open in the fourth quarter of 2017, and the Glen Allen store will follow in 2018. Currently Publix has 1,111 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina……Ahold and Delhaize have set special shareholder meetings for March 14 to vote on their merger. In the U.S. Ahold owns the Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin’s and Peapod grocery brands and Delhaize Food Lion and Hannaford……Aided by low inflation and declining unemployment, consumer spending on furniture and bedding is expected to top $100 billion for the second straight year in 2016. According to Furniture Today's economic forecast, the figure should hit $106.2 billion this year, a 4.1% increase from an estimated $102 billion in 2015—the first year the $100 billion mark was breached……After failing to win back control of American Apparel in bankruptcy court, Chain Store Age reports that Dov Charney has backing from Hagan Capital and other investors to launch a new retail brand. The concept is said to be quite similar to American Apparel……Chain Store Age reports that H&M is continuing its rapid retail store expansion, despite the challenging retail environment. The Swedish retail powerhouse plans to open 425 stores in 2016, with a focus on expansion in the United States and China. At the close of its fiscal year, H&M operated 3,924 stores in 61 markets globally……Apple says Exxon Mobil Corp. will soon integrate Apple Pay for its Speedpass+ app, allowing customers with iPhones to pay for fuel directly at the pump. Convenience Store News says Chevron and Cumberland Farms have also integrated Apple Pay at their stores……Landry's and Golden Nugget Casinos say they’ve determined the extent of a recently discovered data breach and will begin notifying potential victims of payment card data breaches during three periods between May 2014 and December. The breaches extended across several Landry’s restaurant brands in different states……Taco Bell has tried to add to the mystery surrounding the new menu item to be announced in a Super Bowl ad by inviting customers to pre-order the item. The price is $2.99 each (limit 5) for pickup at a local Taco Bell Sunday 2:00-4:00 pm.
NETWORK NEWS
James Corden won a Best Actor Tony in 2012 for One Man, Two Guvnors. This year he’s going to host The 70th Annual Tony Awards live from New York on CBS Sunday, June 12, at 8:00 pm (ET). Corden is somewhat better known to American audiences now, having hosted The Late Late Show on CBS since last March……Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford has been cast as “Columbia,” the castle’s feisty live-in groupie, in the two-hour television event The Rocky Horror Picture Show, airing this fall on FOX……Throughout the day on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, CBS’s Super Bowl 50 pregame show, The Super Bowl Today (2:00-6:00 pm ET), celebrates the Super Bowl by integrating into its coverage historical footage, great moments, videos, player vignettes and reflections highlighting the history of the Super Bowl since CBS first broadcast it in 1967. The Super Bowl Today, will feature lead host James Brown along with analysts Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott, as well as hosts Ian Eagle and Greg Gumbel, contributing analysts Brandon Marshall, Trent Green and Amy Trask, NFL Today Insider Jason La Canfora, reporters Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn, Allie LaForce and Contributor Jim Rome……The Recording Academy will honor the recently deceased Grammy winner David Bowie with an experiential tribute performed by one of his biggest fans, Lady Gaga. The tribute will air during The 58th Annual Grammy Awards live on CBS Monday, February 15, at 8:00 pm (ET).
MONDAY RATINGS
The X-Files kept FOX on top for Monday primetime, with the network posting an average 2.3 rating for Adults 18-49 in the Nielsen overnights and a 4.4 in Households, with an average audience of 7.179 million. ABC, with The Bachelor, was at 1.8 18-49, 4.2 HH and 6.300 million; CBS, with Supergirl, 1.3 18-49, 4.5 HH and 7.052 million; Univision 0.7 18-49, 1.0 HH and 1.845 million; Telemundo 0.6 18-49, 0.9 HH and 1.545 million; and The CW 0.4 18-49, 0.7 HH and 1.034 million.
WEEKLY RATINGS
Week #19, January 25-31, saw FOX at 2.2 18-49 and 3.9 HH; CBS 1.2 18-49 and 4.8 HH; NBC 1.2 18-49 and 3.1 HH; ABC 1.1 18-49 and 2.5 HH; The CW 0.7 18-49 and 1.2 HH; Univision 0.7 18-49 and 1.1 HH; and Telemundo 0.5 18-49 and 0.8 HH.
SYNDIE SNIPPET
Based on national ratings for the week of January 18, Disney|ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution says Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with Chris Harrison grew for the 2nd-consecutive week in Households (+7% - 1.5 rating vs. 1.4 rating), Total Viewers (+9% - 2.137 million vs. 1.958 million) and Adults 25-54 (+20% - 0.6 rating vs. 0.5 rating). In addition, Millionaire spiked 40% week to week with Women 25-54 (0.7 rating to 0.5 rating). Millionaire" achieved new season highs in Households, Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.
AMERICANS READY FOR PARTY WEEKEND
An estimated 188.9 million football fans, foodies and social butterflies plan to watch the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers battle it out in Super Bowl 50 this Sunday, February 7. That’s up from the estimated 183.7 million who planned to watch last year in the National Retail Federation’s Super Bowl Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics. The annual survey found that those celebrating will spend slightly more than they did for the 2015 Super Bowl; viewers and partygoers will spend an average of $82.19 on food, décor, team apparel and more, up from $77.88 last year and the highest in the survey’s history. Total spending is expected to top $15.5 billion.
“We expect retailers will be aggressive with promotions on food and decorations as well as athletic wear and electronics in the coming days as they look to entice those planning to watch the Super Bowl,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.
An estimated 43.3 million fans are planning to throw a Super Bowl party (17.7%) while another 70 million say they’d rather let their friends and relatives do the hosting and attend one instead (28.6%); 79.8% of partygoers and viewers will purchase food; 11.1% of those planning to watch the game will buy new team apparel and/or accessories—an estimated 20.9 million new items purchased. And 7.7% of Americans are planning to purchase a new television to enjoy the game (similar to last year’s 8.8 percent), which could amount to an estimated 8.6 million new televisions.
Why do they watch? 34.7% say the football game is the most important part of the day (85 million) while 17.7% say the commercials are (43.4 million), and another 4.5% say enjoying the fun food is the most important for them (11 million). Nearly eight in 10 (78.6%) Americans say they view the commercials during the Super Bowl as entertainment, while 17.5% say they make them aware of advertisers’ brands, and 10.3 percent said they influence them to buy products from the advertisers.
12.9% of 18-24 year olds say the halftime show is the most important part of Super Bowl Sunday for them, the highest of any age group, while one in five (20.4%) of 45-54 year olds say the commercials are the most important part of the day, similar to the 20.2 percent of 35-44 year olds who say so.
NBC GETTING MORE FROM DICK WOLF
Television creator/producer Dick Wolf has signed a new overall deal with NBCUniversal that extends his relationship with NBC through 2020. In addition, NBC has given an 18th season renewal for Law & Order: SVU as well as a pickup for the second season of Wolf’s newest drama, Chicago Med. Both Chicago Fire (season 5) and Chicago P.D. (season 4) have previously been renewed.
NBC says Wolf is also in active development for the latest incarnation of the Chicago franchise, Chicago Law, as well as the reality series Law & Order: You the Jury, where the audience will decide the binding result of a live court case.
SETTLEMENT BY TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT
Much like the settlement that American Honda Finance reached with federal regulators last summer, Toyota Motor Credit has agreed to limit the discretion of dealers to charge interest rate markups on vehicle financing. To settle allegations of discrimination against African-American and Asian/Pacific Islander borrowers Toyota Credit will make a total of $21.9 million in restitution.
Toyota Credit said it disagreed with the findings of the Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that its practices were discriminatory. The company said the actions it has agreed to will further its commitment to not tolerating discrimination.
THIS AND THAT
Yahoo announced plans to eliminate another 15% of its workforce—which The Wall Street Journal calculates to be a drop of 42% since 2012—and to explore “strategic alternatives” for its struggling Internet business. That usually means hanging out a “for sale” sign. Yahoo reported a Q4 loss of $4.4 billion as it grew revenues by 1.6%...... Sony Pictures Television's classic TV channel getTV has signed a distribution agreement with Media General for both over-the-air and local cable carriage in 20 new markets. With the addition of Media General's affiliates, getTV has local deals in place in 87 markets, 47 of which are in the top 50 DMAs…..Amazon announced a multi-year, multimillion dollar production deal with American Girl, a premium brand for girls and subsidiary of Mattel, to produce four live-action specials and options to produce multiple seasons of episodic content, based on the brand’s characters. The first special is scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video in the US, UK, Germany and Austria later this year……The criminal probe of Chipotle Mexican Grill has gone nationwide. The company disclosed that it recently received a federal subpoena seeking documents going back to the beginning of 2013. The investigation of food-safety practices, which originally focused on the West Coast, is now system-wide.
AVAILS
Raycom Media, 63 TV stations and a great culture, has several current job openings for a Local Sales Manager in markets 50-150. If you are a dynamic, self-motivating Sr. AE or a LSM with a proven sales history who exhibits strong leadership skills and the ability to recruit and inspire the best talent…please apply! Candidates must demonstrate skills at training new AEs, and negotiating direct and agency business. MORE DETAILS HERE. Qualified candidates, email resume to for consideration. No calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V
Traffic Manager: The Traffic Manager at the Meredith Traffic Hub in Phoenix is responsible for an error-free work product that includes processing all spot orders, copy instructions, resolving discrepancies, and programming input. The manager will also have a direct impact upon the stations’ revenues as well as upon customer perceptions of how a well-run traffic department should operate. High school graduate or equivalent. College graduate preferred. To apply please do so through Job number JR01571. EOE.
Heartland Media's KDRV-TV, the ABC and Antenna TV affiliate in Medford, OR seeks a General Sales Manager to lead, develop, train, and motivate its growing team of sales managers AEs. This is a great opportunity to join a dominant station with the market's top-rated newscasts, quality syndicated programming, and a broad range of digital products to market and sell. Plus, you'll live and work in a sunny corner of the Pacific Northwest! Email cover letter, resume, and references to: . Pre-employment drug screen required. EOE.
General Manager: A small privately-held broadcast company is looking for the right person to operate its television station in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. The GM will oversee all departments, including news, but is also directly responsible for sales department management. Our right candidate will be an experienced GM who likes to be actively involved in sales, or a broadcast sales manager looking to move into his/her first general manager role. Send cover letter, resume and salary requirements in confidence to . EOE.
Raycom Media is seeking a VP/GM for WCSC, its dominant CBS affiliate in the beautiful and vibrant Charleston, SC market. This is a tremendous opportunity for a dynamic leader with contemporary experience in developing local news and branded content for broadcast and digital audiences. Applicant must also have experience in developing market leading broadcast and digital revenue strategies. Competitive compensation/benefits. Submit your resume and salary requirements with your application online. No phone calls please. To apply, please visit EOE-M/F/D/V
Gulf California Broadcast Company is looking for a Director of Sales who is highly motivated with a proven record of success, to oversee sales revenue for its television and web properties. The successful candidate will have 5 to 10 years’ experience in a broadcast television sales management role, and a highly motivated personality, with great interpersonal skills. Solid written and verbal communication skills are a must. More details HERE. To apply, note referral source and send resume to: . EOE. Gulf California Broadcast Company is based in Thousand Palms, CA and is a part of the News-Press and Gazette Company.
On to New Hampshire! Not for the primaries; I’m just addicted to covered bridges.
--Stephen Colbert
In Alabama, a dog completed a half marathon. After being congratulated the dog said, ‘What the hell are you talking about? I was chasing a car.’
--Conan O’Brien
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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
February 3, 2016
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