Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
January10, 2018
POWERED BY BROADCAST TV HITS, HULU TOPS 17M SUBS
AD REVENUE HITS $1BILLION
The tech world is buzzing about lots of gadgets at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, many of which consumers will never see. But one idea they’re already embracing is subscription online TV services. Powered by a mix of new shows and an on-demand library of more than 75,000 episodes of mostly broadcast TV content, Hulu hit 17 million paid subscribers at the end of 2017. That’s an increase of 5 million users compared the company’s last publicly reported total in 2016. While it doesn’t release ratings, Hulu does reveal its total audience grew to more than 54 million total unique viewers with a media age of 31. That’s nearly 25 years younger than the average broadcast TV viewer who is 55.
Those eyeballs are attracting ad dollars too. Hulu reports its advertising revenue reached a milestone $1 billion in 2017. CEO Randy Freer said it was a “momentous year” for Hulu which he credits in part to the addition of more than 600 popular TV series ranging from new shows like This Is Us and Blackish to classics including Golden Girls and Seinfeld. Hulu has also expanded to offer more than 50 live TV channels as it premieres original content such as The Handmaid’s Tale, which is credited for a lot of its growth in recent months.
Even with its growth Hulu still trails Netflix which had 52.8 million subscribers at the end of Q3. Hulu could also see new owners in 2018. There’s speculation that Disney— which will get a 30% stake in the company as part of its $52 billion buyout of 20th Century Fox—could look to buy out Hulu’s other owners NBCUniversal and Time Warner.
ADOBE BRINGS TV INTO DIGITAL BUYING PLATFORM
It’s not just viewers who are changing how they watch TV. Buyers are also going digital as they buy spot time. They’re also looking to do more integrated buys between television and digital media. A new partnership between media software company Mediaocean and Adobe could speed up that process. Adobe says it’ll integrate Mediaocean’sSpectra ad buying platform into its Adobe Advertising Cloud, a move that the company says will make it easier for advertisers to integrate their traditional TV spot buys with digital video advertising. The partnership will automate upfront, reserved and scatter buys starting on the national level---but insiders tell us it could be leveraged for local TV ad buying down the road if Adobe expands in that direction.
It’s an alliance that could have plenty of impact considering Mediaocean estimates 75% of all TV ad buys go through its system while $3 billion in digital ad dollars and over $200 million of TV spend funnel through Adobe’s Advertising Cloud for more than 1,000 clients including Allstate, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Liberty Mutual, L’Oréal, MGM, Nickelodeon and Southwest Airlines.
The two companies say they will also be able to leverage first-party audience data from the digital campaigns to help more quickly make the needed adjustments to the broadcast TV flight schedules in order to “deliver more targeted ads that achieve the desired reach and frequency.”
Although TV advertising bought through automated channels is forecasted to double in 2018 to $6 billion in total ad spend, Mediaocean chief revenue officer Ramsey McGrory points out that’s still a small portion of the over $70 billion spent on TV ads annually. He says by looping in Adobe’s digital video platform it will “help bring more innovation and capabilities to advance the TV market.”
And Adobe VP Keith Eadiesays by giving advertisers the tools to automate and optimize every ad they buy on TV and digital channels it should “drastically speed up” both the time it takes to launch campaigns as well as receive spot-level reporting and reconciliation.
ADVERTISER NEWS
Alabama will be the site of a new $1.6 billion Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. auto plant, sources said on Tuesday. The plant, located in Huntsville, AL, will employ up to 4,000 people and produce about 300,000 vehicles a year, and is a boon for the state, where Toyota has a large engine plant and an existing network of automotive suppliers, according to Automotive News. Toyota will build Corollas, and Mazda will build a new crossover SUV at the plant. A formal announcement is expected today...Minimum wage hikes cut both ways. Restaurant busboys, in line to earn a little more dough this year as minimum wage hikes hit across the country, are instead losing their jobs at Red Robin. The chain hopes to save about $8 million this year by eliminating busboys at each of its 570 restaurants....Nordstrom joins a growing list of retailers — including Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Kohl’s — reporting a strong holiday season. The department store chain said its net sales climbed 2.5 percent, while same-store sales rose 1.2 percent for the nine weeks ended Dec. 30, 2017, when compared with the same period a year ago. Same-store sales at Nordstrom’s off-price Rack division climbed 2.9 percent, while net sales at Rack stores were up 8.2 percent during November and December, the company said. Same-store sales at its full-line department stores were up 1 percent during that period.... Target says holiday sales were strong both in its stores and online. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.4% during November and December, compared with a 1.3% decline in the same period last year. Target plans to open about 30 small-format stores and triple the size of its remodel program to more than 325 stores this year. ...Circuit City has picked Feb. 15 as the day its website will relaunch,, according to Twice.com The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The once-bankrupt retailer also has plans to open kiosks, stores within other stores and eventually its own showrooms. At one time, Circuit City had over 600 stores in the U.S....More from CES; Toyota announced Tuesday it will introduce Alexa’s voice assistant in some 2018 Toyota and Lexus models. The company will add the feature to additional models in 2019. The service will enable new features such as the ability to start the engine remotely or lock the car doors, by giving a command through another Alexa device in the home or elsewhere.... The drop in the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% is providing embattled retailers with a much needed free cash flow boost as they fight online competitors including Amazon.com. Here’s an example; the new tax rates will translate into a $200 million cash savings for Walgreens this year. But so far, the nation’s largest drugstore chain has not announced any plans to share the wealth with its employees.
NETWORK NEWS
The guest list for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s post Super Bowl edition has been announced. The list includes Justin Timberlake, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the cast of the NBC’s primetime hit This Is Us. Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, and Justin Hartley will appear on the live telecast Sunday, February 4th on NBC. Timberlake, who will be headlining the Super Bowl halftime performance, will pull double duty by taking a seat on Fallon’s couch and performing songs from his upcoming album Man of the Woods as musical guest for the night. The show will air live from the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis following NBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl LII, the midseason premiere of This Is Us and Local News……. Meanwhile, NBC and State Farm are using This Is Us as a marketing platform. The insurer will run commercials designed by the network that make use of the popular drama’s flashbacks and flash-forwards. The spots are designed to use elements of the show to keep viewers from turning away or getting out of their seats during commercial breaks. Members of the cast of This Is Us will do the voice-overs for the ads…… CBS News has named John Dickerson as co-host of CBS This Morning replacing Charlie Rose. Dickerson will join Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell on the morning news show beginning this week. The announcement was made by David Rhodes, president of CBS News. Dickerson has served as anchor for the network’s Sunday morning news program Face the Nation since June of 2015……The new Fox drama series 9-1-1 has added 3 million new viewers in delayed viewing. The first episode of the new series from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tom Minear, grew to 10.5 million total viewers once the Live +3 Nielsen measurements were released. That represented a 54% increase in viewership from its Live +Same Day number. The adult 18-49 rating jumped from a 1.8 to a 2.7 for a 50% increase. In addition, the show added 705,000 viewers on Fox Now and Hulu, making it the most streamed Fox drama debut in over three years……ABC announced their midseason premiere dates at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Monday. The spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy, which takes place in a Seattle firehouse, will join the Thursday night lineup with a two-hour premiere on March 22nd at 9 PM (ET). It will assume its regular timeslot on Thursday, March 29th at 9 PM (ET). Scandal will air the first of its final four episodes on the same night at 10 PM (ET). The new ABC version of American Idol will air on Sundays and Mondays beginning on March 11th and the new rebooted Roseanne kicks off with a special one-hour episode on Tuesday, March 27th at 8 PM (ET). The new comedy called Splitting Up Together airs at 9:30 PM (ET). The new drama series Deception debuts on Sunday, March 11th at 10 PM (ET), while For the People premieres Tuesday, March 13th at 10 PM (ET). The Crossing starts on the network Monday, April 2nd at 10 PM (ET).
LOVE/HATE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
As more advertisers turn to digital and social media avenues to find new audiences, the audiences the platforms can provide is being looked at closely. Although many Americans love social media, it doesn’t mean they actually like it.
A recent survey by Harris Poll found that a large amount of social media users tend to “love it or hate it.”
Facebook has two billion monthly users, including 183 million in the U.S. and Canada. Of those surveyed, 32 percent said they hope to “kill it and hope it dies” (the poll’s wording), and 64 percent want to “fuel it to keep it alive.” Twitter has 330 million monthly active users, and yet 46 percent of those surveyed said they hope it goes away (the most of any social network), and 43 percent want to keep it around. Forty percent of those surveyed hope Snapchat will go away, with 41 percent hoping it sticks around; and 32 percent want Instagram to go away, with 52 percent hoping it sticks around.
Harris Poll also looked at more social media networks and app, like Pinterest, Slack, Pandora, and Reddit, and found that all of them were better liked than Facebook and Twitter. The research firm surveyed more than 2,100 people during the month of December 2017.
MISSING YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE?
If news publishers see a dip in their search numbers this week, it may be because Google accidentally removed a large number of news publishers from their Google News platform over the weekend. “We apologize for the issue that resulted in a number of sites being delisted from Google News,”
Maricia Scott, engineering director Google News, told Search Engine Land, “This was an unintentional technical issue and not something we did manually. We are working hard to identify the sites that were incorrectly affected and will get them back in as soon as we possibly can.” Google was working on the issue Monday and confirmed the “technical issue” was fixed by the end of the day — but it could affect weekly averages into the future.
THIS AND THAT
LBI Media, through its subsidiaries, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of full power television station WGEN-TV in the Miami, Florida DMA from Maple LLC. WGEN will begin broadcasting programming from LBI’s Spanish language television network, EstrellaTV, as of March 1st. EstrellaTV® programming previously has been available on the digital multicast channel of an affiliate in the Miami area....Scientist, entrepreneur and Michigan democratic candidate for governor Shri Thanedaris spending over $1 million on television advertising through Feb. 4, 2018, culminating with an ad that will debut in select markets during the Super Bowl.... In case you missed it, Amazon captured nearly 90% of online holiday spending between the biggest four retailers this holiday, according to a new report from Earnest Research, as reported by Bloomberg. Walmart and Best Buy stood at 4% each, while Target held a 2% share.
DONE DEALS
Sinclair Broadcasting Group has named Kent Crawford as Group Manager, responsible for Sinclair properties in Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Medford. He will also continue his role as General Manager of KUTV-TV (CBS), KMYU-TV (MyNetwork), and KJZZ (Independent) In Salt Lake City. Crawford joined KUTV in 1982 and has served as General Manager since 2011. During his time at KUTV, he had several positions including Director of Sales, Local Sales Manager, New Business Development Director and Account Executive.... Lyle Banks has been named Vice President and General Manager of WGCL and WPCH, Meredith’s television station duopoly in Atlanta, effective immediately. In the past, Banks served as President and General Manager at both WMAQ-TV in Chicago and WAVY-TV in Norfolk, VA. Before that, Banks held senior positions at KXAS-TV in Dallas and KXAN-TV in Austin, TX.
AVAILS
Fox Television Oakland/San Francisco, KTVU and KTVU Plus, seeks a Local Sales Manager for the sale of advertising time and digital assets to local/regional clients and agencies and to achieve/exceed station goals on all media platforms—television, internet, mobile & digital channels. Knowledge of marketing, retail and competitive media, ratings, pricing, inventory control and budgeting are essential with ability to motivate a local team. 3 -5 years’ experience required/4 year degree preferred. When applying, please indicate your referral source and respond to: . EOE.
KCTV5 in Kansas City seeks a Digital Sales Manager. The DSM will work collaboratively with the station’s director of Sales and Local Sales Managers to drive revenues and retention by providing training and direct sales expertise to Account Executives. The DSM will effectively price and package all sales inventory of the owned and operated digital properties and audience extension opportunities. 5+ year’s digital sales, and 2+ years sales experience in a management role preferred. CLICK HEREfor more info or to apply now- Job #JR04365 EOE.
KHON2, the FOX and CW affiliate in Honolulu, is looking for a General Sales Manager. 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. The GSM should be proficient in inventory analysis, control and pricing; revenue forecasting, and budgeting; account strategy; product training; and energetic, candid and focused team development. CLICK HEREfor more info or to apply. KHON2 is a Nexstar Media Group station and an EOE.
KCCI, the market-leading Hearst Television CBS affiliate in Des Moines, IA is seeking an experienced Local Sales Manager with a proven track record of success in advertising sales. This leadership role encompasses revenue management for our top-rated TV station, digital, and multicast platforms. You will work in one of America’s most recognized cities for business climate and quality of life. The ideal candidate should be goal-oriented, organized, driven, and disciplined. WATCH THIS! Then CLICK HEREto apply. EOE.
KELO in Sioux Falls, SD seeks a Digital Sales Content Manager. Candidate should have a strong grasp of current digital marketing tools and strategies and social media platforms; must be able to lead integrated digital marketing campaigns from concept to execution. The DSM will work with the digital and broadcast sales teams to generate revenue to meet and exceed goals. Minimum 3 years’ experience in media; solid knowledge of digital technology required. CLICK HEREto apply. 4-year college degree preferred. EOE M/F/D/V ~ Background check required.
Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 4:00 and then bring it to me. The challenge of a deadline is refreshing.–Comedy Central
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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
January 10, 2018
Phone: 888-884-2630