Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
December22, 2017
FCC ISSUES BIGGEST-EVER FINE OVER SPONSOR ID RULES
SINCLAIR CALLS IT A ‘SIMPLE HUMAN ERROR’
In a warning to every television station airing paid programming, the Federal Communications Commission has proposed the largest-ever fine for a broadcast sponsorship identification rule violation.
The FCC has tentatively concluded Sinclair Broadcast Group should pay a $13,376,200 fine for 1,723 instances of failing to make required disclosures in connection with programming sponsored by a third party. That’s three-times larger than any other previous fine for a violation of the sponsorship identification rules.
“When a broadcast licensee fails to disclose the sponsor of paid programming, it may mislead the public into believing the paid broadcast material is a station’s independently generated news or editorial content,” the 18-page order said. “In addition, enforcement of the sponsorship identification requirements protects competition by preventing sponsors from gaining an unfair advantage by paying stations to present commercial material as news or editorial content, while their competitors’ paid programming is properly disclosed as sponsored material.”
The FCC’s investigation into Sinclair first began in April 2016 when an anonymous complaint alleged the company had aired paid programming about the Huntsman Cancer Institute during news programs but failed to disclose that the Huntsman Cancer Foundation had paid for the stories to air. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau opened an investigation and found that Sinclair and the Foundation had entered into an agreement under which Sinclair produced and supplied programming to both 64 Sinclair owned television stations and 13 other stations that the company doesn’t own. The programming promoted the Foundation and the Institute and included 60- to 90-second sponsored stories made to look like independently generated news coverage and 30-minute paid television programs on 77 different stations.
“Because of the seriousness of these violations, we have taken the base forfeiture amount for each and every apparent violation of our rules at issue here and adjusted it upward,” FCC chair AjitPaisaid in a statement. If the base forfeiture amount had been used to calculate the proposed fine Sinclair would have been on the hook for a much smaller $6,892,000 penalty.
Sinclair said the violations were the result of “simple human error” and in a statement called the fine “unreasonable” since no viewers were harmed from the mistake. “We disagree with the FCC’s action and intend to contest this unwarranted fine,” the company said. Sinclair will have 30 days to respond to the FCC after which the Commission will then review any additional before it finalizes the penalty.
ADVERTISER NEWS
John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s will step down as CEO of the company. Schnatter got blasted last month for slamming NFL’s leadeship for the handling of the players’ protests during the playing of the national anthem - a problem that many believe has led to declining viewership and declining interest in NFL games. Schnatter owns roughly 25% of Papa John’s and will stay on as chairman after stepping down as CEO in January. Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie was named his successor effective Jan. 1, 2018. Ritchie said new ads will come out next year, and that the company had “no plans to remove John from our communications,” according to the Associated Press.... As we reported earlier this week, Taco Bell is launching a new advertising campaign to tout value via low-cost $1 menu items. The Yum Brands chain is launching a $1 stacker — which looks like beef and cheese in a folded tortilla — campaign this week, and will introduce 20 more $1 items in 2018.... Walmart’s NYC-based innovation center is experimenting with a cashier-less store concept called Project Kepler, Recode reports. Project Kepler is in part aimed at creating a store that would feature no checkout lines or cashiers, using computer vision to detect which products customers leave the store with and then charge their accounts...Meanwhile, Retaildive.com says Walmart’s subsidiary Code Eight is in the early stages of piloting a shopping service aimed at allowing wealthy New York City moms to research and buy products via text, including using product photos, quoting Recode. The target customer for Code Eight are wealthy city dwellers, and the service aims to offer free delivery of household products within 24 hours....Italian confectioner Ferrero Group is close to scooping up Nestle’sU.S. candy bar business, says the New York Post. The Ferrero Group, which makes Nutella as wells as the Ferrero Roche chocolate-and-hazelnut bon-bons, is poised to shell out as much as $2 billion to win an auction of Nestle brands including Crunch, Butterfinger and Kit Kat, sources said. That’s on the heels of Ferrero inking a $1.25 billion buyout earlier this month of Ferrara Candy, which makes Red Hots, Now and Later, Jujyfruitsand Super Bubble.... Acura’s RDX, the top-selling luxury compact crossover in the U.S. as recently as 2015, is undergoing its most extensive redesign in more than a decade as it squares off against a wave of new rivals, says Autonews.com. The 2019 RDX will be the first Acura model to be completely overhauled since designer Jon Ikeda took over as general manager of Honda Motor Co.’s luxury brand in 2015. The third-generation RDX will be revealed during the 2018 Detroit auto show in January, Honda Motor Co. executives said Thursday.
NETWORK NEWS
The Good Doctor on ABC and CBS’ Young Sheldon are the standouts for the new 2017 Fall broadcast TV season. Both shows are heads and shoulders above the other freshman competition as the season winds down. Both shows rank among the top programs in both the adults 18-49 demographic and in total viewers, according to Nielsen’s most recent data, which includes Live+ 7 Day for September 25th through November 26th and Live + Same Day data for November 27th through December 10th. The Good Doctor averaged a 3.5 rating in the demo for the season, tying for 10th place overall with ABC’s other medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. Young Sheldon was in eleventh place with a 3.3 demo rating. In the total viewers ranking, The Good Doctor finished fifth overall with 16.08 million viewers, while Young Sheldon was sixth with 15.94 million. The remaining freshman class of new programs failed to crack the top 20……. The 35th season of Survivor on CBS finished on Wednesday night and the season finale was mostly steady with the prior week’s performance and its previous two finales, according to Nielsen. The two-and-a-half-hour finale posted a 1.9 rating in adults 18-49 and 8.7 million total viewers. That was up just a few percentage points in the demo compared to last week’s episode, but even in total viewers. The 34th season finale, airing last May, drew a 1.9 rating and 8.5 million total viewers. The 33rd season finale also delivered a 1.9 demo rating and 9.1 million total viewers……. Tonya Harding has been booked for a lengthy sit-down interview with the ABC News docu-series Truth and Lies. The two-hour special will build off the interest in the 1994 Harding-Nancy Kerrigan scandal spurred by the movie I, Tonya, a feature film starring Margot Robbie as Harding and Allison Janney as Golden. Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story will explore the attack on Kerrigan plotted by Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly. Kerrigan, Harding’s rival, was clubbed on the knee at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, weeks before the skaters were to compete in the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Gillooly and others wound up serving prison time for the attack and Harding admitted to withholding information from police and received three years’ probation and fined $160,000. She was banned for life from the U.S. Figure Skating Association and lost her 1994 U.S. championship title. Truth and Lies: the Tonya Harding Story will air on ABC Thursday, January 11th at 9 PM (ET)……The first week of January will feature series premieres for the broadcast nets. NBC will debut Ellen’s Game of Games on Tuesday, and Fox will premiere LA to Vegas. 9-1-1 starts up on Fox on Wednesday night with The Four: Battle for Stardom, Fox’s new singing competition debuting on Thursday night of that week. ABC’s new game show called Child Support airs its first installment on Friday night……On Sunday night, January 7th NBC will air the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards in a live special. Late-night talk show personality Seth Meyers will host the awards ceremony.
THIS AND THAT
ESPN has reached an agreement with the National Football League that expands its live streaming of Monday Night Football (MNF) for ESPN subscribers to mobile phones. The expanded mobile rights also include NFL highlights and extend through the duration of ESPN’s existing NFL agreement (conclusion of the 2021 NFL season).... Whole Foods’ 365 Everyday Value store brand has racked up $10 million in sales on Amazon.com since late August, according to a report from One Click Retail. The natural and organic brand, which sees 9% weekly sales growth on Amazon’s site, is now the number two best-selling private label line the e-tailer offers.
SURVEY: CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPROVES
Despite lots of venting on social media, the 2017 Customer Service Barometer from American Express finds that U.S. consumers are actually happier than ever with the service that companies provide. The study found that 81% of Americans report that businesses are meeting or exceeding their expectations for service. That’s up sharply from only 67% in the 2014 survey. 40% of consumers say businesses have increased their service, a significant increase in just three years—up from 29% in 2014.
“More companies are realizing that delivering great care is not just the right thing to do; it also makes great business sense. Seven in 10 U.S. consumers say they’ve spent more money to do business with a company that delivers great service,” said AmEx EVP Raymond Joabar.
Digital servicing options are helping to drive this uptick in servicing satisfaction, as is improved person-to-person care. More than two thirds of those surveyed (68%) said that a pleasant representative was key to their recent positive service experiences, and 62% said that a representative’s knowledge or resourcefulness was key.
Americans continue to reward companies that get service right. U.S. consumers say they’re willing to spend 17% more to do business with companies that deliver excellent service, up from 14% in 2014. As a group, Millennials are willing to spend the most for great care (21% additional), followed by men (19%).
But there’s another side to that coin, too: poor service is costing companies. More than half of Americans have scrapped a planned purchase or transaction because of bad service, and 33% say they’ll consider switching companies after just a single instance of poor service.
There’s a growing preference for self-service and digital options on simple inquiries, specifically for online chat and mobile apps. More than six in 10 consumers say their go-to channel for simple inquiries is a digital self-serve tool such as a website (24%), mobile app (14%), voice response system (13%) or online chat (12%). But, as the complexity of the issue increases, such as with payment disputes or complaints, customers are more likely to seek out a face-to-face interaction (23%) or make a phone call (40%).
More people than ever are also using social media to get help from businesses. In the past year, 35 percent reported reaching out in social channels, up significantly from the 2014 survey (23%) and double the percentage from 2012 (17%). Of those who have used social media for a customer service concern, 84 percent say they have received a response or resolution, up significantly from 65% in 2014.
MAYBE TV WILL BENEFIT
Following a federal push for more disclosure, and amid investigations into Russian meddling into American elections, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will propose legislation next year to close legal loopholes in New York regarding political ads on the internet. The goal is to pressure companies like Facebook to root out foreign-based interlopers in online campaigns.
DONE DEALS
Sinclair Broadcasting Group has announced the appointment of Matt Bowman to the position of General Manager of WCTI (ABC) in the New Bern/Greenville/ Jacksonville, North Carolina market. Bowman will also be responsible for the oversight of Sinclair’s provision of services to WYDO (FOX) under a joint sales agreement. The announcement was made by Steve Marks, EVP & Chief Operating Officer of Sinclair’s Television Group. Additionally, Allison Aldridge has been named General Manager of Sinclair’s Greensboro/Winston Salem, North Carolina property. Ms. Aldridge will oversee the operations of WXLV (ABC) and WMYV (MyNetwork). She joined Sinclair in 2004 as an account executive at WTAT/WMMP in Charleston, South Carolina.
Gray Television, Inc. has announced the appointment of veteran broadcaster Jasmine Hatcher Hardin to the position of General Manager of WVLT (CBS) and WBXX (CW) in Knoxville, TN. She succeeds Chris Baker, who recently announced his retirement after more than 20 years with Gray including 19 years as GM of WVLT. Currently, Ms. Harding is the Station Manager of WVLT and WBXX, and she served as General Sales Manager since 2013. She began her broadcast career with Gannett’s WBIR in Knoxville and WXIA in Atlanta. She joined WVLT in 2006 as National Sales Manager.
SPOTS N DOTS RETURNS DECEMBER 27TH
We’ll miss you, but we have to take a few days off to eat all the cookies and drink all the eggnog. And someone has to finish the shopping then start the online returns. There’s no SND on Monday (12/25) or Tuesday (12/26). We’re back on Wednesday, 12/27. Have a wonderful holiday break!
AVAILS
There’s a great opportunity in Topeka, Kansas for a sales leader that always manages to get “more than your fair share” and is looking for career growth. KSNT is looking for a National Sales Manager to be responsible for directing the national sales efforts for the NBC/ABC/FOX & CW stations while working in concert with our sales management team to grow overall revenue. Full details HERE. If this sounds like your next challenge, we want to hear from you! Send cover letter, resume and references to OE/M/F/D/V
WTAT FOX 24 in beautiful Charleston, SC has an immediate opening for an experienced Account Executive with a proven track record of success. This includes a history of solid negotiation, Digital and New Business development. Join a progressive company in one of the Country’s most desired markets. To apply, please send resume to nd include “WTAT-Account Executive” in the subject line. No calls please. WTAT-TV and Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace!
WAFB, the Raycom-owned CBS affiliate in the Baton Rouge, LA market seeks a dynamic leader to serve as the Vice President and General Manager of a legacy station in a top 100 television market. A minimum of 5 years’ experience successfully performing in a senior broadcast media management position, GM experience preferred. Find out why this vibrant capital city and home of the LSU Tigers and Southern Jaguars is a great place to work and play! CLICK HEREto apply. No calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V
WFTV – Cox Media Group Television Station in Orlando, Florida (Market #18) seeks an Account Executive. We want passionate sellers that want to WIN. The winning candidate will have the skill set and drive to build a full pipeline of sales prospects and be responsible for closing the business and achieving their revenue goals. A minimum 2 years of prior broadcast TV and digital sales experience. CLICK HEREfor more info or to apply now. Cox Media Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.
Somebody actually released a naked picture of me on the internet last year. The weird thing was, it came from one of those overhead traffic cameras.–Larry the Cable Guy
My 7 year old has been asking a lot of questions this Christmas season and I’m worried that it might be the last year he believes that Bitcoin is real.–FunnyTweeter.com
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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
December22, 2017
Phone: 888-884-2630