Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
August 29, 2016

VW DEALERS FINALLY GET DEAL FROM VW

WILL AVERAGE $1.85 MILLION

The approximately 650 Volkswagen dealers that have seen the value of their businesses plummet in the last year finally have been told by the manufacturer that they will receive recompense for all that has happened. While the exact amount each dealer will receive will vary based on dealership size and other factors, it’s expected the settlement will total $1.2 billion, which works out to an average of $1.8 million for each dealer.

A statement from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, the law firm representing dealers in litigation, said dealers will get a cash payout from a settlement fund within 18 months. In addition, VW will repurchase unfixable used diesel vehicles owned by the dealers using the same buyback terms VW previously had agreed to for individual owners.

Many details still need the approval of a Federal judge in San Francisco. But a managing partner of Hagens Berman said he is “pretty confident we’ll have a formula by the middle of September.” VW North America CEO Hinrich Woebcken said the agreement with the dealers is a “very important step in our commitment to making things right for all our stakeholders in the U.S. market.”

Alan Brown, chairman of VW’s dealer council, told Automotive News “It’s been a lot of hours and lot of work and I believe the dealers are going to be really pleased with the package that’s coming their way. I feel very confident that this will satisfy every dealer, and I believe every dealer will accept it.”

It’s s been almost a year since VW admitted it had equipped almost 600,000 diesel vehicles sold in the U.S. with “defeat devices” that allowed the vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. It finalized an agreement in June to pay back owners of those vehicles, spending over $10 billion to buy back vehicles and pay additional cash compensation to owners. Although some dealers had sued the manufacturer as early as April, there had been no announcement of financial help for dealers until now—this settlement is a direct result of that lawsuit.

Sales have been bleak since news of the deception first broke. The New York Times notes that VW sold nearly 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year, but most of those were before the cheating was uncovered. So far this year VW sales are down 13.6%.

One example of the impact on local dealers comes in a New York Times interview with Jeff Williams, owner of Williams Auto World in Lansing, Mich. “In 2012, we sold 477 new Volkswagens,’’ Mr. Williams said. “So far this year, we’ve sold 86 new. That’s a big, big hit.”

ADVERTISER NEWS

Late in each month, J.D. Power and LMC Automotive issue a projection for the month’s final automotive sales and the estimate for August is not good: new-vehicle retail sales are expected to be down 6.5% from last August and total new-vehicle sales will be down 5.2%. One saving note: although 8/16 and 8/15 had the same number of “selling days,” last year’s August numbers started on a Saturday so 8/15 had an extra selling weekend. Still, sales made by dealers for the first eight months are now down 1.2%...... The jewelry retail segment appears to also be slipping and there’s controversy brewing at Signet Jewelers where there has been suspicion that some diamonds may have been swapped with lesser-quality stones. Quarterly comps were down 0.5% at Kay, off by 7.6% at Jared and down 1.5% at Zales, with the company citing low oil prices impacting Texas stores and promising new marketing initiatives. Meanwhile, upscale Tiffany, heavily dependent on foreign tourists, was down 8% in same-store sales……One of the retail stars this year in any segment has been Ulta Beauty which in its latest quarter delivered a 14.4% same-store increase on top of a 10.1% gain in the same quarter last year. Transactions grew 9.7% and average ticket was up 4.7%. Now just over 900 stores, Ulta is on track to open a net 100 new stores this year……The Dallas Morning News reports Kohl’s has now finished adding beauty departments to all its stores a couple of years ahead of schedule and brought about 1200 store employees to attend classes held there to educate beauty staffers……Big-and-tall men’s apparel retailer Destination XL Group had a good quarter with same-store sales up 4.6% on 3.2% more transactions. Still, seeing “macro headwinds in the current environment,” the company is “taking a more cautious view of sales in the second half of the year”……Michaels lowered its prediction for sales gains for the rest of the year after a second quarter in which it posted a 0.7% gain. It now sees a 1-1.5% gain for the year, down from a prediction of 2.2-2.7% made just two months ago……Chipotle subsidiary ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen is testing wraps using Chipotle tortillas at four of the smaller chain’s locations. There are currently 15 units in operation of the ShopHouse chain, an idea one Wall Street analyst called “a concept that may simply be ahead of its time”……Best Buy will move into Virtual Reality by carrying Oculus Rift headsets in about 500 stores for the holiday season. Priced around $600, the product is expected to appeal to current video game players.

NETWORK NEWS

NBC had made an offer to Marcia Clark to produce a pilot based on her book, Blood Defense. Clark, the former prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial is riding a new wave of popularity since the success of The People vs. O.J. Simpson on FX. The drama is based on a relentless criminal defense attorney whose world is turned upside down by a high-profile homicide involving a police detective. Sarah Paulson earned an Emmy nomination portraying Clark in the FX series……ABC’s Once Upon a Time has cast Faran Tahir as Captain Nemo for season 6 of the popular drama. Tahir (American Crime, Warehouse 13) will appear as Nemo in the sixth episode of the new season. Once Upon a Time plans to merge the stories of Captains Nemo and Hook……The just released trailer for season 3 of Empire reveals that Mariah Carey will be playing a character much like herself. Carey’s character is called Kitty and is described as a “mega-superstar who helps Jamal dig deep to overcome personal difficulties”. The new season of Empire begins on Wednesday, September 21st at 9 PM (ET) on FOX……Last Wednesday’s edition of Big Brother on CBS received a season high 2.1 A18-49 rating after the Nielsen finals were released. Meanwhile, a rerun of The Goldbergs on ABC was adjusted down a tenth of a point to a 0.8 in the same demo……On Thursday night, NBC got a win with the NFL’s preseason game between the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins. The game pulled a 1.6 A18-49 rating and 5.7 million viewers for the night. CBS ran a new Big Brother that delivered good numbers as well. The reality show got a 1.9 A18-49 rating and 6.1 million viewers. ABC delivered a 0.8 rating in the same demo for Battlebots, The $100.000 Pyramid and Match Game. FOX posted a 0.8 for the night while CW did a 0.2 rating with repeats of Legends of Tomorrow and Beauty and The Beast.

RAYCOM CONCERT FOR LOUISIANA FLOOD RELIEF

Raycom Media announced last week that Randy Jackson and Harry Connick, Jr. have agreed to co-host Louisiana Rising, a live concert to benefit the victims of the recent South Louisiana floods. Both Connick and Jackson are natives of Louisiana.

Raycom President and CEO, Pat LaPlatney said that “the rest of the country will see what a terrible and devastating event that this continues to be and how they can help. Our goal is to raise awareness – and more importantly, money – for tens of thousands of people who need help to get back on their feet”.

More than a dozen artists are slated to perform including Better Than Ezra, Sonny Landreth, Chris Thomas King, MacKenzie Bourg, Luther Kent and Rockin’ Dopsie.

The concert will be produced by Tupelo-Honey, Raycom and Baton Rouge musical fixture, Johnny Palazzotto will serve as musical director.

The 2-hour concert will be broadcast live from the River Center Theater in Baton Rouge and will be carried on all Raycom stations and nationally on the Bounce TV network on Labor Day, 9/5 at 8 PM (ET). Donations will benefit the American Red Cross’ Louisiana Flood Relief Fund.

It’s a classic question for advertisers: If for any reason, you’re being swamped by negative publicity, do you keep on advertising to minimize the damage or do your pull your spots that could become offensive in light of breaking news. Over the years many advertisers have had to make the tough decision, but just in the last two years, three notable advertisers—Chipotle, Lumber Liquidators, and of course Volkswagen—have had to live through massive negative publicity.

Right now Mylan is in the crosshairs over its pricing for EpiPen, reported to be priced 550% higher since it bought the product in 2007. The company had started a large campaign in April and its TV creative is a harrowing spot that takes the victim’s perspective during an allergy outbreak. Using iSpot.tv research, Advertising Age reports Mylan has spent about $33 million on TV advertising so far this year, with about 44% of that total on the current commercial.

The frequency of that spot has fallen off dramatically since the bad publicity started. According to iSpot, the current commercial ran 326 times during the week of 7/31 and 292 times the week of 8/7. By the week of 8/14, it was monitored just 66 times, and last week through Thursday, iSpot only recorded two airings.

THIS AND THAT

As automotive sales show distinct signs of a slowdown, the Chief Economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association thinks it’s likely that leasing will become even more of a factor in keeping sales numbers up.

Currently, according to The Detroit News, leasing accounted for over 31% of new vehicle transactions in the year’s first half, but Steven Szakely of the NADA expects it will go up, saying, “I think this could easily be 40% of the market.” Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell agrees, saying “I think (leasing can increase) because consumers really like it.” As we’ve reported before, the percentages of leasing transactions generally runs higher for more expensive vehicles.

But there’s also a cycle that should limit the number of leases. Manufacturers have encouraged leasing because there has been a relatively low number of quality used vehicles on the market after the recession earlier this decade—that creates a high “residual value” for cars coming off lease. But as all the currently leased vehicles come back in three or four years, there will again be a glut of relatively young used vehicles—lowering residual values and making lease deals at that point less attractive to manufacturers.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Metrostudy’s Q2 Home Building Outlook indicates that U.S. housing starts are expected to advance and hit 1.18 million this year, with 813,000 of those being single family homes. The best overall new home markets are Denver,Boise, Sarasota/Bradenton, FL and Salt Lake City in terms of health and local new home sales forecast. For sales volume, the leaders are expected to be Dallas,Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta.

BROADCAST & CABLE NAT AD $$ UP IN JULY

Standard Media Index shows total national TV advertising dollars grew by 3.2% in July to $2.46 billion. Broadcast networks were up 1% to $722 million, but cable networks posting the strongest results.

Cable networks grew 5.6% to $1.59 billion. Cable news networks benefited from higher ratings due to interest in the presidential election race --- as well as generally high ratings from HGTV, TNT, Food Network and Bravo.

NBC had a ratings gain from pre-Olympic programming and America’s Got Talent, while CBS grew ratings from a major golf tournament. The survey was based on data from 70% of national media agency billings.

NIELSEN ESTIMATES 1.6% HH INCREASE

Nielsen’s National Television Household Universe Eetimates for the 2016-17 season show 118.4 million TV household in the U.S. The number of persons ages 2+ in those TV Households is estimated to be 301.7 million, an increase of 1.6% from last year. The percentage of TV household grew by 0.8% over the prior year to 96%.

Nielsen’s defines a TV household as homes with at least one operable TV/Monitor with the ability to deliver video via traditional means of antennae, cable set-top-box or satellite receiver and /or a broadband connection.

AVAILS:

KOLD, the Raycom-owned CBS affiliate in the top 75 market of scenic Tucson, AZ seeks a dynamic leader to serve as the Vice President and General Manager. Find out why Tucson is a great place to work and play! From hiking/biking to a great food scene to beautiful weather with hardly any humidity, this market is a great opportunity! Te General Manager will be responsible for providing leadership, a forward-thinking vision and driving innovation to improve station performance. We offer competitive compensation and benefits programs. APPLY HERE. No calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V.

ABC Full Circle, the business development team of ABC National Television Sales, is looking for an experienced, career-minded, self-motivated sales professional to join our team in the capacity of Director, Sales in our Chicago location. This person is responsible for all aspects of new business development including, account prospecting, account management, account acquisition, executive overviews, needs assessments, proposal generation, and contract negotiations. FULL DETAILS HERE. Minimum of 5 years’ successful business development experience in broadcast and digital platforms. CLICK HERE to apply. Job identifier: 374116BR. EOE.

Media General, Tri-Cities, TN seeks a highly motivated, creative thinking, success driven sales manager to oversee all aspects of national sales in the Tri-Cities market. The position will also manage a 3-4 person local sales team. The right candidate for this position will have a Bachelor’s level degree along with a minimum of 3-5 years of experience in broadcast television or at a rep firm, a thorough understanding of the national sales process. Please apply online at mediageneral.com/careers. No phone calls please. EOE M/F/D/V

Albuquerque market leader KOAT-TV is looking for experienced salesperson to sell its Spanish language station, “Estrella TV”. Candidates must have sales experience, be Spanish language fluent and self-motivated. Experience in TV/Radio sales and solid negotiation skills required. KOAT offers opportunity for career advancement, by working for one of the nation’s largest broadcast companies, Hearst Television. CLICK HERE for more information or to apply. EOE

General Manager: The successful candidate will have a proven track record of growing sales, controlling expenses, and building profitability. The best candidate will be a “roll up your sleeves” and lead by example team builder with a positive attitude. 5 years’ experience in TV Management or TV Sales Management and proven leadership skills required. Familiarity with OSI, Matrix, ComScore, and Strata required. The best candidate will be a “roll up your sleeves” and lead by example team builder with a positive attitude and a self-starter that enjoys the benefits of autonomy. We are a company that prides ourselves on hiring good people and letting them do their jobs with support from above, not layers of red tape, paperwork and obstacles to slow them down. Send cover letter & resume to:. EOE.

WUVN in Hartford, CT is searching for an Integrated Marketing Solutions Consultant. This position is responsible for representing Entravision communications Corporation’s media properties, and calling on local advertisers and advertising agencies in a professional manner, to sell advertising, event sponsorships and marketing campaigns. Knowledge of Spanish, Hispanic culture, and Spanish media is a plus. Bilingual English/Spanish is preferred but not required. At least 2 years of experience in sales preferred. Send resume/cover letter to: Carla Cooper, . Or, fax resume to 860-278-1811. No calls please!

WCMH TV, an NBC affiliate Media General station, is looking for an Account Executive to join the Sales team. The AE will maintain and maximize core advertiser revenues, develop new business for NBC 4, nbc4i.com, and Me-TV through contact with local advertising agencies and direct local clients. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of three years broadcast sales experience and a BA or BS degree. Qualified candidates may apply at: job ID: CMH-000265. Background check and drug screen required. EOE.

The View justcelebrated its 20th anniversary, although that might not be factually correct, because I heard it on The View. – Seth Meyer

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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
August 29, 2016