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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2018.The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, May 11, 2018

LOW SPOT LOAD GETS LUKEWARM RESPONSEBUYERS THINK ADS ONLY WORTH 7% MORE NBCUniversal and Fox have yet to say whether their plans to reduce primetime spot loads will mean fewer local avails for affiliates. ABC and CBS have also not said whether they’ll follow their lead. But while viewers may applaud the idea, advertisers aren’t exactly racing to embrace the lighter inventory approach. An Advertiser Perceptions survey of 304 ad buyers and marketers found just four-in-ten (42%) predicted they’ll spend more with TV networks that are lowering their spot load. And among those do think they’ll place buys, the survey found the average premium buyers are willing to pay is just 7%. Advertiser Perceptions EVP Andy Sippel told WSJ, which first reported the survey results, that marketers aren’t yet willing to pony up for low-ad environments because they don’t have any proof so far that they actually help drive consumer sales. “Nobody has proof yet that less-cluttered environments drive better business results,” he said. “The same can be said for innovative ad formats like six-second ads that advertisers haven’t backed yet: they don’t have a basis of proof or value. Once they get it, they’ll be all in.” NBCU will reduce its total ad time by 10% with a more substantial cutback of 20% during prime-time hours starting next fall. The company will also launch a new 60-second contextually-programmed Prime Pod in the first or last break of a show dedicated to up to two advertisers for stronger impact with viewers. Fox is reportedly pitching JAZ pods—or “Just A and Z” pods—to buyers. The two-spot breaks would last no more than one minute.

MOMS SPEND THREE HOURS A DAY WITH TV Multitasking moms still find plenty of time for television. Edison Research says a survey of 263 moms during January found that the typical mom spends 2 hours and 47 minutes watching TV during the previous 24-hours. That compares to 1 hour and 51 minutes listening to the radio. But more than anything Edison VP Melissa DeCesare said the data shows how much digital is changing mom’s lives. Their data shows moms spent 3 hours and 34 minutes online. That’s especially true with mobile usage. The number of moms who own a smartphone is now 92%, a six-point increase compared to a year ago. “Moms are not only using technology and their smartphones—they are relying on them to help balance their crazy, hectic days,” DeCesare said. She told a webinar Thursday that 59% of moms said the most common way they access the internet is on their smartphone. That compares to one-third who said a desktop or laptop computer. “This mobile device is a must have for moms—it allows mom to engage and consume media wherever she goes,” DeCesare said.(Continued on page 3)

ADVERTISER NEWS The Wall Street Journal reports that higher input costs are pressuring U.S. companies to raise prices—a possible prelude to consumer inflation. But shoppers are said to be resisting their efforts. The Journal says businesses are facing higher costs for everything, “from fuel and freight hauling to steel to accounting services.” The report cites data released earlier this week by the Labor Department, which showed input price increases have outstripped consumer price increases since late 2016, with some pipeline costs rising at two or three times the rate of consumer inflation.

Some of the companies feeling the most pain, the Journal says, are in the food industry…CNBC says a top Wall Street firm sees choppy waters ahead for Macy’s stock price because of deteriorating physical store sales. Morgan Stanley has lowered its rating on the retailer’s shares, predicting lower-than-expected earnings this fiscal year. CNBC cites a note from analyst Kimberly Greenberger, who Thursday told clients that

“Macy’s continues to undergo core operating challenges, similar to peers in the department store space.” The report sent the company’s shares lower…Pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly is buying ARMO BioSciences, according to multiple reports. The price: $1.6 billion. WSJ.com says it’s just the latest investment in the hot area of immunotherapy cancer treatments—a range of treatments that harness a patient’s own immune system to target cancer. The approach, the Journal says, doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s shown promise against some hard-to-treat forms of the disease—and it’s become the most closely watched area in cancer pharmaceuticals. The transaction follows a similar immunotherapy deal from August, when Gilead Sciences bought Kite Pharma for about $11.2 billion…General Motors is planning to set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in South Korea. That’s according to Reuters, which says the move is a further commitment by the U.S. automaker to its loss-making local unit. Reuters, citing the South Korean government, says a preliminary agreement calls for GM to also purchase more parts from South Korean suppliers for its overseas operations. In exchange, the report says, South Korea will fund local suppliers of GM and other South Korean automakers to develop parts for electric and self-driving cars…Fortune reports that Americans just aren’t drinking beer the way they once did. That’s bad news for AB InBev, Heineken and Molson Coors, all of which have reported significant drops in beer volume in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2018. Fortune says the sales woes are two-fold: Consumers are increasingly turning to other alcoholic beverages like whiskey and wine, and there’s an also overall drop in alcohol consumption. Fortune says the acquisition of microbreweries by larger companies initially stabilized a sales dip, but craft beer sales have begun to slow as well.

PAGE 2 The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com

NETWORK NEWS All four of the Dick Wolf series on NBC have been renewed for new seasons by the network. The renewals include a pick up of Law & Order: SVU for a 20th season. That renewal ties the record for the longest-running drama series, held jointly by Law & Order and Gunsmoke. Chicago Fire will return for Season 7, Chicago P.D. for a sixth season, and Chicago Med for Season 4……Fox has given a series pickup order to an off-cycle multi-camera comedy pilot from the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia team. The Cool Kids is the first Fox comedy to get a series order. It’s likely to be paired with a resurrected Last Man Standing on the fall schedule at Fox. It’s reported that both Rel and Dan The Weatherman remain in contention of series pickups. The network also ordered a new legal drama from producer Danny Strong. Proven Innocent was the first 2018 Fox pilot to get to series and gives Fox a potential procedural franchise, something the network has been looking to add to its portfolio since the end of Bones……Series pickups are being issued by other broadcast networks as well. Including the first drama project picked up by ABC. DJ. Nash’s hourlong projected called A Million Little Things features an all-star ensemble cast, including David Giuntoli, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Christina Ochoa, James Roday, Stephanie Szostak, and Lizzy Green. Ron Livingston is also expected to play a pivotal role. A Million Little This revolves around a group of friends from Boston who bonded under unexpected circumstances in the vein of The Big Chill. The Rookie, with Castle star Nathan Fillion, has also be picked up to series by ABC. The new show is written by Castle executive producer and co-showrunner Alexi Hawley and is inspired by a true story. Fillion will play John Nolan, the oldest rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department. Fillion’s character, who after a life-altering incident, is chasing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the department’s oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking mid-life crisis. The Rookie co-stars Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Titus Makin, Mercedes Mason, Melissa O’Neil, Afton Williamson and Eric Winter……Over at CBS, series orders were issued for two multi-camera comedies. They include Welcome to the Neighborhood, starring Cedric the Entertainer, and an untitled project with Damon Wayans Jr. in the lead role. Both sitcoms are from CBS sibling CBS TV Studios. Welcome to the Neighborhood centers on the nicest guy in the Midwest, played by Josh Lawson, who moves his family to a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles. Not everyone in his new neighborhood appreciates his extreme neighborliness, including his new neighbor from next door Calvin, played by Cedric. The Damon Wayans Jr. project is based on the time he and pop star Harry Styles lived together. The One Direction alum has just been announced as an executive producer on the series alongside The Late Late Show with James Corden’s Ben Winston.

AVAILS KRON in San Francisco, CA is seeking a Local Sales Manager. The ideal candidate must be able to work in a fast-paced environment, have strong leadership skills, high-energy, creativity, and the ability to hire, train, and motivate the sales team. Previous multi-platform sales experience and working knowledge of Wide Orbit, Matrix and Strata are preferred. A demonstrated track record of making/exceeding budget goals, and a minimum three-five years of media sales and sales management

experience required. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE. Radio Account Executive needed for sales of Sunrise Broadcasting cluster of stations in the Wilmington, NC area. The ideal candidate is an experienced sales professional with incredible drive, and a thirst to learn. 3+ years outside sales experience preferred. You must possess a high degree of self-motivation, the ability to work well on your own and within a

team environment, and the ability to communicate clearly with and direct fulfillment team members. All candidates APPLY ONLINE. EOE M/F. All Sunrise Broadcasting properties are tobacco free. Sunrise Broadcasting Company participates in E-Verify. NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations (OTS) is looking for a dynamic, creative, leader to helm its Digital Research team. Reporting to the VP of Research, the Digital Research Director will manage three quantitative and qualitative specialists, guiding the reporting and analytics across the division’s portfolio of digital properties. Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience, a minimum of 4 years of Research and/or Analytics experience using Adobe Analytics, and a minimum of 2 years of management experience preferred. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE

DONE DEALS Gray has named Andrew Stewart (right) Vice President and General Manager of WOWT (NBC 6) in Omaha, NE. Stewart most recently spent nearly eight years as VP/GM of Sinclair of Northern California, where he led ten network affiliates in three Northern California. Prior to that, Stewart held positions in Tucson and Albuquerque NM. We’re just hearing about it, but Don Davis joined Gray in late March as the General Manager of KOSATV (CBS 7

News) in the Odessa-Midland, Texas, market. Prior to joining KOSA, he was a Senior Market Manager for Gabriel Media, a revenue development company. And congratulations to Stacey Shulman (left), who was named Chief Marketing Officer of Katz Media Group. Schulman joined Katz in 2014 as EVP of

Research, but before that she was with TVB, where she served as Chief Research Officer and was responsible for driving insights on the value of local broadcast television.

5/11/2018

Jimmy Fallon

A group of MIT graduates just opened a restaurant in Boston where the chefs are all robots. Which makes it

extra creepy when you find a hair in your food.

The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com PAGE 3

FOX AD REVENUE DOWN It’s a mixed bag for 21st Century Fox’s fiscal third-quarter earnings report—with overall declines in advertising but higher affiliate fees. But Television News Daily says it’s a potential bid by Comcast for a number of the company’s businesses, and not the results from the latest reporting period, that’s the primary source of drama for 21st Century Fox this week. On a call to discuss the financial results, the report says, top executives at 21st Century Fox were mum on a possible hostile bid by the cable behemoth, which reportedly has a sweet tooth for assets Fox is in the process of selling to Disney for $52.4 billion. The report also says analysts believe a bidding war between Comcast and Disney could be on the horizon. Among the properties that could be up for grabs: 21st Century Fox’s TV and film production, FX cable networks, Hulu, its regional sports networks and Fox’s interest in Sky. Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox saw its revenue drop 2 percent to about $7.4 billion. Advertising revenue sank 25 percent to $1.6 billion, with affiliate revenue up 11 percent. The cause of the falling ad revenue: No Super Bowl broadcast, in addition to three fewer National Football League telecasts in the period. Overall broadcasting revenue was $1.7 billion—a drop of 32 percent. Cable network programming proved to be the main revenue engine. It grew 10 percent to $4.4 billion.

MOMS AND TV...(Continued from page 1) One of the way moms are using their smartphones is to watch video content. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) of moms told Edison they used YouTube during the week before they were surveyed. That’s a 15% increase from a year ago. DeCesare thinks the numbers aren’t all that surprising considering how pressed for time a mom can be and YouTube allows then to access video content quickly on their smartphone wherever they are. But while video consumption is growing, moms are spending less time on social media. The number of moms who reported they spent any time on a social networking since fell four points to 89%. That’s still a big number but DeCesare said it’s noteworthy since Edison has seen steady increases until this year. “The drop in social is coming from the drop in Facebook because they are so dominant in this space,” she said. Edison data shows Facebook usage declined. While 79% of moms said they use Facebook, that’s down from 84% last year. Among the other social networks more than half (54%) of moms reported using Pinterest, followed by Instagram (44%), Snapchat (34%) and Twitter (25%). Edison also says awareness of smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home is growing. And ownership has nearly quadrupled with 23% of moms reporting they own a smart speaker. “As the smart speakers gain more exposure and more integration these devices will find their way perfectly into mom’s tech tool kit and they do have the potential to be a game-changer for mom when she’s at home,” DeCesare said.

2017 DIGITAL AD SPENDING HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH It’s a first for digital advertising revenues: They’ve overtaken broadcast and cable television – combined. That’s according to the 2017 IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which says digital ad revenues hit an all-time high of $88 billion last year. The report, released yesterday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, says that total marks a 21-percent jump over the previous year’s $72.5 billion. The report says mobile is the driving force behind the

growth. It reached a landmark $49.9 billion to account for 57 percent of digital ad revenue. Digital video, meanwhile, climbed to a record $11.9 billion. Mobile’s surge continued from 2016, when it first accounted for more than half of total revenues. Spending on mobile grew from $36.6 billion in 2016 to $49.9 billion last year. That’s a year-over-year increase of 36 percent. It was also a good year for digital video. IAB says it hit a record $11.9 billion in 2017, up from $8.9 billion in 2016—a 33

percent year-over-year increase. And on mobile devices, video revenue grew 54 percent to $6.2 billion. That’s the first time mobile video revenues exceeded desktop video dollars. The report also finds revenue growth in social media advertising, search revenues, banner advertising and digital audio. Social media advertising, the report says, brought in $22.2 billion last year—a 36-percent increase over 2016’s $16.3 billion. Search reached nearly $40.6 billion in 2017, up 18 percent from $34.6 billion the year before. Banner advertising grew 23 percent to $27.5 billion, with two-thirds of that derived from mobile banners. And digital audio, measured for the second time in a full-year report, rose 39 percent to $1.6 billion. In 2016, that number was $1.1 billion.

5/11/2018

Your Local School

It’s the last month of school, here are 97 activities in the middle of the day parents

need to attend.

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