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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2017.The Daily News of TV Sales Monday, August 21, 2017

TOO MANY SUPERMARKETS TOO???STUDY SAYS FUTURE IS DIM Last week, a 3-store supermarket chain in Charlotte, Healthy Home Market, put itself up for sale. Earlier this year, a chain in Wisconsin closed its doors, another there sold locations, and we’ve also seen bankruptcies from Marsh and Central Grocers in the Midwest. We’ve seen massive closings of department stores and specialty stores so far this year, and also many restaurant chains (most recently Applebee’s) closing dozens of locations. Studies have suggested there are simply too many department stores and restaurants to serve the population that patronizes those businesses. But now a study from Inmar Willard Bishop Analytics says the exact same problem is taking place in the supermarket business, and regional grocers and especially independents are going to be hurt. The study found there were 25,280 stores offering a full-range of groceries that did at least $2 million in annual business last year, 6% fewer than in 2015. The study also predicts the number will be down to about 19,000 by 2021. The Wall Street Journal reports commercial square footage of retail food space per capita set a record last year at 4.15 square feet per person. Much of that came from grocers expanding rapidly after the 2008 recession to fight off a growing number of competitors including club chains, dollar stores, pharmacies and even convenience stores all selling groceries—not to mention online food sales, some already offering delivery. “Everybody is getting into the grocery business,” Smart & Final CEO David Hirz told the Journal. And, of course, the supermarket industry has always operated on razor-thin margins, relying on big volume to make stores profitable rather than a healthy markup on what’s sold. Plus, after a few years in which same-store sales were up by about 3%, that metric was flat last year (partially due to food deflation). Some of the bigger chains have picked up stores that go on the market such as Kroger cherry-picking some Marsh stores, and SuperValu buying Central Grocers’ distribution centers in Illinois. But the net of the food business is clearly moving towards fewer stores. “The U.S. is clearly in another wave of grocery store consolidation,” the managing director of the Food Group at BMO Harris Bank told the paper. Even the food sellers considered to be healthy at this point are slowing down expansion. Walmart had planned to open 132 supercenters and smaller-format stores this fiscal year, but has cut its plans by more than half to just 55. Kroger had initially planned to open about 100 new stores; instead it will do just over 50. West Coast chain Smart & Final opened 37 last year (some from the Haagen’s bankruptcy) but will settle for just 19 new stores this year.

ADVERTISER NEWS Another sporting goods retailer reported a very poor quarter: Hibbett Sports suffered an 11.7% same-store sales drop and also took a hit in gross margin (28.9% of net sales compared to 33.0% last year) due to promotions and lower prices needed to liquidate excess and aged inventory……Foot Locker had a tough quarter also, with same-store sales down 6% and the CEO citing “the limited availability of innovative new products in the market.” Comps are now expected to be down 3-4% for the rest of the year……But another off-price apparel retailer that usually

has good results did well once again. Ross Stores’ same-store sales were up 4% and after expansion in the last year, total sales grew by 8%. Including dd’s discounts, Ross Stores now operates 1,384 locations in 37 states……Walgreens and Rite Aid have withdrawn their initial agreement for Walgreens to buy 2,186 stores and are re-filing details of that agreement, which would “reset the clock” on the waiting period to

September 18. When the $5.2 billion deal was announced in June, there had been some thought the government might not approve the new deal after the initial attempt of a full buyout was not allowed……Here’s something a little different in the supermarket business: Wegman’s is taking over a 3-story building formerly occupied by J.C. Penney in Natick, Mass., and will use the entire first floor and half of the second floor for itself while leasing the remaining space to other tenants. The new store should open next spring……SpartanNash’s food distribution business did well in the second quarter, but sales in its retail segment were down 4% due to store closures and a 1.8% decrease in comp store sales. The company operates several banners including Family Fare, Sun Mart, and Family Fresh……With the restaurant business soft in July, none of the top ten chains based on frequency of customer visits was able to show a gain and the top two (McDonald’s with an average of 2.2 visits per customer and Subway with an average of 1.8 visits) were each down. Among the very few that saw an increase over June visits were two ice cream oriented chains: Baskin- Robbins and Dairy Queen, each having a 1.4 frequency for the month……Walmart is continuing to build synergies from its acquisitions and will start to offer trendy upscale brands Bonobos and ModCloth on the jet.com platform it bought, hoping to get business from people who may not go to its stores. A company spokesman said, “The Jet customer demographic—millennial, urban, higher income—aligns well with the demographics of ModCloth and Bonobos.” There

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NETWORK NEWS Kim Kardashian West is set to co-host Live With Kelly And Ryan on Monday August 28th with her pal (and executive producer of her show Keeping Up With The Kardashians) Ryan Seacrest. Scheduled guests on the show will be actor Eric Dane and country singer and TV personality Kellie Pickler ...All the networks will be busy covering today’s solar eclipse. Fox stations will carry break-ins with Shepard Smith as he anchors coverage from 12:00 to 4:00pm. NBC will start their coverage during Today with Al Roker, and Lester Holt will anchor an NBC News Special Report in the 1:00 and 2:00 pm hours. CBSwill also begin covering the event during CBS This Morning and again from 1:00 to 3:00 pm with CBS News Special Report: Solar Eclipse. ABC will present The Great American Eclipse between 1:00 and 3:00 pm with David Muir anchoring in Charleston, S.C. … On Friday, September 8th at 8:00 pm, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox will all carry EIF (Entertainment Industry Foundation) Presents: XQ Super School Live, a one hour live telecast to inspire the public to rethink high school and to prepare students for the careers of the future. The telecast will combine live musical, comedy and documentary segments to bring to life the past, present and future of the American high school system, and will be executive produced by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon …On Friday the president of the CW, Mark Pedowitz, told Newsweek the network is “actively looking for more female-led and female focused series” as part of the CW’s mission to maintain a balance of shows appealing to both men and women. Four new series premiering on The CW’s 2017-2018 prime time lineup—Valor, Dynasty, Black Lightning, Life Sentence—feature female leads. The new series will also run by women directors. Just recently a new female oriented series (The She Word) was announced and now comes word of another series in development, Valiant, based on the novel by Lesley Livingston. The show will not only feature a female lead based on the main character in Livingston’s novel but women will also serve in executive roles for the one-hour drama series … Friday night prime time saw CBS winning the night in adults 18-49 (4.485 million viewers/a 0.8 rating) with its lineup of Big Brother 19, Hawaii Five O and Blue Bloods. Not far behind in second was NBC (3.810 million/0.7) with repeats of America’s Got Talent and Dateline NBC. In third was ABC (3.381 million/0.7) with Shark Tank, Primetime: What Would You Do? and 20/20. Meanwhile, FOX (2.492 million/0.7) served up encores of MasterChef and Beat Shazam.

DONE DEALS GroupM has appointed Amanda Richman U.S. CEO of the new agency — it’s being called NewCo for now — that is being formed as a result of the merger of MEC and Maxus. Richman’s appointment is effective in October, according to MediaPost.com Richman comes to MEC from Starcom USA, where she served as president of investment, overseeing the agency’s cross-channel investment practice across clients like Airbnb, Bank of America, Kraft Heinz and Samsung.

AVAILS Want an opportunity to grow with one of the nation’s largest Multi-Media companies with an industry leading digital business? There’s a great opportunity in Topeka, Kansas for a Local Sales Manager that can make an immediate impact with our AEs and clients. The LSM will be responsible for directing the local television sales efforts for the NBC/ABC/FOX & CW stations while working in concert with our Digital Sales Director to provide multimedia solutions. To apply, send cover letter, resume and references to jfaith@ksnt.com. EOE/ M/F/D/V

The FOX O&O/Duopoly in Orlando is looking for a motivated Account Executive with excellent communication skills that thrives in a goal-oriented team environment. Your opportunity is to manage an established account base as well as develop new broadcast and digital business, via customized marketing strategies and solutions. College degree and a minimum of two years’ work experience preferred. If you are detail oriented and

driven to succeed CLICK HERE for information to apply. EOE/M/F/Veteran/Disabled. WSMV/NBC Nashville, TN has an awesome opportunity here in Music for an Account Executive. We’re searching for talented AEs that know how to achieve assigned revenue goals, solicit new advertisers and increase their share of business. If you are an experienced driven self-starter and would love to join our team in Nashville and put satisfied advertisers on our station and digital properties, apply directly online at www.meredith.com/careers, job code JR03770. EOE. KRIV Fox 26/ KTXH My 20 in Houston are looking for a Senior Account Executive. The AE is responsible for growing transactional accounts, developing new business and selling digital products by maximizing opportunities. Candidate must be able to identify qualified targets, use strong communication and presentation skills throughout the sales process and maintain a high closing ratio. Must be a sales professional with a minimum of 5 years television sales experience and a proven track record of success in sales. CLICK HERE to apply. No calls, please. EOE

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COMPETITIVE INFO: BUZZFEED Even NBC/Universal likes Buzzfeed; the company invested $400M in the social news and internet firm in the past two years. Watch for Buzzfeed to try to compete with TV and cable for ad dollars soon - very soon - with programming like Worth It. The show features 2 pals comparing meals at high-end restaurants with cheap alternatives (like a $5 hamburger verses a $500 dollar burger). BusinessInsider.com notes that the episodes, which run 12 to 16 minutes, can generate 10 million views on YouTube. In fact, the 19 episodes of Worth It that have been posted have accumulated over 280 million views on YouTube and nearly 2 billion minutes of watch time. A 10-episode third season is set to premiere this coming Sunday.

8/21/2017

Jim Gaffigan

You think your life is hard? I’m on vacation at a place

without cable and I’m forced to watch DVDs

LIKE A PIONEER!!!

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

HOW’S BUSINESS? UBS reports July ’17 ad growth was +9% year-to-year, and while digital’s share of the gains remained elevated, less of the increases were coming from television. National TV was said to be up 1%, a slight acceleration from June. Nine of the top ten categories were up during the month, led by Media, Consumer Electronics and Telecom, but Automotive was down 5% year-to-year in total ad expenditures. UBS believes the recent softness in national TV is “more cyclical than secular,” due to tough comparisons with last year which had more product launches than have occurred so far this year. Additionally it sees “weakness in the retail and auto categories due to sector-specific deteriorating operating trends.”

ECONOMIC NEWS The economy is already doing well, but the July report of Leading Economic Indicators from The Conference Board says conditions are likely to get even better. After gains of 0.3 points in May and 0.6 in June, the July study rose another 0.3 points. “The U.S. LEI improved in July, suggesting the U.S. economy may experience further improvements in economic activity in the second half of the year,” the Director of Business Cycles for the Conference Board said. “The large negative contribution from housing permits, a reversal from June, was more than offset by gains in the financial indicators, new orders, and sentiment.”

BUSINESS BYTES Nestle’s Poland Spring water will need to defend itself against a lawsuit that claims its marketing has been a “colossal fraud.” The suit contends Poland Spring’s water is really “common groundwater” rather than the spring water it claims to be, and the lawsuit was filed by 11 consumers who are seeking class-action status. The suit goes on to claim Nestle has been “breaching and exploiting its customers’ trust to reap massive and undue sales and profits” by selling water that does not meet the Food and Drug Administration’s definition of spring water and is really “collected from wells it drilled in saturated plains or valleys where the water table is within a few feet of the surface.” Nestle, which owns about 50 bottled water brands globally, denies the accusations, saying “Poland Spring is 100% spring water. It meets the FDA regulations defining spring water, all state regulations…as well as all federal and state regulations governing spring water collection, good manufacturing practices, product quality, and labeling.”

FUTURE FORD: NO STEERING WHEEL A patent application from Ford reveals plans for a removable steering wheel and pedals, allowing drivers to either manually steer or clear the dash during autonomous modes. According to the patent application, filed by the automaker last year, and published last week, Ford believes vehicle owners will still prefer having a wheel because it’s familiar, even if it is inactive while the vehicle is in an autonomous mode. AutoNews.com says Ford plans to mount the removable wheel to the cockpit on a splined shaft.

ATT&T/TIME WARNER DEAL UPDATE The Wall Street Journal reports the proposed AT&T takeover of Time Warner has reached an “advanced stage” in the government’s review, where AT&T lawyers are discussing merger conditions with the Justice Department. During the Presidential campaign, Donald Trump had attacked the deal, but has remained silent on it since his inauguration. Several competitors have raised questions about how the deal could impact them, such as Starz and Dish Network. The former has warned that AT&T could

favor HBO in the way its sets prices for premium channels, and Dish Network is afraid of its satellite competitor DirecTV having too much leverage. The Journal notes several state attorneys general have also been looking into the proposed deal with similar concerns.

A BIGGER PIECE OF THE $5 BILLION AD PIE? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may shorten the list of caveats for drugs you see advertised on television,

according to US News & World Report. Prescription drug makers must now mention all benefits and risks in direct-to-consumer advertising, presenting viewers with a litany of potential harms, both major and minor. But a new approach being considered could trim those lists to feature only the most serious and potentially fatal side effects, the FDA said Friday. The “FDA’s own research on broadcast TV drug advertisements suggests that a more targeted method for delivering risk information may lead to better retention of those risks,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in an agency news release. To that end, “the agency is exploring the usefulness of limiting the risks in the major statement for most drug advertisements to those that are severe [life-threatening], serious or actionable, coupled with a disclosure to alert consumers that there are other product risks not included in the advertisement,” Gottlieb said. While this might spare TV viewers lengthy lists of relatively insignificant physical complaints, it might also deprive them of critical information. To come to the best solution, the FDA is asking consumers, doctors and others to comment on which risk information is most helpful in TV and other broadcast ads.

8/21/2017

Conan O’Brien

Hillary Clinton is coming out with a book called “What

Happened.” Out of habit, Bill Clinton immediately came

out with his own book called “Baby, I Can Explain.”

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