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The Daily News Of TV Sales

December 6, 2016

AUTO PRODUCTION TO BEGIN 2017 STRONG

GM ONLY U.S. COMPANY BOOSTING OUTPUT

Consumer demand for new cars and light trucks seems to have leveled off—but at a pretty high level. Automakers are trying to keep the near-record sales pace going with plans to keep production at high levels through the first quarter of 2017.

According to a tally by Wards Auto, 4,678,300 vehicles are scheduled to come off North American assembly lines in the January-March period, up 3.0% from Q1 of 2016 and second only to the record 4,811,021 produced in Q1 of 2000. However, Wards notes that nearly all of the increase is from production lines which were not in operation a year ago—notably Kia and Volkswagen lines in Mexico and Hyundai and VW lines in the U.S.

North American production by Kia (the West Point, GA plant is pictured) is projected to be up 65.4% in Q1 from a year ago. Wards says VW will be up by33.0% and Kia’s South Korean sibling Hyundai by 29.8%. Look for Mercedes North American production to be up 10.0%, Honda 2.8%, Toyota 1.9% and Mazda 1.3%.

Among the Detroit Three, only General Motors is expected to increase production in Q1, turning out 8.4% more vehicles than a year earlier. Ford production is expected to decline by 5.9% and Fiat Chrysler by 1.0%.

The biggest percentage decline in North American production is seen at Nissan, down 7.3%. BMW is expected to cut production by 5.4% and Subaru by 3.1%.

When 2016 production is completed later this month, Wards Auto projects that 18.2 million light vehicles will have been built in North America this year. That includes nearly 4.5 million built in Q4—up only 0.6% from the final quarter of 2015.

ADVERTISER NEWS

Hidden behind the gaudy November sales numbers, Autodata reports the average sale included incentives of $3,741 per vehicle, 21% more than in November, 2015. Some individual models were especially high—GMC spent 68% more than last year to move the Sierra, Ford was up 88% on the Explorer, and incentives on the Toyota Highlander were almost triple. “Everyone’s trying to protect their volume and market share,” a SVP at LMC Automotive commented……Retailers that sell bedding have generally been reporting good numbers and this may be part of the reason: The International Sleep Products Association’s latest research shows consumers now average 9.4 years with a mattress before buying a new one, one and a half years quicker than when the study was conducted back in 2007. The ISPA says the study is “good news for consumers”—of course it’s also good news for ISPA members and retailers……Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores is blaming “the hyper-competitive environment” and “increase in industry promotional activity” for a 5.5% decline in comp white goods sales for the quarter that ended on 10/29. Total sales were down 10.8% after closing 44 stores. On the positive side, the company’s websites became transactional on 10/27 for the first time……This Week in Consumer Electronics reports there’s a new brand coming to market with LeEco introducing TVs and phones, starting with distribution at Best Buy, Target, and Amazon. LeEco is a Chinese tech manufacturer and parent of Vizio…..Paris Baquette, a bakery-café chain with over 3000 locations worldwide but only about 50 in the U.S. so far, has set a goal of 350 locations in this country by 2020. It has identified 18 key markets for concentration, mostly in California and the Northeast……Casual dining (chains such as Ruby Tuesday, Olive Garden, and Buffalo Wild Wings) now only accounts for 8% of industry transactions, down from 10% a decade ago, and a Wall Street analyst has concluded the segment is oversupplied by about 4500 restaurants nationally. But Nation’s Restaurant News suggests closing units isn’t as simple as it sounds—chain execs often feel they have strategies that will reverse negative numbers and many of the units that might be closed are owned by franchisees who are not eager to close……SuperValu has finalized the sale of its Save-A-Lot business to an affiliate of Onex Corporation for $1.365 billion in cash. With the sale, SuperValu CEO Mark Gross says the company will be more focused on its core business as a grocery wholesaler.

NETWORK NEWS

NBC News has extended the contract for Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie. The announcement comes as Guthrie and co-host Matt Lauer continue to make ratings gains against its competitors in the advertiser friendly demo of adults 25-54. NBC renewed a deal with Lauer earlier this year......ABC’s Conviction aired its first-half season finale last night, and the network has announced that its Monday 10 PM (ET) time slot will be given to Quantico in January. Both are strong indicators that the freshman drama is cancelled, even though the network doesn’t like to use such a strong word. Conviction is ABC’s second-lowest-rated show in the 18-49 demo……NBC’s new hit This is Us will add Alexandra Breckenridge to the cast in a recurring role. Breckenridge will play Sophie, a childhood friend of Kate, one of the regular cast members. Breckenridge’s most recent role was Jessie on The Walking Dead……CBS in conjunction with OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network will produce a special called First Lady Michelle Obama Says Farewell to the White House. The hour-long interview will air on CBS Monday, December 19th at 8 PM (ET). OWN will re-air the special on Wednesday, December 21st at 9 PM (ET)......The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has made it official that Jimmy Kimmel will host the 2017 Academy Awards show. The Oscars will be handed out on February 26th on ABC…...Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will include a Central Time Zone countdown for the first time ever. The 2016-2017 edition of the annual broadcast will include live coverage from New Orleans, including a fleur-de-lis drop from near Jackson Square. The live segments will include performances from the Allstate Fan Fest which ushers in the Sugar Bowl College Football Game on New Year’s Day. The 45th anniversary of the show will air on ABC Saturday, December 31st at 8 PM (ET)……The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and CBS have announced an agreement that the broadcast of the annual Kennedy Center Honors will remain on CBS through 2025. The deal extends what is already one of the longest broadcast partnerships in history. CBS has aired the Honors since it debuted in 1978……WWE superstar Jon Cena will host Saturday Night Live this Saturday along with musical guest Maren Morris. Casey Affleck will host the December 16th episode with Chance the Rapper as musical guest. Affleck just won the best actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle and National Board of Review for his role in the feature Manchester by the Sea.

SYNDIE SNIPPET

Raycom Sports has announced a new television show to coincide with the 2016 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship. The hour-long special, Forging History: The Road to an ACC Championship, is narrated by NFL Network host and senior reporter Jeffri Chadiha. Filmed over the course of the 2016 football season, the show will air in syndication from December 17th until December 25th. Of course, there is a lot of footage of Clemson, which won the ACC Championship and is heading to the College Football Playoffs, along with Virginia Tech, which was beaten 42-35.

NO INCENTIVE IN INCENTIVE AUCTION

The FCC’s Incentive Auction to move some broadcast TV spectrum to new use by wireless broadband companies was supposed to be a big deal—but it’s looking more and more like a big dud. Buyer bids again came in way, way below expectations and Stage Three of the forward auction ended after just one round. In the latest failed round broadcasters had offered to clear 108MHz of spectrum for $42.3 billion, but the wireless companies bid only $19.7 billion.

"The results of the latest round of the TV auction leave us scratching our heads, given the decade-long refrain of a spectrum crunch. We look forward to the next round," said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith.

Why has the auction gone so wrong? “We do NOT think it is because spectrum in general has lost its value—we think it's because the timing of this particular auction was ill-planned,” said Wells Fargo Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker in a note to clients. She says it came too soon after another spectrum auction and too soon after AT&T—a potential big bidder—made its huge purchase of DirecTV.

The FCC will release the schedule for Stage Four on Friday—expected to propose the clearing of 84MHz of TV spectrum. “The good news is that should this thing fail, it is likely going to do so sooner rather than later,” said Ryvicker. She also wonders whether the new Trump Administration will make broadcasters less interested in selling their spectrum anyway. The new Republican-led FCC is seen as likely to lift the ownership cap and eliminate local ownership rules, so some owners who’d planned to sell in the Incentive Auction might hold onto their stations for broadcast deals.

NEW TV THREAT FROM FACEBOOK

Facebook has been testing a new feature inside its mobile app that emphasizes video. According to a Business Insider report, analysts at Morgan Stanley think it will help Facebook capture a greater share of the TV ad market.

What is this new threat? The tab at the bottom of the mobile app screen (so far only available to select users) opens up a video discovery hub. There, the personalized video portal will try to introduce Facebook users to popular videos from around the world that they are likely to want to watch. The Morgan Stanley research says marketers and agencies have been reluctant to advertise on Facebook because the video posts and ads in the primary Facebook Newsfeed are too fragmented. The new app feature, the analysts say, may solve that problem.

FLAT 2017 SEEN FOR BIG 4 NETWORKS

CBS Corp. Chief Research Officer David Poltrack was bullish on 2016 a year ago at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference in New York. Unlike many other advertising forecasters, he said big advertisers were moving budgets back to network TV because they were not getting the ROI they had expected from digital advertising. He was mostly right—and Poltrack is sticking with his view that digital dollars are returning to TV. And he’s again more bullish than other analysts, although that means he’s looking for the Big Four networks to have a flat year for ad revenue in 2017. Excluding the impact of this year’s Summer Olympics on NBC, Poltrack’s forecast would have the network biz up 4% next year. That’s in line with the 4% growth (ex-Olympics) this year. The CBS exec says 2016 came up short of his 5% growth forecast because more spending on Olympics advertising came from existing budgets than he had anticipated.

Poltrack told the annual gathering that while the early season fumble in NFL ratings was “quite a shock,” he sees things getting back to normal as the gap with year-ago ratings is narrowing. He’s also not too worried about streaming, especially when what a viewer is streaming is a TV show. Such viewing will be better measured as Nielsen rolls out digital ratings early in 2017.

The first day of the annual UBS gathering always features lots of forecasts. Interpublic Group’s Magna predicted that global ad spending growth will slow to 3.6% in 2017, with digital ad sales surpassing television for the first time as the top media platform for advertising. U.S. ad growth is also seen at 3.6%, down from this year’s political/Olympic supercharged 7%.

WPP’s GroupM is more bullish—predicting global ad spending to rise 4.4% in 2017. In the U.S., the “Trump victory has raised uncertainty,” so advertising is likely to be negatively impacted until policies of the new Administration become clear.

Publicis Groupe’s Zenith is also looking for 4.4% global growth in 2017. U.S. ad spending is expected to rise 4.3%.

DONE DEALS

Ashley Gold is joining Hearst Television next month as a Vice President, Sales, with oversight responsibilities for sales activities at the company’s 30 television stations and two radio stations, led by Eric Meyrowitz, Hearst Television Vice President, Sales. Gold, formerly Ashley Gold Messina, most recently held the dual role of Vice President/General Manager of both KRON (Ind.) San Francisco, and KOIN (CBS) Portland, OR, both owned by Media General.

AVAILS

Tribune Media, the nation’s largest independent broadcast station group, seeks a Sales Research Marketing Manager for its Philadelphia (WPHL-TV) and Washington D.C (WDCW-TV) stations. This position is responsible for creating and designing research pieces supporting the station’s sales and marketing efforts, and much more. Minimum of 4 years in marketing, research, and communications or design role. Media research experience and knowledge of Nielsen, Kantar, ComScore, MediaCenter, and Wide Orbit preferred. Demonstrated proofreading and copy editing experience required. CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. EOE.

Winter is just around the corner! If you would prefer to be selling where summer never ends, WPBF 25, the Hearst owned ABC Affiliate in sunny West Palm Beach has an opportunity for you! WPBF 25 seeks a sales superstar to join our team. The ideal candidate must have broadcast TV sales experience and possess the drive and ability to thrive on multiple platforms in a fast paced, highly competitive market. Your passion for developing new business will be encouraged and rewarded! CLICK HERE to apply. EOE

KSAT 12, the Graham Holdings owned ABC affiliated station in San Antonio, TX is seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic and results oriented Account Executive. The AE must be able to develop new revenue for KSAT 12 through projects and special promotions as well as online, mobile, text and cross platform campaigns. Position reports to the Local Sales Manager. 3 – 5 years of broadcast sales experience and a college degree preferred. To apply, please send resume to Sanda Coyle: scoyle@. No phone calls, please. EOE.

ABC 7/WJLA-TV in Washington DC has openings for Account Executives. The ability to uncover new business sales opportunities while juggling multiple projects is required, as is two years outside sales experience. The right candidate has the drive and the passion to be top biller. Experience selling across multiple media platforms, including broadcast television, digital television and the internet is a plus. We’ll provide all the tools you need to grow your career and your income. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE.

Raleigh, NC: Account Executive needed for sales of WRAL-TV, , and digital channels. An in-depth knowledge of basic marketing concepts as well as familiarity with advertising on electronic media including the internet is necessary. Must have the ability to sell specials, promotions, and generate non-traditional revenue. 3-5 years of television and on-line sales experience required. CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. EOE M/F. All Capitol Broadcasting Company properties are tobacco free. Capitol Broadcasting Company participates in E-Verify.

WAFF 48 News, Huntsville, AL has an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced fun environment as a Senior Digital Sales Specialist. This person will work with the sales staff to help develop digital revenue and will meet with local businesses to consult with them on the best digital advertising solutions for their business. Candidates must have at least 2 years of proven Digital sales experience. If qualified, please apply online at and attach your cover letter and resume. No phone calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V

The CEO of Starbucks announced he’s stepping down. He’s going to become the CEO of the Starbucks across the street.

--Conan O’Brien

A man on an African Safari fell off of a horse while being chased by a lion. ‘Well, that was a close one,’ said the horse.

--Michael Che

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SPOTS N DOTS

The Daily News Of TV Sales

December 6, 2016

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