2009 took a toll among traditional media companies, with a record number of bankruptcies among newspaper publishers. Some are set to continue into 2010, despite assurances from top executives that they would be resolved before year's end. The biggest ongoing newspaper bankruptcy is Tribune Co.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which celebrated its first anniversary on Dec. 8, two years after the ill-fated deal engineered by Sam Zell to take the company private as an employee-owned business at a cost of $8.8 billion. As chairman and CEO, Zell came to rue his role in the highly leveraged deal, which gave new meaning to his self-bestowed nickname, "the grave dancer." Originally vowing not to sell the Chicago Cubs franchise in 2007, Zell changed his tune amid collapsing newspaper ad revenues in 2008. After Mark Cuban's $1.1 billion bid was derailed by accusations of insider trading, Zell found the auction (suddenly a dire necessity) blocked by the global credit crisis. Tribune's borrowing covenants required the company to maintain a proportion of cash flow to total debt of no less than 1-to-9 through 2008, tightening to 8.75-to-1 in the first quarter of 2009. Failure to sell the Cubs forced Tribune Co. to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008. In April 2009, Zell admitted in an interview with Bloomberg TV that buying the company was "a mistake," but as late as July 2009, still held out hope that Tribune would exit Chapter 11 before the end of the year -- pointing to the long-anticipated sale of the Cubs franchise, which finally went to the Ricketts family for $845 million in October, after tentative deals failed to close in January, July, and August. By fall, however, he had retreated from that prediction as the original bankruptcy plan was complicated by rival legal claims. In late November, the presiding judge gave Tribune until the end of February to come up with a reorganization plan, but this decision is being challenged by senior creditors led by JPMorgan Chase -- whose move to take control of the company is being challenged, in turn, by junior creditors who allege the whole deal was insolvent from the start and thus a "fraudulent conveyance." Surveying the emerging conflict, Zell said in an October interview that he now hoped Tribune would exit bankruptcy sometime in early 2010, adding this was "certainly the most amount of money I've ever lost in a single deal." Earlier this month, he handed off his duties as CEO to his lieutenant Randy Michaels, a former radio executive who has served as Tribune's COO since May 2008. Tribune has plenty of company in the financial doghouse -- especially from other publishers that made the mistake of entering into highly leveraged takeover deals at the height of the credit bubble, just before newspaper ad revenues collapsed. This list includes Philadelphia Newspapers, a subsidiary of Philadelphia Media Holdings, which bought The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News from McClatchy in a $562 million deal engineered by ad and PR mogul Brian Tierney in 2006. Shortly afterward, the former Knight-Ridder properties saw ad revenues plunge, leading to several rounds of layoffs and finally a declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2009. Although Tierney was hopeful the company could exit bankruptcy by the summer, like Tribune Co., his management team has been challenged by creditors for control of the company in a high-profile legal struggle, which brought accusations of corporate espionage through computer hacking and illegal recording of conversations, as well as a reprimand to both sides from the bankruptcy court judge for failing to negotiate in good faith. In June, the court granted Tierney a three-month extension to file a new plan for exiting bankruptcy by September, but Tierney's plan -- which calls for raising more money from new and existing (friendly) creditors and settling the claims of other (hostile) creditors with a $67 million payment -- has been challenged by the latter group, who are owed a total of $300 million. Currently, a federal appeals court is considering the hostile creditors' argument that they should be allowed to use the $300 million debt to bid for the company in the planned bankruptcy auction. Previously, a district court sided with the current owners' claim that management can insist on actual cash bids rather than credit. Freedom Communications' bankruptcy, which began in September, also seems likely to drag on into the New Year. The publisher of the Orange County Register initially hoped for a relatively quick resolution by filing a "pre-packaged" bankruptcy plan that would turn over the majority of the company to senior lenders in lieu of $770 million in debt. Although the majority of secured lenders had approved of this plan, unsecured lenders successfully challenged the arrangement and were granted the right to file an alternative bankruptcy plan earlier this month. 2009 also saw a number of bankruptcy proceedings that were resolved by the end of the year. The Sun-Times Media Group, which publishes the Chicago Sun-Times , filed for bankruptcy in March and was purchased by Chicago businessman James Tyree in October, following significant concessions by unions representing workers at the newspaper. The Journal Register Co., which filed for bankruptcy in February, exited in August with a deal that canceled the company's stock and handed it over to creditors -- including J.P. Morgan Chase, which agreed to accept $225 million of debt payments instead of the total $700 million they were actually owed. Finally, in January, Star Tribune Holdings declared bankruptcy; in September, ownership passed from Avista Capital Partners to lenders including Angelo, Gordon and Co., in a deal that reduced the debt owed to them from $480 million to $100 million.
"Tyra Banks" departure makes three 2009 announcements of established daytime talk programs leaving broadcast TV stations. The 5-year-old Warner Bros' "Tyra Banks Show," a fixture for four seasons in syndication, moved to the CW network this season during daytime periods. (Warner Bros. is a 50-50 partner with CBS in the network.) Now Banks wants to focus on her Bankable Studios, which will produce big-screen movies, as well as her other CW show, "America's Next Top Model," a top-rated reality show on the mini-network. Warner Bros. will stop the show at the end of this season and will air "The Best of The Tyra Banks Show" on the CW next season. Repeats of "Tyra Banks" have been airing in late night on Oxygen. Although the Banks show has been above its syndication run, especially in key young women demos -- at a season-to-date 1.2 for women 18-34 and a 1.0 women 18-49 rating, up 25% and 20%, respectively -- the show's overall numbers have been so-so. Household ratings are at a 1.1 rating, even with a year ago. This would be Warner Bros' second talk show to end its run this season. Recently, the studio announced that the low-rated syndicated "Bonnie Hunt Show" will stop production at the end of this season. In syndication, "Banks" touted strong young women 18-34 demographics -- a contrast to most other daytime talkers, which focus on women 18-49 and 25-54 viewers. Last month, industry leader Oprah Winfrey said she would be ending her syndicated talk show in 2011 after a 25-year run. While still the undisputed industry leader among daytime television, her program's ratings have been falling -- as have virtually all broadcast TV programs.
Considering the general fortunes of the media business in 2009, breaking even looks pretty good -- and that's roughly where cinema advertising will end up, according to several recent forecasts. Industry oracles also see a return to long-term growth in 2010, pointing to the past strength of cinema advertising, which shared in the general expansion of digital out-of-home video in 2007-2008. In the first three quarters of 2009, National CineMedia (one of two companies that dominate American cinema advertising, along with competitor Screenvision) said total ad revenues were up 2% to $262 million. It is forecasting full-year revenues of around $365 million -- basically flat compared to last year's performance -- a 1% decline from $369 million. That compares favorably with traditional media such as newspapers, where ad revenues were down 28.4% in the first nine months of 2009, according to the Newspaper Association of America. In radio, ad revenues fell 21% in the same period, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau; in magazines, ad pages tumbled 27%, per the Publishers Information Bureau. Broadcast TV was down 15.7%, per the Television Bureau of Advertising; and outdoor was down about 18%, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. In percentage terms, cinema advertising's year-to-date results even beat the Internet -- down 5.2% in the first nine months of 2009 according to figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Looking to the future, cinema advertising was one of the few media ZenithOptimedia predicted to return to positive growth in 2010, along with TV, the Internet and outdoor. From $2.18 billion this year, ZenithOptimedia expects global cinema advertising revenue to grow 4% to $2.27 billion in 2010. While this increase is fairly modest, it again compares favorably to ZenithOptimedia's forecast of further declines in newspapers, magazines and radio. While not giving a separate figure for cinema advertising in the U.S., Magna also forecast "outperformance" in 2010, noting that "as theaters increasingly become connected to digital networks, the industry has been better positioned to seek budgets which were otherwise allocated towards television advertising." Cinema advertising's relatively strong performance in 2009 was also due to the continuing popularity of moviegoing, reflected in record box-office sales in 2009. The last holiday weekend alone saw box office sales of $278 million, up from last year's record-breaking $253 million, per AP. Full-year cinema ad revenues will top $10 billion, compared to a previous record of $9.7 billion in 2007.
Whether the spots score or not, insurance marketers continue to believe that advertising in sports events is a ripe playing field -- notably in college football games. Take an October broadcast of Tennessee-Alabama on CBS. Eight different insurers ran a combined 20 spots in the game, led by Geico and TIAA-CREF with four each. But it wasn't just during the breaks that the marketers sought exposure. TIAA-CREF sponsored the pre-game show with its logo visible on the set. Aflac offered an on-screen trivia question-and-answer. New York Life had its logo virtually overlaid on the field during the action. Geico sponsored both the halftime show and a game recap. And John Hancock was behind in-game updates from other action around the country. The breakdown came from top TNS Media Intelligence researcher Jon Swallen in a presentation on insurance-category ad spending earlier this month. Swallen, however, raised the issue of whether the heavy load of exposure for competitive insurers in a single broadcast can break through the proverbial clutter. "Do any of them stand out with viewers or do they just cancel [each other] out? Or to use a football metaphor, are they playing offense or are they just playing defense?" he said on the Webinar. To emphasize insurance marketers' attraction to college football, Swallen said that on average, 9% of all sports advertising on TV is spent in college football. But the insurance category spends about 16%. College football, however, is not the only game in town for the Geicos and State Farms. Overall, sports accounts for 15% of all TV ad spending; insurers spend about 24% of their dollars there. "The appeal of sports programming to insurance advertisers lies in the programming [and] the quality of audience it attracts," Swallen said. "And, most importantly I think, the opportunities for promotional and sponsorship tie-ins." He cited Nationwide as advertising in auto-racing events, dovetailing with its title sponsorship of a NASCAR series. Both State Farm and The Hartford are NCAA "corporate partners" and are involved in March Madness advertising and college hoops advertisers. Overall, the massive insurance category was down 8% in all ad spending from January-September in 2009. That yields a total 2009 spending estimate of $3.7 billion. But that decline is at a slower pace than for the overall ad market, down 15% for the January-September period. In the hyper-competitive auto category -- about half of the full insurance segment -- Swallen said consumers tend to view it as a "price-driven commodity." Helping sustain that is the Internet, which allows easy price comparisons. "A primary strategic goal for advertising is to build brand-name awareness, so when the policy comes up for renewal, their company will hopefully be on the consumer's short list," Swallen said. The auto category was down about 9% in the January-September period this year, and projected to come in at $1.7 billion for the full year. Swallen did indicate he expects leading auto brands to continue to spend liberally on national TV going forward. "The top brands still rely on national TV as the foundation of their media campaigns for building and maintaining awareness against their broadly defined target audiences," he said. Geico, the largest advertiser in the insurance segment with $620 million spent for all ads in 2008, apportioned about 60% of its budget on national TV. Allstate (87%), State Farm (73%) and Progressive (69%) had higher percentages in the medium. Swallen also noted that auto insurers have altered the tenor and messages of some creative this year. "The content of these TV ads has shifted over the past year with a much more direct, overt emphasis on price and savings; the recession has made consumers more value-conscious."
Tailgate parties are the college sports fans' answer to the traditional cocktail hour. Which are the best ones nationwide? TLC asked the self-proclaimed "commissioner of tailgating" to scout them out. Starting Jan. 6, Joe Cahn will share his explorations on the six-part series "Tailgate Takedown," which begins in time for the BCS Championship game. In the past several years, Cahn has traveled more than 500,000 miles to 123 colleges to chronicle the best tailgate parties. He also claims to have cooked more than 320 pots of jambalaya. A tailgate party usually occurs in the parking lot of stadiums and arenas before -- and occasionally after or during -- sporting events. Copious amounts of drink and grilling food are part of the festivities. For "Tailgate Takedown," Cahn will check out a different college stadium and rivalry game each week. Three competing teams of local tailgaters will battle for supreme cuisine. Cahn and his celebrity judges will evaluate the taste, creativity, inventive technology and cooking skills of each to determine the winner. The show will also explore local tailgate practices. "Tailgating food goes way beyond burgers and hot dogs," states Nancy Daniels, senior vice president of programming and development for TLC. "We'll highlight the unique and tasty culinary creations of today's tailgates, while taking in the time-honored tradition outside the grand stadiums of college football." "Tailgate Takedown" is produced for TLC by Asylum Entertainment.
This Sunday holiday weekend was an easy victory for network prime time: NFL football won the day -- and night. The early part of prime time was easily taken by CBS' slew of NFL afternoon games that spilled over into the evening. It scored a Nielsen preliminary 6.7 rating/20 share among 18-49 viewers and a massive 23.7 million viewers. The rest of the night belonged to NBC and its NFL coverage, grabbing a preliminary 5.9/16 among 18-49 viewers -- although down from its regular season average. There was little opposition most of the night as both ABC and CBS screened movies that have been aired before: "The Sound of Music" and "Jesse Stone: Thin Ice," respectively. "Music" earned a 1.7/4 and "Stone", a 1.6/4. Fox went with its sitcom in repeats -- except for its new show "Brothers," which averaged a poor 0.7/2 during the 7 p.m. hour. CBS' "60 Minutes" benefited from its NFL overrun, bumping up to a 2.5/7 on the night. That turned out to be the highest-rated non-sports show of the night. A rerun of Fox's "Family Guy" at 9 p.m. was a close second at 2.5/6. NBC was tops, with a 4.9/13 average among 18-49 viewers for the night. CBS was next with a 3.1/8, then Fox with a 1.6/4, followed by ABC with a 1.5/4 and Univision at a 1.0/3.
Pharma giant Abbott Laboratories is giving WPP's Mindshare unit a nice year-end bonus: More than $200 million-plus in media planning and buying billings. Executives familiar with the decision say Abbott has wrapped up a review and tapped Mindshare as its new media shop, replacing Publicis' Starcom MediaVest Group as its media agency of record for its pharmaceutical and nutrition brands. Agency spokespeople declined to comment, but GroupM referred calls to an Abbott spokesperson who was not available for comment. It's not clear what the total billings involved for the two Abbott divisions are, but trade estimates put it in the $250 million range, and include some of Abbott's biggest spending brands, such as Advicor and Vicodin.