The New York Times has raised substantial circulation revenues from its online pay wall, but these are unlikely to make up for continuing losses on the print advertising side, according to Citigroup analyst Leo Kulp, who cited the company’s precarious finances in a note to investors, when he downgraded The New York Times Co. stock from “buy” to “neutral.” Overall, the NYT paywall could bring in up to $75 million a year, according to Kulp -- who based his prediction on figures showing the NYT currently has 324,000 digital subscribers, including 100,000 heavy readers who received sponsored access for free courtesy of a promotional deal with Lincoln. However, Kulp also calculates that NYT stands to lose another $80 million in print ad revenue this year versus last year, effectively canceling out the gains from digital sub fees. Other estimates have pegged the NYT’s potential paywall revenues higher: Former Wall Street Journal publisher and Journalism Online founder L. Gordon Crovitz predicted that the NYT could take in up to $100 million a year from its online paywall. Regardless of the actual amount, however, the company will be hard-pressed to make up for losses suffered on the print side since the middle of the last decade. From 2006 to 2010, NYTCO’s total revenues declined 27.4% from $3.29 billion to $2.39 billion, due mostly to a steep decline in advertising revenue, from $2.15 billion to $1.3 billion -- a 39.5% drop in just five years. More recently, total NYTCO revenues dipped 3% from $1.73 billion in the first nine months of 2010 to $1.68 billion in the first nine months of 2011. Over this period, total advertising revenues fell 5.6%, from $914.5 million to $863 million. NYTCO’s stock value has dipped from $23.62 in October 2006 to $7.89 presently.
Mobile TV company MobiTV announced it is introducing a solution allowing cable, satellite and IPTV providers to offer so-called TV Everywhere services to mobile phones, PCs, tablets and other connected devices. The TV Everywhere model allows existing cable, satellite, or telco TV/video customers to view programming on nontraditional TV digital outlets once authenticated. Leveraging MobiTV’s existing video distribution platform, TV service providers can now offer their subscribers live and on-demand programming for viewing inside and outside the home. Broadcasters would also be able to integrate MobiTV’s technology with their current TV infrastructure and back-end systems. By promising to save TV companies the time and costs of deploying their own TV Everywhere operation, MobiTV aims to build a new revenue stream beyond its core mobile video service delivered via its own branded properties and via carrier partners including AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. "TV service providers need a cost-effective solution to meet consumer demand for seamless authenticated access to content anytime, anywhere and on any device," stated MobiTV co-founder and president Paul Scanlan. Broadband video provider Brightcove last year launched its own TV Everywhere platform for TV programmers. Time Warner and Comcast have been the main forces behind the verification system overall, while cable networks, such as Turner and Univision, have announced or launched their own TV Everywhere efforts this year. In August, MobiTV filed for an initial public offering in which it reported a net loss of $8.2 million on revenue of $37 million for the first half of 2011. In its filing, the company acknowledged that it faces growing competition from Amazon, Hulu and Netflix, which are increasingly extending their video offerings to mobile platforms. By teaming with TV programmers to power their TV Everywhere initiatives in mobile, the company is also hedging against potential erosion of the subscriber base for its own mobile TV service. Charging $9.99 a month, MobiTV provides access to more than 40 live and on-demand channels, including content from ABC, Disney, NBC, Fox and MTV. The company said in September it delivered a record 167 million minutes of video to mobile video devices. The bulk of that viewing was of live programming.
Havas, the Paris-based advertising holding company, posted third-quarter revenues of $547 million, up 5% from the same period a year ago. Organic revenue growth (ORG), which excludes acquisitions and divestitures, was up 7.3% -- an improvement over the 5.6% growth achieved for the first half of the year. The ORG stats, a key performance metric for the industry, outpaced results achieved by crosstown rival Publicis, which reported a 6.4% gain during the period. For the first nine months of the year, however, Publicis is slightly ahead -- with an ORG gain of 6.9% compared to 6.1% for Havas. By comparison, Omnicom recently reported 7.2% ORG for the third quarter, with a 6.5% gain for the first nine months. Havas CEO David Jones noted that the bump in the company’s third-quarter ORG was the shop’s best result in that key performance indicator in three years. The company did not report profits for the quarter or the first nine months of the year. As to the first three quarters of 2011, Jones stated that “all our regions grew, led by Latin America and Asia with strong growth in North America. All divisions contributed to our performance, including a continued acceleration in digital.” In North America, the company’s ORG was 8.2%, with total revenues of $178 million. Companywide revenue for the first nine months was $1628 million, up 5% compared to the same period a year ago. The company said that a stronger euro resulted in a negative exchange rate impact of $37 million for the first three quarters of the year. In the third quarter, the company said its growth in Europe was “more restrained” than in the first half of the year. Growth in France declined, but the UK came back strongly as a result of solid performances in health care communication, media, digital and advertising businesses, the company said. In the remainder of Europe, notable growth drivers were Germany and the Netherlands, where Havas’ communications and media businesses performed well. “Southern Europe has yet to recover its economic vitality,” the company stated. Havas cited both the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions as top performers where just about every country contributed growth in the third quarter, with digital, media and healthcare as key drivers. The company reported that net new business for the first nine months totaled $1.8 billion, with key wins coming from Pernod Ricard, Reckitt Benckiser and hotel chain Ibis, among others.
Clear Channel Radio, the nation’s largest broadcast radio group, has dismissed a large (but undisclosed) number of DJs from radio stations in small and mid-sized markets across the country. The move is widely seen as a prelude to implementing more automated or national syndicated programming. Although the company will not discuss personnel changes, estimates of the number of Clear Channel personnel let go range from “dozens” to “hundreds.” As part of the general reorganization, Clear Channel Radio is combining Metro Networks Traffic, acquired from Westwood One in April, with its own Total Traffic Network. Clear Channel also announced a host of new appointments to its new national programming platforms division, suggesting the company intends to exert greater, centralized control over local station programming. These appointments include Dennis Clark, vice president, talent development; Guy Zapoleon, vice president, digital music programming; Zena Burns, vice president, digital programming Platforms; Darren Pfeffer, vice president, music and entertainment marketing; and Alissa Pollack, executive vice president, integrated music marketing. These moves come less than a month after the appointment of Bob Pittman as CEO of CC Media Holdings, and the subsequent appointment of Brian Lakamp as president of Clear Channel Digital. They also come amid a major strategic reorganization as Clear Channel Radio and Clear Channel Outdoor transition to new digital platforms. On the radio side, the focus is on CCR's new “iHeartRadio” digital platform. The new iHeartRadio platform is the product of integration with Thumbplay, acquired by Clear Channel in March of this year. CCR is positioning iHeartRadio as a free alternative to Pandora by offering music on demand, custom stations and new listening suggestions based on their preferences. The company was adamant in public statements that the layoffs are not intended as cost-cutting measures. Still, parent company Clear Channel Communications carries a very large -- and possibly unserviceable -- amount of debt: $18 billion, most of which was assumed as part of a deal to buy out shareholders and take the company private at the height of the credit bubble in 2007.
Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia has co-created a new online series to publicize client Nestle’s line of Pure Life bottled water products. It is said to be the first time the brand has used online video to promote itself. The series was developed through ZO’s branded content unit, Newcast, with Electus, the production company headed by former NBC Entertainment president Ben Silverman. The series, called the Nestle Pure Life Hydration series, debuts this week on the Web site ModernMom.com, a venture that was co-founded by the actress and TV celebrity Brooke Burke and digital media entrepreneur Lisa Rosenblatt, also a co-founder of iMall, among other ventures. ModernMom, which also helped develop the series, is a site devoted to mothers seeking healthy lifestyle advice for families. Topics include parenting, pregnancy, family, cooking, finances, career, health, wellness, beauty and entertainment. The series features nutritionists and others providing tips about raising healthy and well-hydrated kids. The Pure Life products are prominently featured in each episode, although the messages more broadly address the health benefits of drinking water (not just Pure Life), as well other diet and exercise tips. The series will also be showcased on ModernMom.com’s Youtube channel. “This ModernMom partnership is the first-of-its-kind for Nestlé Pure Life, and we are excited about what it offers moms,” stated Laetitia Allexant, group marketing manager, Nestlé Pure Life. The first four videos will premiere this week; the remaining four will air the week of Oct. 31. Each video in the series is between one and two minutes duration.
More Internet users are leading to more streamed TV or alternative TV viewing -- with young viewers leading the way. The good news for network executives: They are also watching a lot of traditional TV. A 2011 study from Larchmont, NY-based Horowitz Associates' finds that over half of broadband Internet users --54% -- watch TV content streamed on the Internet or on an alternative TV platform on a weekly basis. This amount is still small relative to traditional TV viewing -- just 7%, amounting to 10.8 hours a month -- versus the 149.4 hours for traditional TV. The largest group is -- no surprise here -- 18- to-34-year-olds. Seventy-four percent are doing this activity weekly, amounting to 10% of their overall TV viewing. Young viewers also spend more time with traditional TV, at 167.7 hours a month, than the average viewers -- some 18-plus hours. When it comes to non-traditional TV viewing, YouTube remains the biggest alternative. The survey also notes that among TV-based brands, CNN, ESPN and HBO (and its mobile HBO GO) were mentioned as frequent digital destinations. Better news for digital marketers: Clicking on banners and pop up ads increased 127% from a year ago. Adriana Waterston, vice president of marketing and business development for Horowitz, stated: "While at the very margins nontraditional video platforms may erode traditional TV viewing, it is becoming increasingly clear that there will be a net gain for media brands, advertisers and consumers."
Time Warner Cable felt the brunt that other media -- including TV stations groups -- have been feeling when it comes to local advertising sales: a dip in revenues in its third-quarter reporting period. Ad revenues sank 3.1% to $265 million, with Time Warner Cable -- as other TV stations have -- blaming lower political advertising dollars. However, it says this was partially offset by an increase in revenues from advertising inventory sold on behalf of other video distributors. TW Cable has also seen similar results to what other big cable operators have experienced over several reporting periods. Newer businesses like Internet and phone/voice have been growing, while more mature ones, such as TV/video subscriptions, have been flattening out. Still, its biggest revenue-generating business, TV/video, slipped 0.5% to $2.6 billion. The company said this was because of a decline in revenues from premium channels and transactional video-on-demand. But this was countered by overall price increases, including a greater percentage of subscribers purchasing higher-priced tiers of service, as well as increased revenues from equipment rental and installation charges and DVR service. Internet business and high-speed data, continue to thrive -- up 7.8% to $1.1 billion. Time Warner Cable's phone/voice business grew 3.1% to $494 million. Overall residential services climbed 2.0% to $4.3 billion. TW Cable's business services, however, made better percentage gains -- 34.8% to $387 million. Overall revenues for the company swelled 3.7% to $4.9 billion. Operating income grew 8.1% to $1 billion, and net income slipped 1.1% to $356 million.
IMAX, which bills itself as the purveyor of transcendent motion picture experiences, wants to establish itself as a consumer brand and will launch a marketing campaign in the first half of next year. The concept will focus on the company “providing the most sensory engaging moviegoing experience possible,” while looking to convey a “powerful and visceral message that will connect with consumers on an emotional level,” according to CEO Rich Gelfond. The company, which has benefited from the 3D surge, has been conducting market research in eight global markets seeding the campaign. In the U.S., it has found consumers are “extremely satisfied” with their IMAX experience and satisfaction scores topping 90%. “Our awareness in North America is comparable to other world-class brands such as Nike, Apple and Coca-Cola, with a well-established aided awareness level of 94%” Gelfond said on an investor call. In the U.S., Gelfond said IMAX has been successful in some smaller markets. While Gelfond said IMAX is still evaluating the market research results from international markets, the company is bullish on China as ripe territory for expansion. It has made inroads there; plus, there are still 35 cities with populations of 1 million-plus with no movie theaters.
Affinity Reports Total Audience Estimates on Quarterly Basis Ad agencies and publishers are demanding more rapid, frequent reporting of magazine audience metrics across print and digital platforms, and research firms are hustling to meet their needs. Affinity said that it will begin reporting total audience estimates for magazines, as part of its American Magazine Study, on a quarterly schedule beginning in spring 2012. Affinity Chief Operating Officer Tony Incalcatera stated that the increased frequency of AMS reporting "will help our clients to better monitor the evolving magazine marketplace and the changing dynamics of consumers' print and digital readership.” Affinity’s AMS is a syndicated service that surveys over 60,000 consumers annually to report the total unduplicated reach of magazine brands across print and multiple digital platforms, including magazine Web sites, social media networks and magazine apps for mobile devices. The AMS study also integrates direct, passive measurement of magazine sites into the total brand audience estimates. Through an agreement with comScore, Inc., Affinity's Web-based methodology incorporates the comScore census tags of AMS panelists, measuring their actual visits to magazine Web sites in real-time. According to AMS, more than 184 million American adults read magazine-branded content in print or electronic form every month, with 81 million visiting magazine Web sites, 33 million accessing magazine content through mobile devices, and more than 27 million consumers visiting magazines' social media sites. GSG World Media Launches Magazines Focused on Social Media In yet another unexpected media mash-up, social media companies are now the subject of their own, dedicated magazines covering their business applications, courtesy of GSG World Media, according to the New York Post. FB & Business is covering Facebook; Tweeting & Business for Twitter; LI & Business covers LinkedIn; and The Big G & Business is covering Google. Most of the 14 million intended recipients will get digital editions of the magazines; however, 250,000 print versions are also going out to some customers. Ziff Davis Enterprise Goes All-Digital Ziff Davis Enterprise has unveiled a new strategy called OmniDigital, with the goal of making the publisher an all-digital platform, per Folio: magazine. Folio: reports that the digital shift will have four main areas of focus: traditional sites, mobile sites, tablets and digital editions. As part of the move, Baseline, CIO Insight and eWeek will transition to digital publishing beginning in January. Once they make the shift, Baseline and CIO Insight will double their frequency to a monthly schedule; eWeek will increase its frequency to biweekly. Telliho Leaves Budget Travel Nancy Telliho is stepping down from her post as president of Budget Travel, where she has had a leadership role since 2000 -- first as publisher, and since 2008, as president. The news comes not long after the announcement that Budget Travel editor-in-chief Nina Willdorf is stepping down effective Nov.r 15. The magazine also recently revealed that it will reduce its frequency from bimonthly to 10 times per year.
Ad Age Blogs this week saw fit to allow Rosanna M. Fiske, chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America, to expend 508 words on "In PR, Measurement Moves From Fuzzy Math and Social-Media Snake Oil to Actual Metrics." "AH HA," says I, who have followed this circumloquacious discussion for more than 35 years, "Finally, some guidance on how to TRULY calculate the ROI of PR." But no. Nothing new from her or the seven items she linked to. Rather than provide a solution, there were just more "we should's" and "somebody oughtta's." It was, in fact, a delicious example of PR speak, where someone expends a significant effort, tops it with a provocative headline, and then says nothing worth hearing -- something that nearly all reporters feel most news releases are guilty of. The PR industry is tripping all over itself to use social media to further annoy reporters, since scribes by and large have stopped answering phones or responding to email pitches. Or PR imagines that it can now "bypass" the media and reach client target audiences directly on Twitter and Facebook. Yet the flag still really goes up when they deliver on the traditional promise of PR: a nice story in a good publication. Don't get me started on all the other nonsense PR wants to claim credit for, like "shifts in awareness, comprehension, attitude and behavior related to purchase, donations, brand equity, corporate reputation, employee engagement, public policy, investment decisions..." Yeah, and don't forget making sure the CEO's tuxedo is pressed before he speaks tonight. Over the years I have seen dozens of "formulas" to calculate PR success. Most of them were simply bullshit; nicely packaged, but BS nonetheless. There seemed to be a focus more on appearance rather than substance (hey, kinda like how most people regard PR anyway). Here is a really easy way to measure your PR success. It doesn't neatly fit into some prefabricated formula or even give you a way to measure the ROI on your PR spend, but here goes anyway: When a nice story about you appears in a good publication, a couple of things should happen. Your phone should start to ring and your inbox fill up with queries from prospects who never knew you had the capabilities covered in the story. In a perfect world, some of them convert. Your friends will tell you they saw the story and pat you on the back. Your enemies will call their PR folks in and yell at them that this story was about you instead of them. At a cocktail party, someone will say, “Yeah, I read that about you the other day, can't recall where, but yeah I saw a story." Your VCs will be happy for about 24 hours, since they think that good press will lead to an earlier, more profitable outcome for them. Another reporter might see that story and mentally put you on their call list for a similar or different story in the future. You can make your folks tweet it or put it on the company blog, assuming that it will have some sort of multiplier effect. You will feel better about paying the PR firm's invoice at the end of the month. And that is pretty much that. Put together a string of good stories in good publications, and suddenly someone wants to acquire you. Then you will see the true ROI of your PR.