Top TV-based online businesses witnessed mostly gains in video advertising, according to the latest comScore results. Hulu added some 40,000 video ads in November over October -- now totaling 1,150,000 million per month, according to comScore's Video Metrix service. All that pushed up the frequency per ads seen by viewers to 42.4%, from 38.1% in the previous month. The research company says Hulu witnessed a decrease in the reach for its video ads -- now at 9.0%, down from 9.7% in October. CBS Interactive gained some 9,000 video ads month-to-month, now at 279,976 -- pushing the frequency of its ads among viewers to 9.5% and overall reach to 9.7%. CWTV dropped some video ads -- 2,400 -- in November to 200,483. This gave it a 68.5% frequency and a 1.0% reach. Frequency was 50.8% in October, and its reach was 1.3%. Looking at the broader metrics of video overall, Viacom Digital and Fox Interactive Media dropped some -- Viacom to 47.2 million from 52.9 million, and Fox to 31.5 million from 38.4 million. NBC Universal and Turner Digital broke into the top 10 in uniques in November, with 29.1 million and 27.7 million unique visitors, respectively. Minutes per viewer in November were 20.1 for NBC and 24.1 minutes for Turner. Hulu fell out of the top 10 among visitors in November. In October, it had 29.7 million. Still, Hulu dominates with all TV-related sites in minutes per viewer per month: at 207.8 in October. Google sites -- including its giant YouTube area -- is still the dominant video site in unique visitors (145.8 million), viewing sessions (1,979,988); and minutes per viewer (271.2).
Local television advertising continues to climb -- now up over 30% for the third quarter over the same period a year ago. The TVB, the TV marketing group, says a booming automotive category -- up 74.1% over a year ago and big political advertising -- help lead the charge for stations, pulling in some $4.1 billion during the period, per data from Kantar Media. Overall, broadcast television improved 12.5% during the period to $9.9 billion. Network television added 2.7% to its total of a year ago to $4.8 billion, but syndicated television slipped 1.2% to $1.01 billion. TVB didn't give an explanation here; however, some analysts note that many TV platforms are still suffering a bit from low 2009 upfront pricing deals. These third-quarter numbers are somewhat comparable to trends notable early in the year. For the first nine months of 2010, local broadcast TV was up 27.0% to $11.0 billion; network TV was 6.6% higher to $18.2 billion, and syndicated TV was down 8.3% to $2.9 billion. Total broadcast TV was up 11.0% in the nine-month period to $32.1 billion. In addition to auto manufacturers, many other ad categories grew during the period: communications/telecommunications, 30.2% higher; restaurants, up 11.2%; political advertising, a major 688% hike; financial services, a 69.6% improvement; and car and truck dealers, a 25.4% gain.
With the fate of millions of Time Warner Cable's TV subscribers in the balance, the Sinclair station group said TWC has lanced a proposal to settle the parties' differences through binding arbitration. The two are negotiating how much TWC will pay Sinclair to carry stations covering the slew of TWC customers. Separately, Sinclair is negotiating with Bright House Networks about how much that cable operator will pay to offer stations in the Tampa market and several others. Sinclair said the amount of homes its stations reach between the two operators is about 5 million. TWC said in a statement that Sinclair had proposed arbitration on Monday, and TWC said yes. But Wednesday, Sinclair declined to go forward. TWC said it balks at arbitration being used to settle carriage payments for Sinclair's CW and MyNetworkTV stations. In fact, it doesn't want to pay to offer them at all. "Their programming is not as attractive to customers as other content we could be carrying in its place," the cable operator said, adding that Sinclair is attempting to use bundling tactics that could hurt consumers and hold them "hostage." "Unfortunately, this sort of behavior is typical when negotiating with Sinclair," it said, adding that it would still be open to arbitration. Sinclair countered that arbitration would only cover a few of the stations involved, while TWC wants to limit evidence an arbitrator could consider. One of Sinclair's arguments is that TWC wants "the arbitration ... conducted in complete secrecy with no access to information for the public." But Sinclair is unlikely to agree that all details be made public, including rates that Sinclair receives from all operators and particulars of those deals. Separately, a series of public-interest groups, including the Jesse Jackson-led Rainbow PUSH coalition, have called for stations involved in carriage disputes not to black out programming during the holiday season. (It did not mention the operators that could in theory cut signals.) In addition to Sinclair-TWC, Hearst is negotiating with DirecTV, but in a less contentious manner so far. The Sinclair-TWC dispute could lead to many Sinclair stations being blacked out on TWC come Jan. 1. Among the stations are many affiliated with Fox. With Sinclair saying that all of the stations -- Fox and others -- that could go dark account for 5 million-plus homes served by TWC and Bright House combined, it is difficult to gauge the breakout, but at least 2.6 million would be TWC homes and likely many more. TWC listed 12.6 million as its total customer base of Sept. 30. Stations involved for TWC are in markets such as Raleigh-Durham and Columbus. But TWC has a big card to play. An agreement with Fox allows it to continue airing Fox programming on its cable system should a Sinclair blackout occur. That could hinder Sinclair's efforts to rally public support for its side, since it can't argue that viewers would be deprived of top Fox shows. It would have to resort to promoting the value of its local news and syndicated programming. The public-interest groups calling for no blackouts also include LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens); National Consumers League; and Public Knowledge. The 10 groups stated that they "call on the broadcasters to declare a moratorium this holiday season on viewer blackouts."
On the last night of its 25-year run, "Larry King Live," which featured appearances from Bill Clinton, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Ryan Seacrest, and a taped message from President Obama, grabbed a big Nielsen 2.24 million total viewers -- good for first place at 9 p.m. It bettered -- but just barely -- the now-regular cable news leader, Fox News Channel and its "Hannity," which took in 2.162 million viewers. MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" was a distant third place at 874,000. The 2.24 million number more than tripled King's most recent seasonal viewership rating average, which stood around 700,000 this year. The once most-watched prime-time news show on cable didn't make it a clean sweep, with 530,000 million viewers among the key adult 25-54 viewers -- the demographic TV news advertisers closely watch. It was in second place to Fox News' "Hannity," which had 543,000 adult 25-54 viewers. MSNBC was again a distant third in this category, with 252,000. During the late 1990s, the show averaged around 1 million, to 1.2 million viewers. The biggest ratings for "Larry King Live" actually came in 1993 -- in the guise of a presidential debate on NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) between candidates Al Gore and Ross Perot. It was seen by 16.8 million viewers, ranking as the 8th-most-watched cable show of all time. Currently, Fox News Channel prime-time ratings average 2.152 million total viewer for November, with MSNBC at 822,000 and CNN at 600,000.
Feeding the theory of cable-cutting, a new study notes that cable system video services continue to drop among U.S. TV homes. A new survey by the TVB, the TV marketing group, coupled with analysis from Nielsen Media Research, says U.S. TV consumer homes were down to a 60.7% penetration rate in November 2010 versus a 61.7% number in November 2009. It notes that this was the lowest number since November 1989, when cable system household penetration was at 59.7%. The survey also says that alternative delivery video systems -- satellite and telco -- achieved another record, now at 30.5% of U.S. TV households in November. That is up 29.3% versus November 2009. "In fact, in 34 markets, a majority of those paying for video programming are now getting that programming via ADS rather than from a wired-cable system," stated Susan Cuccinello, senior vice president of TVB research. Albuquerque-Santa Fe has one of the highest penetrations of non-cable services for a top 50 market, with a 44.6% share going to alternative systems and 39.4% going to cable. Pushing for its TV station members versus local cable systems, the TVB frames the issue around advertising: "Advertisers that buy cable locally need to know that local wired cable systems' ability to deliver commercials continues to erode."
After several years of yanking on holiday heartstrings, the best retailing ads this season played it for laughs instead, with comical spots topping the National Retail Federation's list of favorite ads. "You can really feel the change of tone," Mike Gatti, executive director of the NRF's Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, tells Marketing Daily. "Last year was a difficult year, and so the ads were very nostalgic. This year, they are all a little more cheery. The stores are looking for a different way to tap into the consumer psyche." The trade association's survey, conducted by BIGresearch, included more than 9,100 adults, and found that comedy made the biggest impression, with the lighthearted Target spots bumping Walmart out of first place, and Macy's celebrity-filled comic ads jumping into third place. Other companies in the top 10: Best Buy (#4), Kmart (#5), Sears (#6), Old Navy (#7), Kohl's (#8), JCPenney (#9) and Toys R Us (#10). The survey also asked whether ads motivated viewers to shop at stores with appealing ads. And while 16.8% said they were motivated to shop at these stores, 33.5% said since they shopped at these stores anyway, the ads had no impact. The poll also asked people to name their favorite online holiday promotion, and while Amazon came in first, brick-and-mortar brand names were overwhelming favorites: Walmart came in second, followed by Target, Kohl's and Best Buy. In the case of online ads, 22% say they were motivated to shop there, while 27.7% said they already did so. "Amazon is the exception here," he says, "and we've all been saying that the multichannel approach gives stores an advantage because it gets you in front of the consumer in so many different ways. What's changing is that increasingly, the people who run the store Web sites are not 100 miles away in a garage full of Twinkies anymore -- they are evolving, integrating into all aspects of marketing, and everything facing the customer. We are seeing the results of that." While humor dictated their favorite TV spots, values affect their favorite method, with 42.3% saying that coupons most influence their store choices, followed by advertising inserts (24.3%) and word of mouth (23.3%). But broadcast TV did gain a smidge in influence, at 22%, squeaking by direct mail (19.7%.) Advertising in social media was seen as influential by 4.6% of respondents.
DirecTV has agreed to pay $13.25 million to 50 state governments for misleading advertising. One of the main charges over a two-year inquiry was a promotional deal promising a $29.99 monthly fee for video services. Consumer complaints said the deal actually resulted in doubling of that price to $53.99 or $63.99 a month. In the state of California alone, 1,136 complaints were filed. DirecTV did not acknowledge any wrongdoing. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mike White, chairman, president and CEO of DirecTV, said: "We want to be clear, transparent and upfront with our customers in what these deals are when people sign up for our service. It was important that we resolve these issues because we are a high integrity company, and we value our customer service reputation. And frankly, we wanted to get this matter behind us." As part of the settlement, DirecTV agreed to clearly outline all costs, services offered, length of contracts and terms of cancellations and refunds. White says the company has initiated changes in their marketing and price notifications. In Connecticut, State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal stated: "DirecTV was anything but direct with consumers, conning them with confusing contracts, deceptive ads and misleading promotions." "This was classic bait-and-switch, hooking consumers with phony discounts and then hitting them with hidden charges. Consumers thought they were getting a deal only to get clipped. Customers who caught on and canceled were sometimes clobbered with substantial cancellation fees."
Sometimes, the best product testimonials are those that demonstrate the ways your core consumer uses the product. GoPro, which makes a wearable HD camera used by sports enthusiasts to document their escapades, is launching a national television campaign shot entirely by users of its HD Hero cameras. The spots -- there are 16 in all -- show people using the cameras for a wide variety of sports ranging from skiing and snowboarding to surfing and race car driving. "We wanted to show people what others were creating and the quality of content that was possible," company representative Rick Loughery tells Marketing Daily. "It's better than using a camera phone to catch a buddy going by." The spots range from first-person views of people skiing down powdery snow-covered mountains to racing in an open-wheel car to surfing with two-time world champion Daize Shayne. One spot even depicts a high-speed boat crash. The tagline for the campaign is "You in HD." "[The videos] are a combination of stuff that was submitted to us, as well as stuff we'd see on Facebook," Loughery says. "And we'd reach out to the creators and connect with them that way." The campaign will run across a variety of sports-related cable channels such as ESPN, Speed, Fuel and the Discovery Networks, as well as during affiliate programming in select markets (such as Honolulu, where surfing is at its annual peak). The wide variety of sports appeal is one of the reasons that GoPro created so many commercials, Loughery says. "We reach across so many verticals and had a number of use-case scenarios," he ways. "We wanted to create a decent sample for all of them."
Tribune Media Services on Thursday announced the acquisition of video search company CastTV. The acquisition is expected to improve TMS' entertainment metadata, which clients can use to create entertainment-discovery guides that direct consumers to programs available on linear, on-demand and online video platforms. "Most consumers have a hard time finding all the online content they would enjoy -- and have no way to see all their viewing options in one place," said Jay Fehnel, chief operating officer for TMS Entertainment Products. "By adding CastTV's expertise, TMS will be able to help our clients deliver one guide to all the video a consumer can view." Founded in 2006, San Francisco-based CastTV has developed search technology that aggregates, indexes and presents data on millions of TV shows, movies, music videos, news and sports clips, and viral videos from more than 1,000 Web-video sources. Combined with TMS, "we can offer media and technology customers comprehensive, 'one stop watching' solutions for today's connected consumers," said CastTV President Alex Vikati. The CastTV technology automatically matches online video to professionally edited, structured databases such as TMS' TV, movie and celebrity data, allowing for with existing TMS products. The CastTV system also allows for "device-aware" content-discovery products that can be limited or expanded to include only access to videos that address a customer's device limitations or the business needs of a video provider. The acquisition includes all of CastTV's technology, products, intellectual property and staff, including CEO Edwin Ong and Vikati. Per the deal, TMS will link the CastTV index of online programs to TMS metadata to enable customers to easily direct consumers to programs regardless of where they are offered. CastTV also operates a consumer Web site, CastTV.com, which provides over four million consumers with a resource to find what video they want to watch online. TMS will operate the CastTV.com site as part of its Zap2it.com entertainment network, which currently reaches eight million Web visitors and four million mobile app users monthly. TMS plans to offer advertising packages that combine the audiences of both sites.
Cox Communications, the country's third-largest cable provider, has a deal with Rovi to use the company's technology to power an interactive program guide on its online and mobile platforms. Cox has used the Silicon Valley company's IPG for its TV service for some time, made available via a set-top-box. The deal is a multi-year agreement, although the companies offered no other details. It is a sign that operators are moving beyond their core business. And as programming is available elsewhere, navigation tools will be key. "As consumers look to access entertainment content across various devices and platforms, cable MSO service providers are delivering content through broadband and mobile expanding beyond the cable set-top-box platform," stated Rovi executive Samir Armaly. The Rovi IPG offers multiple opportunities for advertising to be attached to the listings. Separately, Rovi helps providers serve interactive ads. Rovi allows providers the option of using an Enhanced Television/Enhanced Binary Interchange Format link to power iTV. Previously known as Macrovision, Rovi completed its acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide in 2008, which owned the TV Guide-branded IPG. In October, it joined a coalition that also included MovieLabs, CableLabs and Comcast to launch the Entertainment Identifier Registry, a nonprofit global operation aimed at more easily cataloging movies, TV shows and other video and audio offerings. Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures are backers. In the third quarter, the NASDAQ-traded Rovi posted a 21% gain in revenue to $138 million. Net income swung from a $12 million loss to a $36 million profit.
As the NHL waits for the Comcast-NBC Universal merger to close before negotiating new TV deals, recent ratings may be driving up the prices. Versus said Tuesday's Pittsburgh-Philadelphia game was the most-watched regular-season game ever on its network, which began carrying the NHL in the 2005-06 season. The network, which is owned by Comcast, averaged 750,000 viewers on Tuesday with Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby playing. A Pittsburgh-Philadelphia matchup had also posted the previous regular-season network high a little over a month ago, when 730,000 tuned in for Versus' season opener. Viewership Tuesday reached a high of about 1 million during the 9:15-9:30 period. The numbers could have been helped by a dearth of top-tier events that night on ESPN. In both the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia markets, the game made Versus the top-rated cable network in households on Tuesday. The NHL is apparently waiting until after Comcast takes control of NBCU before negotiating its next TV contracts, when both its national cable (Versus) and network (NBC) outlets will be run by the same company. It is difficult to imagine Versus allowing its signature programming to leave -- or another network other than NBC landing the NHL, although Fox may make a bid. The price for Versus could get much steeper, and NBC may have to start paying a rights fee rather than just sharing ad dollars. There is one mitigating factor: The NHL Players Association has expressed frustration that Versus has lesser distribution than ESPN. Pittsburgh's Crosby has been getting even more attention than usual as he and Washington's Alex Ovechkin are part of a weekly HBO documentary leading up to a New Year's Day outdoor game featuring the two. If that annual event on NBC posts record ratings, NBC's price could climb higher.
Colleen Kenny has been promoted to vice president at the CBS Marketing Group, where her roles include corporate branding activities and technology outreach. She reports to George Schweitzer, president of the CBS Marketing Group, and is based in New York. Kenny also heads communication efforts for the marketing division and has been involved in its digital initiatives, where she has led experimentation with emerging platforms. She works closely with other CBS Corp. properties to create and execute cross-platform promotional campaigns. She has been director of marketing communications for CBS Marketing since 2008, joining the company in 2006 in a financial communications role as CBS split from Viacom. Prior to her CBS tenure, she was assistant vice president of strategic planning and communications at New York Life. In addition, Kenny served as director of intranet communications, where she oversaw a Web site for the sales force before that.
Google launched a contest this week with YouTube to give away one hundred 46-inch high-definition (HD) Sony Internet TVs powered by Google TV. To enter, create and upload a video telling YouTube why you're "pumped" about Google TV. Google will select the winning submissions based on originality, creativity, entertainment factor, technical execution, and how well the excitement streams through the submission. The contest rules are here. Those entering should upload a video by Dec. 22, and tag it with "ytgtv." Google will announce the winners on Jan. 20, 2011. Meanwhile, 172 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in November 2010, according to comScore Video Metrix. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in nearly 5.2 billion viewing sessions during the month. Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property with 145.8 million unique viewers. While ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and Viacom took steps to block Google TV's access to premium television shows, there is other content on the platform. The TV allows users to search the Internet and provides access to free books and movies, and YouTube offers a feature called Leanback -- a way to watch YouTube videos on Google TV or any large screen. With its simple controls and full-screen viewing, Leanback makes watching videos on YouTube effortless. Aside from the YouTube promotion, Google on Wednesday pushed out an automatic software update for Google TV, and fixes to bugs. The four improvements to the platform make Netflix more accessible through an enhanced app that allows users to search, browse and watch any movie or show in the streaming catalog, as well as title them in the DVD queue to be mailed. It also will make recommendations based on previous views of other movies. Dual view brings TV and Web together to watch TV shows and browse Web sites at once -- for example, watching a TV show and tweeting simultaneously. Google also introduced a remote control app for Android phones and a movie results page that shows all the flicks associated with the title to flip through the options.
There's a new TV season developing: not the premiere TV season, not the winter weekend NFL season, not the replacement show mid-season, nor the repeat season. It's the retransmission blackout season. Seems like the end of the year is now the time for cable operators, TV station groups and cable networks to get their business-war gear on. Big TV marketing campaigns can be waged by each side -- almost to the levels of starting up new shows. This is the time when Bowl Championship Series college football games; New Year Eve's special event programming; big-time award shows; and the start of shows such as "American Idol" -- all seem in jeopardy. Perhaps we all need a break. Shut down our TVs for a winter snooze, and prod them gently for wake-up in February and March, when the networks typically ramp up a rash of original series episodes. If not a complete rest, then perhaps we need to cut back a bit -- since regular season programs on broadcast networks, for the most part, go into hibernation in December and January. Maybe we all need to get caught up on other entertainment -- movies, past TV shows, limited serial dramas we may have missed, electronic books -- or even some Wii Fit exercise games. Some believe the Federal Communications Commission should step in to stop transmission blackouts, forcing these powerful companies into a cooling-down period or mediation. Why bother? We can do our own voluntary cooling-off period -- which would mean less pressure on network programming executives. What better Christmas present can we give those hard-working TV staffers who are only looking out for our entertainment needs?
You just missed the most dangerous day of the year for traffic accidents in California, according to Allstate Insurance. You're safe -- unless you're swearing at that driver you had a problem with yesterday. Dec. 15 has historically had the honor of being top accident day. Why? Hmmm... Christmas shopping distraction, presents jostling in the back seat, distractions over vacation plans to consider, bad weather, as well as some end-of-the-year holiday blues. This got me thinking: Historically, what's been the worst day for TV in the calendar year? One to consider would be New Year's Eve -- just wondering whether Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark are going to make it through their special TV night with no hitches definitely ups the tension. I'm on pins and needles, myself. The ball never seems to fall smoothly. I wonder what happens if it stops. "Can we get another take?" I imagine a producer asking. In recent years, we've now begun to look forward to another unusual tag team -- CNN's Anderson Cooper and Bravo's Kathy Griffin -- doing their odd-couple TV thing on New Year's Eve. I don't know about you, but when I'm thinking end-of-the-year parties -- drinking, laughing and kissing strangers -- I'm thinking Cooper and Griffin. Perhaps the next most dangerous day on TV? I'm guessing it might be actually those few days in May when all those season-ending finales arrive, the last moments we get to see our favorite shows until next season. TV programming/producing executives are no doubt on pins and needles hoping it'll be enough to carry their fans into the new season. Danger lurks everywhere. One misstep and a veteran show can piss-off its fan base. (Hello NBC's "Heroes"!). Last season, NBC's "Chuck" barely held on after producing one of its worst-rated shows of the year for its season-ender. Season premieres also are full of traps for TV programmers -- and viewers. Audience rejection blew up in the face of some Fox and ABC executives minding the store for both "Lone Star" and "My Generation," respectively. Back to your driving habits and considerations: What's the second worst day for traffic accidents? Allstate says it's caused by the distractions of love: Feb. 14. Good and bad distractions come in all forms. Watch out!