ANA chief Bob Liodice claimed a certain level of victory with the organization's efforts to eliminate the decades-old fees that ABC, CBS and NBC had charged for the physical work of inserting ads in the system before they run. Liodice said Thursday that CBS and NBC have dropped the so-called network-integration fees, while ABC still charges "on occasion." Three years ago, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and the 4As joined together to lobby ABC, CBS and NBC to drop the practice, which the ANA said could run an advertiser about $470 for a prime-time spot. Now, the ANA is urging its membership to resist ABC's holdout and "spur a dialogue" with the network "at every opportunity." "These fees are costly, burdensome and irrelevant, especially in today's digital environment," Liodice said at the ANA's annual TV & Video Forum in an opening address. An ABC representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ANA has maintained that advertisers had been assessed integration fees, totaling an estimated $125 million a year, "without providing any benefit" to marketers. When Fox formed in 2007, it opted not to charge the fees to gain a competitive edge, while cable networks, the CW and Univision also never instituted them. In his address, Liodice also said the Ad-ID coding system for commercials is set to usher in an era of brand-specific commercial ratings from Nielsen -- true commercial ratings. He said the technology needed for the encoding -- Nielsen will use Ad-ID along with its current watermarking system -- for individual tracking of ads should be in place later this year. Liodice would not offer a specific timetable for a subsequent launch of a commercial ratings system. Nielsen said the measurement company is in an R&D phase and "we will support the industry when and if they want commercial ratings." The ANA started lobbying for the granular -- "how many people actually had the opportunity to see my spot?" -- ratings in 2007. The push led to the current C3 ratings -- an average rating of commercial minutes during a program that incorporates DVR-enabled viewing, the basis for the national TV marketplace. On brand-specific commercial ratings, Liodice said: "We will leave it up to the buyers and sellers to determine the implications of these ratings in valuing the currency of TV advertising. But for now, we appreciate the opportunity to materially move up the marketing accountability ladder." A Nielsen representative declined to offer a timetable on the brand-specific ratings in an email, but wrote: "We continue to consult with clients on whether they want commercial ratings and to advise them on what steps need to be taken to implement those ratings." Separately, Liodice said the ANA and Canoe Ventures planned study on interactive TV effectiveness is taking shape with five advertisers set to participate: Fidelity Investments, GlaxoSmithKline, Honda, Kimberly Clark and State Farm. "Nationally-scaled iTV has the potential to create an entirely new caliber of television advertising that is more relevant, more memorable and engaging than anything we have experienced to date," he said, citing the types of ads that can lead to a viewer having a sample product sent to their homes after a click with the remote.
Patterns in search volume suggest traditional TV broadcasters are missing an opportunity to connect with viewers online. That's according to a white paper from Google analyzing the behavior of viewers and the patterns in online use: before, during and after TV shows air. Analyzing TV viewers' search behavior, Google identified several patterns in 2010 that point to significant changes in the way they engage with online TV content, methods used to navigate TV online, and how they view content missed at airtime. Typing "watch TV online" into the Google search bar returns more than 2.5 million results, noted Debra Schwartz, analyst for media and entertainment at Google, who wrote the white paper. Now the query returns nearly 3 million. Although Google did not validate the results, the majority of these sites link to or play content from sources like Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, or original content producers. As networks work toward establishing online viewing standards, consumers are increasingly learning to rely on specific destinations for content at specific times of the year. Schwartz writes that Google sees hints that networks will establish content release windows similar in concept to the model that film studios use. Google's goal is to offer additional perspective on this topic by exploring viewers' behavior throughout the TV season through search. The findings suggest that brands don't take full advantage of spikes in online searches for broadcast TV shows, although there seems to be a correlation between the times -- before, during and after -- the show airs. While searchers show a similar level of search activity during premiere week, searches increase during both the prior and following weeks by 20% and 8%, respectively. Do online at Hulu or Netflix and other destinations fill the gap when viewers need to catch missed shows? Google's research points to query trends that begin to shed light on this question, according to Schwartz. Aggregators like Netflix and Hulu took share of query volume from network sites, although search patterns differed during the fall season, compared with broadcast network sites or program titles. Searches for TV titles rise the week prior to its premiere, peak premiere week and progressively slow throughout the season. Searches for network sites show a similar pattern. Knowing these trends can help brands place display and paid-search ads across engines and publisher sites. However, the 2010 fall TV season marked a significant shift in the way consumers navigate online TV. Consumers are moving down the funnel from generic online TV searches to more specific destinations, as well as from individual network sites to aggregators. Comparing trends for a subcategory of online TV viewing search terms (highest volume terms are 'TV online' and 'watch TV online') for the 2008, 2009, and 2010 fall TV seasons indicates that aggregate search volume is 36.6% lower in 2010 than 2009. And the 2010 search pattern illustrates less pronounced peaks and dips. Search lift at premiere week from the two weeks prior was 19% in 2008 and 17% in 2009, declining to 12% in 2010. Looking at Hulu as a branded destination for TV content helps explain the drop in generic online TV searches. Viewers looking to watch TV online demonstrate an increase in certainty about where they get content by searching more for brand terms like "Hulu." The increase in searches for Hulu was 1.04 times the general online TV search terms during the first seven weeks of the 2010 TV season and 3 times during premiere week. In contrast to the growth in Hulu searches, viewers move away from navigating to the networks' sites, according to the white paper. For the first seven weeks of the TV season, searches for the five networks in aggregate fell 12.6%.
ABC has benefited from a strong TV ad market and has sold out its "83rd Annual Academy Awards" with higher prices than a year ago. Some advertisers are shelling out $1.7 million and more for a 30-second commercial -- up from $1.6 million for the same spot a year ago, according to media executives. While this is an improvement, it isn't the $1.8 million price tag commanded from advertisers before the 2009 recession. ABC's advertisers this year include Amazon, American Cancer Society, Anheuser Busch, AT&T, Best Buy, Cars.com, Coke, Hyundai, JCPenney, McDonald's, Nokia, Paramount, P&G, Sprint, Summit Pictures, Unilever, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures. As is customary for the Oscars, many are returning advertisers. On average, media research firm Kantar Media says ABC had its best advertising results for the Oscars in 2008 -- averaging $1.69 million for a 30-second commercial, pulling in a total of $81.1 million in advertising revenue for the night. These numbers dipped sharply the next year, to $1.31 million for a commercial, and $68.0 million overall. In 2010, the event rose to a $1.40 million price tag for a unit spot and $70.0 million overall. The Alphabet Net did better with movie companies this year -- a new category -- pulling in four movie marketers versus three in 2010 and two in 2009. CBS Films, Summit Entertainment and Walt Disney ran commercials a year ago. Movie companies have been heavily marketing their efforts of late in big events -- as witnessed by fourteen 30-second commercials that ran in the Super Bowl earlier this month on Fox. In 2009, the first year that ABC was allowed to sell movie advertising in the "Academy Awards," the network sold two 30-second film commercials -- Disney's "Up" and Paramount Pictures' "The Soloist" -- which came with a host of content and film release restrictions. Deep into the 2009 recession, executives say ABC had to cut its top price from $1.8 million to below $1.4 million in some cases. Last year's awards ceremony pulled in 41.3 million viewers -- its best result since 2005, when it grabbed 43.5 million viewers, with "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" winning many major awards. This year's event will run Sunday, February 27th.
Discovery Communications will throw in another $50 million into OWN -- The Oprah Winfrey Network -- on top of a $46 million added investment made in the fourth quarter. Originally, Discovery put in $190 million into the partnership it has with Harpo Studios in OWN. During an earnings conference call, David Zaslav, president/CEO of Discovery Communications, said that despite reports of sinking ratings at OWN, which started up in January, viewership is 30% higher than Discovery Health was a year ago. Zaslav says he continues to expect OWN to break even in 2011. The new revenue contributions to OWN will be for new programming. Ratings should grow in the fall, he added, when Winfrey ends the run of her syndicated show and Rosie O'Donnell's show begins. Overall, Discovery Communications continued to have strong financial results for its fourth quarter. The period witnessed a 7% gain to $1.01 billion in worldwide revenue, with a 9% hike in U.S. results to $612 million. Operating income (before depreciation and amortization) gained 16% to $461 million with the U.S. contributing the bulk of that gain -- $347 million, also a 16% improvement. Advertising in the U.S. grew 13% to $323 million, due to higher inventory sales and increased pricing -- benefits of the strong TV advertising market. Distribution fees from cable, satellite and telco video retailers improved 7% to $261 million. International channel revenues grew more slowly -- up 5% to $136 million in ad revenues and 7% higher to $200 million for distribution fees. Discovery expects better results in 2011. Full-year revenue is expected to be at $4 billion to $4.1 billion for 2011 -- up from $3.77 billion this year. Operating income is pegged to be at $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion -- a bit higher than 2010's $1.7 billion. "We generated significant advertising and distribution revenue growth while thoughtfully managing our cost base," stated Zaslav. "As a result, we were able to increase our margins and free cash flow growth while continuing to invest in content across our existing portfolio of assets and joint ventures."
3net, an all-3D network formed by Sony Corp. in collaboration with Discovery Communications and IMAX Corp., announced its first distribution deal with DirecTV, set to begin at 8 p.m. on February 13. The agreement will make 3net's 24/7 3D programming available to millions of DirecTV customers nationwide on DirecTV channel 107. DirecTV HD customers have already received a software upgrade to enable digital 3D content. However, they will need a 3D television set and glasses to view the programming. 3net is the second launch for Discovery this year. The first was OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. 3net will launch with original programming produced for Discovery Communications and IMAX, including "China Revealed," showcasing China's natural and manmade wonders, created by Natural History New Zealand Ltd; "Into the Deep 3D," the world television premiere of an IMAX movie special, taking viewers into the depths of the oceans; space show "Hubble 3D," narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, and "Forgotten Planet," focusing on the eerie beauty of abandoned cities reclaimed by nature, produced by Flight 33 Productions. This spectacular launch will be followed by new programs and original series debuting every night at 9 p.m. through the rest of February. Rob Wiesenthal, executive vice president and CFO for Sony Corporation of America, explained: "The broad availability of high-quality, native 3D content is a critical step towards consumers fully embracing 3D." On that note, 3net says it aims to offer viewers the largest library of native 3D entertainment content in the world by the end of the year, including categories like natural history, documentary, action-adventure, travel, history, hyper-reality, lifestyle and cuisine, concerts, movies and scripted series.
The second Thursday in February gave another win to "American Idol" and an overall night win to Fox. But these numbers were a bit lower than the week before. "Idol" dropped to a Nielsen 7.3 rating/20 share among 18-49 viewers -- two-tenths lower than its numbers a week ago. Fox's "Bones" landed at a still-strong 3.3/8 running after "Idol" -- the same numbers as the previous week. Overall, Fox was still tops among all networks by a wide margin -- at a 5.3/13, off a tick from the 5.4 rating of a week ago. Second place again went to CBS and ABC -- almost in a virtual tie, with CBS at a 3.0/8 and ABC at a 2.9/8. A week ago, both were at the 3.1 rating mark. Those networks' main programming guns -- "The Big Bang Theory" and "Grey's Anatomy" -- both lost some luster among viewers. Both shows saw a 3.9 rating among 18-49 viewers, down from a 4.3. "Grey's" scored much higher among young viewers, however, with a 3.4/9 for 18-34 viewers versus a 2.3/7 for "Bang". Both networks had somewhat similar stories for their hour-long supporting shows. ABC's "Wipeout" went south to a 2.2/6 at 8 p.m. from a 2.5 rating a week ago -- but was up one-tenth of a rating point for its "Private Practice" later in the evening at 10 p.m., to a 2.7/7. CBS was down to a 2.8/7 for "CSI" at 9 p.m., from a 3.0 rating the week before at 9 p.m.. At 10 p.m., "The Mentalist" improved to 2.9/8 from a 2.8 in its last original outing. NBC stayed exactly the same as a week ago, with a 2.3/6 for the night. "The Office" was down a tenth of a rating point to a 3.6/9 from a 3.7 rating. "Parks & Recreation" moved up a bit to a 2.6/7 from a 2.5. There was some hopeful news for its new 8:30 p.m. comedy "Perfect Couples," which gained one-tenth of a rating point, to a 1.5/4 from a 1.4 rating. The CW lost some ground with "Vampire Diaries," at a 1.2/3 among 18-49 viewers -- down from a 1.5 rating -- and a 1.6/5 with adults 18-34, also down a bit. "Nikita" continued to decline, with a 0.7/2 -- down from a 0.9 rating. Its 18-34 numbers were also at a 0.7/2. For the night, CW took in a 1.0/3 -- down from a 1.2 rating. Univision was the only big broadcast network to move up on the night -- to a 1.6/4 from a 1.5 rating.
In an effort to get its share of looming consumer tax refunds, Lowe's is offering a Tax Refund Card as part of a "Load Up For Spring" promotion. It enables consumers to spend their tax refund on a prepaid Lowe's debit card, and earn an extra 10% for home-improvement purchases. TV spots are advertising the program, which runs until March 14, with a minimum purchase requirement of $500, and a maximum of $4,000. While marketers wooing refund money isn't new, Lowe's plastic version -- sweetened by the 10% discount -- is innovative. And the government isn't far behind: This tax season, the feds are testing handing out refunds on prepaid debit cards for low-income families -- and if it proves popular, that move might be a bonanza for retailers. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched a pilot program offering taxpayers an account card option, for "Americans with limited or no access to traditional banking services." The program, announced back in September, has mailed letters to 600,000 low- and moderate-income individuals, inviting them to open a MyAccountCard Visa Prepaid Debit Card in time to have their 2010 federal tax refund directly deposited to the card. It also invited thousands of current and potential payroll card users to direct-deposit their 2010 federal tax refund onto existing payroll cards. (Currently, it says some 1.7 million workers use these cards to receive and access their wages, often because they do not have bank accounts.) "Tax refund time is a point on the calendar when retailers really lick their chops," Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate, tells Marketing Daily. "That part is nothing new. But you may see a little bit more innovation if this small test is expanded." There are advantages to refund cards, which are already used for such government benefits as welfare, unemployment and Social Security. "From a security standpoint, it's better than waiting by a mailbox for a check, and this way an unbanked individual doesn't have to pay fees to get a refund check cashed, or run the risk of carrying that cash," he says. But there are significant risks, too. "It may make it that much easier to squander the money, as with other forms of plastic," he adds. "A tax refund is the type of windfall that can really help struggling families right the ship -- catch up on bills, pay the rent, pay down debt -- things that aren't easy to do with a card." "It may affect people differently," Michael McCall, chair of the marketing and law department at Ithaca College's School of Business, tells Marketing Daily. "But it would certainly encourage spending over saving." What's intriguing, he says, is that while consumers certainly understand that a tax refund is their own money, refunded without interest, they behave as if it's "found money," he says. "It's given back to them in a context that encourages them to spend, and a refund card may feel more like a gift card than their own savings."
Horizon Media's Bill Koenigsberg railed against the upfront process Thursday, saying it needs reform because it requires difficult long-term planning in an ever-changing business. When he later suggested that four large holding companies have undue sway in the market, and the major networks unduly benefit from their read of the financials, he was met with applause. Koenigsberg, the Horizon CEO, spoke on a panel at the ANA's annual TV forum in New York. He thinks the market needs to be altered, not abolished. "I think the industry has to come together and re-engineer it." Having to plan for this coming market is troubling, particularly since Horizon needs time to evaluate new buying opportunities that pop up, such as capitalizing on the cable industry's TV Everywhere push. "The world is changing every day; for us to be thinking about 2012 now is a huge problem," he said. Fellow panelist MediaVest's Pam Zucker offered a contrary position, arguing that there are advantages to planning ahead. She cited long-term sports media contracts, which are not necessarily part of the upfront, while she advises clients that deals can be done year-round. Marianne Gambelli of NBC said: "We transact all year -- we'll do whatever the customer wants." She said that discussions outside the upfront that involve multilayered initiatives are taking place more than ever.
Recent controversy over Millennial-targeted television programming provides insights into the differences in the way American generations view the world. Let's go all the way back to 2009, when Gossip Girl was promoting a Nov. 9 episode wherein a sexual threesome was to occur using the text-like "3SOME" teaser. At the time, the Parent's Television Council (PTC) President Tim Winter, a member of the Baby Boom generation, called the ad "reckless and irresponsible." Those of us from Gen X thought that the campaign was clever and cute. Gen Y tuned in just to see what all the noise was all about. In a report issued in November 2010, the PTC criticized the most popular online distributors of commercially generated video (Hulu, Fancast, AT&T and SlashControl) for failing to protect kids from explicit content. Once again, Boomers railing against a new medium pioneered by Xers ... a technology that will most assuredly be perfected by Gen Y. Jump to December 2010 wherein the PTC criticized "Glee" and the "Vampire Diaries" for showing an "eagerness to not only objectify and fetishize young girls, but to sexualize them in such a way that real teens are led to believe their sole value comes from their sexuality" within a report titled "Sexualized Teen Girls: Tinsel Town's New Target." Most recently, the PTC has excoriated MTV, calling "Skins" the "most dangerous show for teens." Is the media out of control and recklessly putting the nation's youth at risk? The December PTC report concluded: "To any parent of a pre-teen or teenage girl, the harm of such imagery is readily apparent." Is it? Really? Let's look at what Gen Y is actually doing. When it comes to sexuality, statistics published by the National Center for Health Statistics show that rates of pregnancy, abortion and birth for girls aged 15 to 17 are at the lowest levels since 1980. If the PTC's alarum was well founded, the youth that the PTC claims are being victimized by the television networks would be having babies more often, not less often. Let's look at another favorite of youth alarmists: violence in video games. Looking at stats for violent crime dating back to 1973, both offender rates for youth aged 16-19 as well as victimization rates for kids aged 12-20 are at their lowest levels since 1973. "Pong" was invented in 1972, followed shortly thereafter by "Death Race" in 1976. If violence within video games induces violence, wouldn't the release of "Death Race" have been the start of an upward rather than a downward trend? So much for what teens are doing ... what about what they're thinking? Last week we surveyed 1,300 kids aged 14 to 24 within our nationally representative monthly survey, asking a number of questions about TV shows, specifically, what they found most interesting within television programming. When it comes to what's driving Gen Y's television preferences, personal relationships and interpersonal dynamics (76%) far outweigh binge drinking (33%) or illegal drug use (35%). When it comes to the media frenzy surrounding "Skins," 12% of viewers said that the "Skins" controversy made them more likely to watch the show, 14% said that the controversy made them less likely to watch, 28% said that the controversy had no impact and 46% were not even aware of any controversy. Of those kids who watch "Skins," one-third (34%) said "it is just a fun show to watch; I don't take it very seriously" while one-third (33%) stated that they watch "Skins" based on the relationships between the characters involved. I had a chance to see previews of episodes 1 and 5 of "Skins" in mid-December and have since seen episodes 1 to 4 as they've aired on MTV. I've also managed to see the first five episodes of the U.K. version (via the same streaming video networks that the PTC castigated) for comparison purposes. While I'll admit that the transposition from the U.K. to the U.S. represents an interesting challenge on a number of fronts, the authenticity of the U.S. version shines through whenever the writers (who are themselves members of Gen Y) probe into the complexity and nuances of the relationships between the Gen Y characters as well as the relationships that they have with the adults in their lives. Gen Y is all about "Likes" and "Friends," so understanding relationships is far more important to Gen Y than the headline-grabbing bad behavior that attempts to pique their interest. Gen Y craves authenticity, leading many of them to turn away from marketing campaigns that titillate rather than accurately and honestly describe a show. Loyal "Vampire Diaries" watchers have been bristling at the recent "Got Wood" and "Catch VD" marketing campaigns, feeling that they don't accurately reflect the show that they know and love. For those of us in the youth marketing space, the need to leave our own generations' baggage behind as we design products, market and communicate with Gen Y is the surest path to longevity. As the torch is passed from the Boomers to Gen X, we can expect to see less drama, fewer culture wars and a more practical approach to building shows written by Gen Y and targeting Gen Y.
According to the STRATA quarterly survey of media buyers, 24% of agencies' clients are more focused on radio, up from 17% in the prior quarter. The number of agencies reporting they are spending less on radio is off by half, with 17% trimming radio budgets compared to 34% who said that three months ago. The survey of advertising agency buying teams finds fewer are cutting radio budgets, and client interest in the medium is growing. The report notes that the top three media, television, Internet and radio, appear to be the breakout hits of the advertising recovery. Areas Of Client FocusMost Focused% of Respondents Spot TV 44% Internet/digital 21 Spot radio 16 Print 7 Network TV 6 Network cable 3 Spot cable 2 Out-of-home 1 Source: Inside Radio/RAB, January 2011 J.D. Miller, STRATA marketing chief, says "... classifying the advertising avenue that agency clients are most focused on... TV remains at the top followed by digital... But survey takers were surprised with #3: radio... 16% of clients rate radio as their top pick, compared to 9% who said that in the prior quarter's survey... " Spot Radio Focus (% of Respondents; Compared to Previous Year):
The announcement of Keith Olbermann's signing with Current TV this week unfortunately made me think about the world of Infotainment, or OpinionNews, or whatever you want to call it. Now, it's easy to dismiss such a move by Olbermann as one of either hubris or desperation. Is this an act of someone who believes himself bigger than the medium, like Howard Stern and his jump to Sirius? Or is it a grasp to stay relevant, taking his opportunity in one of the only venues that didn't have a non-compete clause in his deal with MSNBC? Will the right have Keith Olbermann to kick around anymore? A few years ago, my wife and I happened to be in Williamsburg, Va. There, we stopped to listen to an impassioned "Thomas Jefferson" who was standing on a small stage in a public square, giving news of a brave General Washington and what he was facing to defend a new idea: that these colonies should be free from the tyranny of the British crown. The crowd he was speaking to was rather small; there were barely 50 souls gathered that hot day in this bustling colonial metropolis. But what he said, he said with such earnestness, such zeal, that you couldn't help but believe that these ideals of a free nation might just work. No, not might -- must. Current TV, our media generation's representative for such a venue (let's just call it "massroots" media. Do you think that will catch on?), will most likely have even less impact than such a well-placed speech. Olbermann will likely have more Twitter followers than viewers. More measureable ones, at least. But he will be unleashed, and allowed to bask in his politics as he sees fit. But make no mistake -- the news of this Chief News Officer will be seen through Keith-tinted glasses. See, there's a big difference between what Jefferson was doing and what the cable NewsBarkers are doing today. Jefferson wasn't just preaching accepted dogma; he had to create the beliefs he was extolling. Today, they're preaching to the converted. But they all seem to assert themselves and their platforms as if they're following in Jefferson's traditions. They're not. Back then, the "us" versus "them" had real, lethal consequences. Now, all they're risking are demographics. What I'm curious about is why it should matter. From an audience reach perspective, it shouldn't. For example, Glenn Beck, one of the most polarizing of our Opinionists, reached 5.43% of all 2+ viewers at some point during January of this month. And that's on a Live+3 Day basis, for all you C3 enthusiasts who might want to believe that time shifting matters with "news" programming (his Live reach was a 5.22). Compare that to the nondescript "Crimetime Saturday" that CBS aired in January - its 3-Day reach was 7.71. Want something more specific? How about the more than likely to be cancelled "Lie to Me" - 7.52. (Source: Nielsen NPower). Total 2+ Reach/Frequency of Cable News Personalities The O'Reilly Factor 8.01/6.5 Anderson Cooper 360 6.60/3.1 Hannity 6.59/5.1 Glenn Beck 5.43/4.8 Parker Spitzer 3.87/2.5 Rachel Maddow Show 3.50/4.8 Keith Olbermann 3.49/4.6 Chris Matthews 3.31/5.9 Huckabee 3.10/2.0 Lawrence O'Donnell 3.03/4.2 Joe Scarborough 2.14/5.5 Source: Nielsen NPower So for all their bombast, all their destructive power that they wield over our polarized national discourse, these Belief Brokers are not really reaching all that many of us. What they are doing is proselytizing to their own believers, again and again and again -- each with more than enough opinion disguised as fact to create a "Truth of Frequency," perfected (to a point) during the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" era. Let's put a few more numbers around the disproportionate attention we give these very loud cable personalities, shall we? (Source: Nielsen Galaxy) When Fox moved its niche drama "Fringe" to the "Friday night death slot," its strategists were thrilled to find that the first Friday episode only lost around 144,000 A18-49 viewers versus its Thursday average. "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" averaged about 157,000 A18-49 viewers during the past year. So having a show that they all but expected to be slaughtered lose nearly as many viewers as you pull in is considered a victory. The worst night for the Jay Leno Show train wreck from last year averaged 1,550,000 A18-49 viewers. Consider all the fallout that resulted from a colossal failure of a show that delivered 10 times the viewers than Olbermann averaged on MSNBC. Sure, but the news tends to skew older, you'll say. Well, Huckabee averages around 175,000 A25-54 viewers. Fox's "Lone Star", a drama thought to evoke the old "Dallas" vibe which would hit that target, lost 350,000 A25-54 viewers between its lone two episodes. But after all that's said, is it really fair to equate the viewership of these very targeted programs with mass-appeal prime-time programs? Let me ask you which is having more of an impact upon your paycheck, marital status, and healthcare coverage: "House" -- or Glenn Beck? It's not only fair. Jefferson would probably say that it's a must for any fair, equal -- and yes, balanced -- society.
CIMM's Set-Top Box Data Lexicon is a compilation of terms and definitions associated with Set-Top Box data and its measurement. This Word-A-Week column highlights a term and definition from the CIMM Lexicon. It is our hope that this will help in creating a common language for Set-Top Box data usage and help expedite the roll-out of the data for its many industry applications. We tend to use the term "Set-Top Box data" as the generic data term for all the data available in the hardware. But this is not as accurate a term as Return Path Data (also known as RPD) is to describe all of the available data possible in the stream. This is because not all the data exists solely on the box itself. In fact, data exists in many areas of the media infrastructure - from the central server to the last edge device and intermediate points in between with data collecting in devices, gateways and clouds. For example, linear real time data is collected off the actual STB, guide user data is collected off the guide server, click stream data from the box, key stream data from the remote (any click on the remote - volume, mute, SOSO etc that does not impact linear) and interactive activity (such as VOD) are collected from other middleware. RPD data can also be collected from the network via Switched Digital software and any cloud-based data (such as a remote server DVR) is collected from the cloud. And the gathering up of these data points from their various sources is both challenging and ever changing. For the purposes of advancing a common language, CIMM has decided to continue to use the term Set-Top Box data as the generic, rather than the arguably more accurate term Return Path Data to describe all the data that can be extracted and used for measurement from various media software, hardware and environments. The official CIMM definition for RPD is: RPD abbr Return Path Data CIMM DEFINITION : Any data received from the return path. Data can be pulled from Set-Top Boxes, mobile, internet, networks etc. Please refer to the CIMM Lexicon online at http://www.cimm-us.org/lexicon.htm for additional information on these and other terms.
So here's the lowdown on Super Bowl ads: advertising creatives have essentially thrown their hands in the air. The ads used to be about monkeys doing tricks, men getting their private parts batted around, or talking infants engaged in wise-cracking. This year added the imagery of women and babies getting dinged -- all in the name of fun, apparently. Have creatives run out of idea s and resorted to doing stuff that is too edgy and not terribly entertaining? Desperation is in the air. Here's some post-game evidence of that. Twice this week, marketers have re-edited their Super Bowl commercials for online viewing. Groupon did this first because of some fuzzy intent: Was the commercial spoofing celebrities who crusade for causes like helping Tibetan refugees -- or actually looking to help Tibetan refugees in a funny sort of way? Then, HomeAway re-edited its Super Bowl spot that featured -- supposedly -- a baby being smashed against a hotel window. Mind you, even though the baby was immediately identified as a "Test Baby" in the commercial, apparently this wasn't enough. So HomeAway did its video tinkering. YouTube and other sites, where you can witness the before-and-after results, are the beneficiaries here. But forget about the re-edited spots for a second. Frito-Lay and sister company, Pepsi, each ran two spots produced from its consumer-fans. Couple this with some 14 movie commercials -- where traditional ad agency creatives do little to no work given that their content basically contains edited-down movie trailers -- and you have marketers slowly pulling away from big-time risky Super Bowl creative. Talk to any TV marketer and you know that the stakes are high on Super Bowl day. Viewers are there to be entertained -- amidst the clutter and confusion of other messages that day. That seems like a hard road to travel down with $3 million in media spending per commercial on the line, and the USA Today advertising meter breathing down your neck. Sure, the majority of the some 60 Super Bowl commercials were new and original. But many began running before Super Bowl day. Advertisers were looking to stretch expensive TV marketing dollars --and looking for an easy landing should things not go their way. But if all else failed, they always could re-edit -- after the fact. It's TV, after all. Just wondering if the Pittsburgh Steelers can do the same.
For the better part of a year, TV critics hounded Comcast's potential ownership of NBC Universal -- especially in regards to where Comcast would stand with NBC affiliates. The threat? Making NBC into a cable network. Apparently, critics were focusing on the wrong network. According to reports, cable retransmission discussions have become so heated between Fox and its affiliates that senior network executives have threatened to look to other forms of "distribution " if things don't go their way. The affiliates believe they still represent big value to Fox, in terms of both local news and network promotion. Fox has been pressing for big dollars from cable operators -- especially since it is still the number one network, with the number one show in the land ("American Idol"), and a share of the most profitable sports TV franchise (NFL). These factors contribute to strong financials for Fox stations. This is one of two main areas where News Corp. President/COO Chase Carey has been pretty vocal. The other: getting more money from Fox's digital platform associations, such as Hulu. Fox stations are already pulling in up to $1 per subscriber per month from cable operators. That would be more money than many cable networks. News Corp. isn't afraid of controversy, or of ruffling broadcast station feathers. One executive has told TV Watch that Fox wants to get 75- 80% of all its affiliates' retransmission revenue. No wonder why things are testy. In a recent letter to affiliates, Mike Hopkins, president of sales and affiliate marketing for Fox, said: "From our perspective, the [negotiating] committee has been largely non-responsive to our views and unwilling to negotiate in good faith. Rather than continue to waste time on fruitless arguments, we feel it is time to move on and negotiate an equitable and practical [retrans sharing] agreement with each of you." Should the standoff continue, Hopkins added: "Fox will have to pursue different distribution channels to receive fair value for our programming and continue to serve our viewers....We don't want that to sound like a threat, but it is a fact." Okay. It's all out there -- a threat from the strongest broadcast TV network. And you thought all the hard-hitting stuff ended with Fox's Super Bowl telecast.
In his opening remarks at the ANA TV and Everything Video Forum, ANA Chief Bob Liodice just announced that the ANA is partnering with Canoe Ventures to launch a consumer panel of interactive TV households. "Today, I am desighted to announce that a select group of ANA members have signed up to participate in the first year of this innovative project," Liodice disclosed. "These are Fidelity Investments, GlaxoSmithKline, Honda, Kimberly Clark and State Farm."
ANA Chief Bob Liodice just told TV and Everything Video attendees that Nielsen has agreed to integrate the ad industry's Ad-ID codes into its digital watermarking system, and that it will lead to "brand-specific commercial ratings" soon. "We will leave it up to the buyers and sellers to determine the implications of these ratings in valuing the currency of TV advertising," Liodice said. "But for now, we appreciate the opportunity to materially move up the marketing accountability ladder."
That's what Best Buy CMO Barry Judge said the electronics retail giant's new strategy is. He said Best Buy is "dialing down on digital" and "dialing up on TV," because he can't "find enough places to spend our dollars on digital," but he can on TV. He said Best Buy's TV budget is increasing 50%, and that he's getting behind "big shows," especially live TV programing like big events, and the kinds of shows that people will be talking about the next day. "That's our strategy," he said.
That's right. The former president, er vice president, of the United States, says he's not much of a gamer, but he apparently plays wildly successful iPhone game app: "Angry Birds." But he just told attendees at the ANA's TV and Everything Video forum, that he's "stuck on level 10." Gore's real point is that gaming is a very important part of the evolution of everything video, and it also will be an important part of his own video play, Current Media. Gore disclosed plans for a new community-generated massive multiplayer game called "Bar Karma," which is being developed by "Sims" creator Will Wright. Gore said he created a "storyboard engine" that will allow Current Media's audience to "Write the script" of the game, even as they are playing it. He said the "secret sauce" would be the ability to tap into "thousands of storytellers" that will also be playing the game.
Moments after ANA chief Bob Liodice announced that the ad industry would soon unveil a new initiative to try and standardize measurement and metrics across digital media platforms, the Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence announced a request for proposal to industry researchers for a project to advance digital audience measurement. Coincidence? I think not, but hard to tell from the Council's press release, which says: "The objective of the project would be to examine how various digital publishers capture and maintain user data, and to understand the role this data can play in supplementing research-panel data to augment audience measurement." The Council said the project should help assess current data-collection practices as well as "best practices" to "strengthen 'hybrid' (panel-based/server-based) digital audience measurement," but that no confidential or proprietary information is being sought.
That's more or less what Barry Judge, CMO of Best Buy, did during his introductory remarks at the ANA's TV and Everything Video Forum in New York. Judge, who followed a keynote by former president, er vice president, Al Gore, and who will be followed by NBA Commissioner David Stern, said that he was a little intimated by the prospect of his in-between slot, and tweeted that on Twitter. He said that one of his followers tweeted him back saying that he should title his speech, "An Inconvenient Jumpshot." Maybe it should have been an inconvenient rim-shot, du-dum!
NBA Commissioner David Stern is rattling off the strong NBA franchises that have contributed to a surge in ratings for the sport, and left out one important one, given the audience he is speaking to, attendees at the ANA's TV/Everything Video Forum in New York City. "I left out the Knicks, I apologize," Stern said, apologizing the oversight of his home court omission. One thing Stern said he doesn't have to apologize for anymore, is the New York Knicks' performance on the court, which he said, is a pretty good thing for the sport. "The reason it matters is America is a town of small towns, and there's no small town bigger than New York," he said, adding that he was getting tired of pedestrians yelling out to him, "Hey Commish, what do you do about the Knicks. Now I don't have to answer that question." "In some small measure by what's going on in Madison Square Garden. And things are good in Madison Square Garden now," he said.
That's pretty much what Best Buy CMO Barry Judge said during the Q&A portion of his ANA TV/Everything Video session when an audience member asked him what he was doing about, "MMO." Actually, he said what I was thinking, "What's MMO?" But I'm not a big CMO, am I? Judge is, of course, which just goes to show the degree of inscrutable industry jargon. But some industry jargonmeister blurted from the audience, "It's Marketing Mix Optimization." Ah, that explains things. Thank you very much. Er, what's marketing mix optimization? Just kidding (not).
Imagine a TV doctor portrayed by George Clooney. Okay, so he actually played one on TV. But Best Buy CMO Barry Judge just showed ANA TV/Video attendees a mock-up of a spot the electronics retailer is toying with featuring Clooney as a doctor delivering a baby in a hospital attended by android nurses. Better yet, the expectant mom also is an android. "Congratulations," says one of the android nurses as the android mom delivers, "It's streaming broadband." The point of the spot, Judge said, was to promote Best Buy's new buyback program, which is like an insurance policy allowing consumers to sell equipment back to Best Buy when a new gizmo or version of a gizmo comes out. "As soon as you buy something a new thing comes out," Judge said, adding, "We didn't do any of those" commercials. Others included Courtney Cox in a hot tub, and Fred Flintstone using a mobile phone. Other versions Best Buy is considering shows "upgrades" of people. Actor Will Smith being upgraded by his son. George Clooney being upgraded by Justin Bieber. Etc. There were problems getting many of those celebrities to agree. Then Best Buy hit on an actual execution while watching an interview with Ozzy Osborne. When the interviewer asked Osborne what he thought of Justin Bieber, he said, "Who the f**k is Justin Bieber." That line sold the Best Buy marketing team, and the rest, as they say, is Super Bowl history. If you haven't seen it, here it is: