A new study showing how local broadcasting is a boost to the U.S. economy is impacted by governmental discussions of TV and radio spectrum allocations. The economic analysis says local radio and television broadcasting -- direct and supporting businesses -- contribute $1.17 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product, with 2.52 million jobs. The study comes from Washington, D.C.-based Woods & Poole Economics and media researcher/consultant BIA/Kelsey. It was commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters. "Decision-makers now debating spectrum policies need to be cognizant of the millions of people and thousands of businesses reliant on the unparalleled impact of local TV and radio for economic survival," stated Gordon Smith, president and CEO of the NAB. Some 300,000 jobs are directly connected to the local broadcast industry, amounting to $59.32 billion in GDP annually. Television accounts for a little more than half: 187,000 of these jobs. Television itself contributes over $30 billion to gross domestic product. Radio employs 118,000 people and contributes a little over $18 billion to the GDP. The analysis estimates residual effects on non-broadcast businesses -- advertising on local broadcast television and radio stations -- adds more than $986 billion in economic activity and supports 1.38 million jobs.
As Discovery Channel gears up for the launch of its sprawling "Curiosity" event series later this summer, a companion Web site has debuted, featuring artists, scholars and Nobel laureates, answering questions and a social media component. The site is set up with the home page offering a series of rather deep questions, such as "What are some persistent threats to innovation?" and "Are we too satisfied with too little information?" Answers by experts feature video and look to spark debate. A Facebook-based comment platform is set up, but user interaction creates a personal profile page that allows viewers to participate and play a active part in the quest for knowledge and development of theories. They can also interact with Curiosity Luminaries. So far, there are 12,000 answers and questions posted. Experts include Google Internet evangelist Vinton Cerf, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and AOL pioneer Ted Leonsis. Jeff Arnold, who helped develop Discovery site HowStuffWorks, was involved in Curiosity.com's formation. Nissan and the University of Phoenix are start-up sponsors of the "Curiosity" initiative. The "Curiosity" series begins Aug. 7 and features Robin Williams musing on the power and nature of drugs and "Lost" star Michelle Rodriguez asking how we would survive an alien attack. Future episodes will feature author Elie Wiesel discussing human rights, forgiveness and the power of the media. Discovery founder John Hendricks is behind the Curiosity venture, calling it "a natural extension of our mission."
As companies develop or acquire media management software, online and broadcast TV advertising will discover closer ties. In that vein, Google bought the technology from SageTV, a company that makes home theater software for PCs, also known as HTPC. Jeffrey Kardatzke, chief technology officer and founder of the software company, announced the news over the weekend. The SageTV software offers full digital video recording capabilities -- the ability to skip commercials and easily browse movies and content. In allows Internet video support by category, and Hulu and Netflix support for the living room, desktop, mobile and cars. Google will no doubt roll in some SageTV technology into Google TV. Although there has been no word on why Google wants the technology, it is speculated that it will likely create a place-shift-type technology geared toward advertising for live and stored content. In 2002, SageTV's technology became one of the first to turn computers with TV tuners into DVRs. The technology can support nearly any audio or visual file. The company released version 7.1.9 of the software last week, announcing it via a Twitter post. The open technology will likely give developers access to more options to develop features and apps. "We've seen how Google's developer efforts are designed to stimulate innovation across the Web, as developers have played a core role in the success of SageTV," Kardatzke wrote. "We think our shared vision for open technology will help us advance the online entertainment experience." Google had partnered with Netflix, Sony, Logitec and NBC for streaming services and hardware, but since the launch, the first version of the TV had mixed reviews.
Andrew Morse, executive producer of innovation and integration for ABC News Digital, has been named head of Bloomberg Television in the U.S.
TV political advertising spending could see rocketing growth next year, possibly climbing to just under $3 billion. Moody's Investors Service says political advertising revenue for those pure-play broadcasters can expect gains of 9% to 18% over historically high political advertising levels seen in 2010, when spending on TV broadcasters got to $2.3 billion. Previous estimates said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign could raise a record $1 billion in 2012 for all its political advertising efforts. A Republican candidate might get to those levels as well -- looking to avoid the problems that Republican candidate John McCain got into in 2008. In 2008, Obama did not take federal funds, but McCain did. That meant a cap on the ability to spend ad money. Analysts believe the new Republican candidate will follow in Obama's footsteps --- avoiding federal funds -- all of which could escalate political advertising spending, of which the lion's share goes into television. The ad push will be aided by recent changes in political TV advertising laws, such as loosening of corporate-backed political advertising. Moody's says small- and mid-size TV station groups -- Barrington Broadcasting Group, Gray Television, Local TV, Nexstar Broadcasting and NVT Networks/New Vision -- could be the better gainers from political spots. Bigger TV groups -- those in larger markets, such as Belo Corp. and Sinclair Broadcast Group -- will witness smaller ad growth. Those groups have a broader list of TV marketers and larger revenues in many advertising categories. Big battleground states -- Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Missouri -- will see a lot of political advertising money, says Moody's. Overall, the investor-rating services says the windfall advertising dollars will be used to pay down station debt.
Now smaller TV broadcaster Acme Communications says automotive advertising appears to be softer in the second quarter -- a trend that differs at other TV station groups. For the first quarter, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based Acme had a slightly improving financial picture -- revenues were higher, and net losses narrowed. Net revenues were up 5% to $3.5 million in the first quarter from $3.3 million in 2010. The company's net loss for the first quarter of 2011 was $1.7 million compared to a $1.9 million net loss for the first quarter of 2010. Some of the company's best results came from its syndicated TV show "The Daily Buzz," where revenues increased 16% for the quarter compared to the prior year quarter. Doug Gealy, president and CEO of Acme, said: "Market conditions continue to improve, and we are cautiously optimistic that this positive trend will continue at our three remaining continuing stations and "The Daily Buzz" through the remainder of the year." He warned, however, that Acme was seeing "softness in the second quarter in the automotive category." During the second quarter of 2011, ACME completed the sale of three of its stations WBXX-TV, Knoxville, Tenn., WBDT-TV, Dayton, Ohio, and WCWF-TV (formerly WIWB-TV), in Green Bay-Appleton, Wisconsin. TV operations now consists of its TV duopoly in Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM, its television station in Madison, Wis., and its Daily Buzz production entity in Orlando, Florida.
At a time when awards shows offer ample opportunities for backstage extras, social-media exploitation and other multiplatform content, CBS has a deal to continue carrying the Grammys through 2021. That's in line with recent sports-rights arrangements that stretch for years. And the deal trumps ABC, which re-upped the Oscars through 2020. CBS has carried the awards show, billed as "Music's Biggest Night," since 1973 as part of a deal with the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Next year's event takes place in Los Angeles on Feb. 12. The broadcast annually offers younger-skewing appeal for a network that can draw an older audience than competitors. The new 10-year deal also includes CBS continuing to carry a special live concert with Grammy nominees prior to the show. There will also be several new Grammy specials. Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS Corp., stated: "The long-term structure of this deal will provide even greater continuity with marketing and sales opportunities for both organizations," adding that the event continues to grow "both culturally and commercially." The 2011 awards show drew 26.7 million viewers, the largest audience since 2000. In key demos, the ratings were the best since 2004.
TNT's sci-fi drama "Falling Skies" pulled in the best ratings for a new cable series launch this year -- but it was not enough to beat NBC's "Miss USA" pageant, or TNT's big drama launch last year. The series -- co-executive-produced by Steven Spielberg -- pulled in 5.9 million viewers during its two-hour premiere at 9 p.m. last night. NBC's "Miss USA" pulled in 7.3 million viewers. Against virtually all repeat programming on the broadcasters, "Miss USA" pulled in a 2.2 rating/7 share among 18-49 viewers -- the only non-sports show to earn above a 2 rating among 18-49 viewers in prime time. A year ago, against non-repeat programming, such as CBS' "Survivor" and other shows, the beauty contest got to a 1.4 rating. For its part, "Falling Skies," which was sponsored for its debut by Hyundai, grabbed 2.0 ratings among 18-49 viewers. NBC won the night among all TV networks with 6.6 million viewers and an average 1.8 rating/6 share among 18-49 viewers. The network also had the benefit of a big push from the "U.S. Open" golf event early in the evening, which scored a 2.2/9 from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and 9.0 million overall viewers. After NBC, Fox and Univision were next, each with a 1.3/4 among 18-49 viewers. ABC and CBS each scored a 0.7/2; Telemundo earned a 0.4/1; CW took a 0.3/1; and ION earned a 0.2/1. "Falling Skies" offered cable's best results since a year ago, when TNT's crime-drama "Rizzoli & Isles" debuted in the summer of 2010, to 7.6 million viewers. Lifetime's returning drama "Drop Dead Diva" -- starting up its third season on Sunday night, taking in 2.9 million viewers -- was down slightly from 3.1 million viewers.
Michelin is launching the fourth ad in its first global advertising push, the two-year-old "The Right Tire Changes Everything" campaign. The new element talks about safety, and features the Michelin Man, who got liposuction, and a more socially conscious mien in 2007 for the "A Better Way Forward" U.S. campaign. "The Right Tire Changes Everything" had the Michelin Man, now a slimmed-down athletic discus-style hurler of tires, taking on evil gasoline pumps. In the new ad, the Michelin mascot is in an animated world of mobility in which people navigate dangerous rain and roads slick with water, while being assaulted by sentient raindrops. With a Pixar feel and rhymed voiceover, a father and son in a cute cartoon car drive along a road as the rain starts to fall. The voiceover says, "Max and his son made their way homeward bound, when mischievous rain fell down, down down; safety was threatened by every roguish drip, they slipped and slid, they couldn't get a grip." The Michelin man appears at roadside throwing tires like Frisbees. The effort touts Michelin's Primacy MXM4 brand of tires that are designed to brake in shorter distances in wet conditions. The new ad will appear this month on television, in print media and on the Web, as well as being displayed on the official Michelin Man Facebook page and YouTube channel. The national television spot will launch June 20. A Michelin representative said the creative will run in North America and Europe, and that brand awareness isn't an issue. "Michelin's brand awareness is already extremely high, and has ongoing sponsorship programs (for example, participation in the American Le Mans Series)." Separately, Michelin North America's Chairman and President Richard "Dick" Wilkerson has announced he will retire by the end of this year. He will be chairman emeritus of Michelin North America. Pete Selleck, currently president of Michelin Truck Tires worldwide, will return to Greenville, S.C., from Michelin's global headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand, France, to succeed him.
The CBS-owned independent station in Boston is becoming a MyNetworkTV affiliate this fall. WSBK, part of a duopoly with WBZ (the CBS station), is joining MyNetworkTV, which airs off-net shows, such as "Without A Trace" and "Burn Notice" in back-to-back blocks. The new affiliation comes as current MyNet affiliate WZMY is becoming an independent, while changing call letters to WBIN. MyNet will add "Law & Order: SVU" and "Cold Case" to its lineup this fall, which airs on weeknights only. Currently, independent WSBK airs "The Insider" and "Entertainment Tonight" in the 8 p.m. hour weeknights and a half-hour of news starting at 9, followed by off-net comedies. A CBS-owned station in Miami is also a MyNet affiliate as part of a duopoly. "The major franchise programming that MyNetworkTV offers is clearly resonating with viewers and advertisers," said Paul Franklin, executive vice president at MyNetworkTV. The net went through various incarnations before settling on its current syndication-type model.
There's a local car commercial running here in New York. It's for Mercedes-Benz and it's different from what I've heard in the past from the world's leading luxury brand -- a lot different. The spot is all about affordability, which they call aggressive pricing, comparing the Mercedes payment plan to that of the Toyota Camry. Last Thursday former Congressman Anthony Weiner announced his resignation from the US House of Representatives He went to public schools all his life, he reminded us. The middle class story of New York "is my story," he said. While he wanted to continue to fight for the middle class, he could no longer do that because he had created a "distraction." The first example above is a repositioning based on a changed marketplace reality. The second is a repositioning based on a new level of self-serving disingenuousness. But both are interesting because they remind us that one of one of the most important communications requirements in today's marketing environment is where to place your brand in the consumer's mind, in a crowded and fast changing marketplace. Positioning is a concept that's been defined and mapped. There have been books written about it (thank you, Jack Trout and Al Ries) and multiple processes created to develop it. When I moved from the agency to the client side, I did a thorough study of the various ways to think about positioning and to develop it for my brands. It always came down to three essential elements: an intimate understanding of your target; an intimate understanding of the competition for your target; and a sustainable way to beat the competition. Sometimes when discussing the subject with students, I tell them about the Dennis Rodman theory of positioning. For those who remember Rodman before the tattoos, green hair and body piercing became the story, he was the rebounding champion for the National Basketball Association for seven years in a row. While it was a great record on its own, the fact that he was 6' 6" in height (although listed at 6' 8") and 50 pounds lighter than the NBA giants with whom he was competing, made it even more remarkable. Rodman did it by understanding his target (specifically studying where the ball would likely come off the rim for the various shooters), understanding his competition for that target (Shaquille and other big men and their strengths and weaknesses), and developing a sustainable competitive advantage for beating them (anticipation and speed). In short, he was a master of positioning. Really understanding those three elements -- your target, your competition for that target, and a way to beat the competition -- are the keys in basketball, in selling cars or in selling a personal brand for political gain. As we enter the early stages of the political season leading up to the 2012 election, get ready to see some prime examples of positioning, sometimes at its best, more often at its worst. Weiner's juvenile "distraction" aside, we've begun to hear the first trial balloons from the challenger brands as the Republican primary participants try to establish themselves for the selling season. Mitt Romney has already tried to communicate his unique understanding of the plight of the unemployed with his "I'm unemployed too" comment, an initial effort that may not have hit the mark for the independently wealthy former Governor. The Ron Paul camp is the limited-government, end-the-Fed, adopt-the-gold-standard brand. Michele Bachmann is a smarter Sarah Palin who may be tougher for Tina Fey to marginalize, and Pawlenty, Perry and Huntsman haven't told us who they are yet. The point is not their politics, it's watching them use these early days as market research and evolve their message so they can effectively place themselves in our minds as the most viable brand to meet our needs. The final point about positioning, the key point, is the importance of authenticity, which is sometimes a fancier way of saying honesty. A brand has to be genuine, or it will die a quick and certain death in a time of instant, consumer-controlled communication. As we work each day on our own brands and positioning assignments, it can be instructive, and it will be fun, to watch the various campaign positioning strategies unfold. Particularly how they handle the honesty thing.
Why are we only talking about the pledge of allegiance to our flag for the opening of an golf event? Shouldn't we be require to cite our allegiance before other business and sports openings -- perhaps just after waking up in the morning, or before going to sleep at night? NBC mistakenly cut out the words "under God" during a pretaped video piece before the start of golf's U.S. Open event this weekend. The network later blamed a small group of people for omitting those key words. Maybe some TV executive was involved with some "production notes." I'm loyal to the flag -- every day. With that in mind, perhaps every single TV show needs to start up with the pledge of allegiance. Since I love my country, and my God, and my prime-time TV schedule, we need to get serious. We need to gain protection from all intruders -- especially cable networks and YouTube. NBC says: "It was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship." That's okay. But why stop there. You want to be patriotic? Don't limit it to just sporting events. Before the start of "Glee," open with the national anthem or the pledge of allegiance. Does Macy's open its doors with the pledge of allegiance? Maybe it should. Why do these national traditions happen during sporting events? Maybe because sports is kind of trivial versus the more serious world problem - and so we need to be reminded of matters like armed forces putting their lives on the line. By that token, why not extend this to TV shows -- as well as theatrical movies or concerts? Entertainment is our leisure, non-serious time. The pledge -- and other national traditions -- remind us of what this country is all about. My point is: all or nothing. If entertainment is trivial in the broader scheme of things and we are looking to remind viewers of real serious stuff, we ought to be consistent. If, on the other hand, focusing on pledges and national anthems during entertainment events trivializes those national traditions, that's another issue.
Yule Log. Rotisserie chicken. Whopper sandwiches. Or, things you can watch on TV 24/7, atop flames. In one of its last campaigns for Burger King (it will soon be replaced by mcgarrybowen), Crispin Porter + Bogusky created a channel on DirecTV that displays nothing but a flame-broiled Whopper sandwich. Viewers that tuned in to DirecTV channel 111 last week were challenged to stare at a spinning Whopper for 5 minutes. If they were successful, they could get a free Whopper. Those feeling lucky could go double or nothing and win another free Whopper if they watched the channel for an additional 10 minutes. And so on and so on. Viewers actually had to continuously watch the screen because random pop-ups would appear, prompting them to press a specific button on their remote control. If the button wasn't pushed, bye-bye future Whopper and all earned Whoppers up to that point. There's no talking on the channel, just the sound of a burger being flame-broiled. Once a viewer tuned in, a countdown to receiving a free Whopper came onscreen. Coupons will be mailed to the address listed on the DirecTV account. As of noon Friday, "Whopper Lust" had given away 73,593 Whoppers, confirming that Americans have hearty appetites for food and free stuff. Do the math, and that equates to 597,560 minutes of people watching one perpetual ad. Upon first viewing a TV channel that's all Whopper, all the time, I'm reminded of the holiday Yule Log channel that runs from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. I'm also reminded of a Canadian campaign I wrote about in February for Swiss Chalet rotisserie chicken. Swiss Chalet ran a 24/7 cable channel on Rogers Television for three months consisting of nothing more than rotating chickens above a flame. Promotional codes, that changed daily, would occasionally appear onscreen, driving viewers to the company's Facebook page to collect coupons. Who knew that branded food channels that offer valueless content, aside from free or discounted food, could be so popular?What would you rather look at continuously? Rotating rotisserie chicken or a spinning Whopper?
@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; Last week, to celebrate our wedding anniversary, my wife and I went for a walk on the High Line, the incredible park that's been created from an old elevated freight-train track on the southwest side of Manhattan. It's a dramatic experience, and to my mind, one of the best projects in New York City going back decades. The High Line is remarkable for many reasons: the stunning and unexpected views of the cityscape, the unusual design and landscaping of the park itself, and -- not least -- the unwavering tenacity of those who spearheaded what was largely a community-funded project. But what strikes me most about the High Line is its story of reclamation: The park transformed a dilapidated old train track -- a blight on the urban landscape -- into a world-class destination in its own right. With the creation of the High Line Park, New York City created space without piling another forty stories onto an existing structure. And the park is more than a serene city retreat. It's also an enormous commercial success story, having generated billions of dollars in nearby real estate appreciation and development. How does this relate to television, you ask? As the High Line recaptures space, DVR-assisted television viewing recaptures time. As DVR adoption has increased over the last few years -- and more than a third of American households now have DVRs, according to Magna Global -- viewers have gained the freedom to choose how, when, and where to watch the shows they like. And they can choose whether to watch or skip the advertising. For years, this prospect freaked the heck out of advertisers and networks. They'd taken for granted that time-shifted viewing would have a significant impact on the way television programming and advertising were consumed, but until recently, it wasn't clear what the nature of that impact would be, and whether it would lead to lower, more selective overall television viewing. But even with the broad adoption of DVRs, TV viewing remains on the rise, according to Nielsen. A report released last week, "State of the Media: Cross Platform Report," showed that Americans watch an average of 22 minutes more television per month than they did a year ago. The lion's share of the increase is, not surprisingly, tied to more viewing on mobile devices and online, but even good old TV sets showed a small jump. This says to me that people optimize their viewing behavior in the same way that the transformation of the High Line has optimized the NYC landscape. They're recapturing time they might have spent watching ads, and using it to watch more television. Like the stressed-out city dweller who has a new oasis in the midst of urban chaos, television viewers can now enjoy content that -- without the time-saving benefits of the DVR -- they might not have had time to experience. Ad-skipping is of course a tough pill to for networks to swallow, but there is a silver lining here: the fact that consumers are watching more and more diverse programming. For advertisers, this means it's more important than ever to hone their messaging and the placement of their ads so that they can find the right audience for their brands. The High Line turned one of the city's liabilities into an asset by transforming what was peripheral to something that is premium. DVRs may have been considered by networks to be the old elevated freight line, but by looking at purchaser behavioral data, advertisers can find the right audience and make it their own "High Line." Still need to think about it? I suggest a walk on the High Line.
This TV headline looks good: For the first time, cable networks grabbed more upfront advertising dollars than broadcast networks -- $8.96 billion versus broadcast's $8.5 billion. But digging deeper, we can see this is like comparing a few apples to a lot of oranges. Typical published cable upfront numbers refer to all day-parts -- not just the prime time referenced for the broadcasters -- and some 70 advertising-supported cable networks, versus five to seven broadcast networks. Still, with around 80% of the cable upfront completed so far, estimates are the business will grow 12% in dollars from last year to that $8.96 billion number. That's happy news. Another 20% of the business has yet to be completed for small to mid-sized networks. What can broadcasters crow about this year? While overall dollars perked up around 3% to $8.5 billion, the main cheering ground comes from those strong 10% to 13% gains on the cost per thousand viewers. For many, this is still the core economic metric -- one whose rise can make up for many mistakes. Looking closer, however, this isn't a David and Goliath picture anymore. Many cable networks, especially those in the top 10, are finding that, like the broadcast networks, they are now experiencing increasing ratings erosion. MTV, History and a few other networks were the exception this year. Still, there's this flip side. Just like the the broadcasters, cable networks can charge -- you guessed it -- higher cost per thousands, all because of the same financial supply and demand rubric. Lower ratings for cable shows and higher advertising dollars mean higher CPMs. Where's the overall industry growth? Many would say the real cable growth comes from channels not in the top 10- or 15 -ated networks -- those that can produce higher rated programming and/or, more importantly, still climb via the old-fashioned rung of cable growth, that of adding in more distribution in terms of subscribers. This business isn't eating its young. It's the young eating into their elders. Is that another cable headline?