Fox Sports chairman David Hill took a swing at boxing more than once Thursday, indicating it has limits on TV while the Ultimate Fighting Championship offers a more immersive experience. There's "boxing being one-dimensional and this thing being three-dimensional," Hill said as Fox announced a multi-year, multi-part deal to bring the UFC to various properties. Boxing has been suffering from a lack of marquee events as much as it has from any issues with camera angles. The UFC, meanwhile, is soaring in appeal among a younger audience, making it particularly attractive to Fox. The arrangement with the Fox Sports Media Group brings the mixed martial arts competition to several networks, including a broadcast network for the first time when it will debut on Fox in prime time on a Saturday this November. Going forward, the UFC will be on Fox four times a year live, either in prime time or late-night. Other aspects of the deal include reality-competition series, "Ultimate Fighter," which has been hugely successful for Spike, moving to FX in the spring. Viacom, which owns Spike, has indicated it is looking to move away from acquired programming. FX is also scheduled to air up to six live UFC events through the life of the contract, which is with UFC parent Zuffa. Other events and programming will be on Fox's Fuel TV. The UFC has been the subject of talk about coming to a broadcast network for some time, but President Dana White, said: "This what I always wanted. This is what I always thought was the pinnacle for us in the United States ... to get on Fox." A decade ago, the UFC struggled to be considered a sport and attract interest from blue-chip advertisers. White said that to people "who thought I was lunatic 10 years ago ... here we are." Even Hill had some concerns about the UFC's ability to enter the mainstream, but said its current appeal has put those to rest. Hill said Fox had discussions with many advertisers about their interest level and while "one or two companies may have a do not buy," there's an ample number ready to get on board. Word that Fox had a UFC deal was first reported by Sports Business Journal. Fox would not discuss financial terms, but after failing to win rights to the Olympics, it may have had more than a little cash on hand.
Young media consumers -- Millennials -- continue to consume much more television related to online, and less traditional television than other viewing groups. Only 26% of millennials -- typically those in the 18-29 age group -- watch more than 20 hours a week of TV, versus older viewing groups where 49% of those viewers watch 20-plus hours a week. These are among the results of a study conducted by Kansas City-based marketing company, Barkley, in partnership with Service Management Group and The Boston Consulting Group. Millennials are much more likely to watch shows mainly on their laptops -- 42% versus 18% for other viewers; on DVR playback -- 40% versus 36%; or via video-on-demand -- 26% versus 18% for other viewing groups. Largely as a result of TV marketing and other efforts, millennials -- more than older consumers -- are aware of youth-targeted cause campaigns. For example, the study says that for Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, their awareness level was 33% versus 21% for everyone else. Gap's RED campaign earned a 26% number for millennials versus 9% for other consumers. Much of this activity comes from greater exposure to campaigns through social media -- 40% versus 22% for other consumers -- and online news, 28% versus 22%. "Since the Millennials generation is larger than the Baby Boomers and three times bigger than Generation X, marketers' understanding of Millennials' needs, tastes and behaviors will clearly shape current and future business decisions," says Jeff Fromm, senior vice president, Barkley, in a release. The survey was based on more than 5,000 respondents and 3.9 million data points.
To humorously drive home the taste appeal of its new FiberPlus Caramel Pecan Crunch cereal variety, a new TV spot from Kellogg's has women engaging in a taste test pitting the cereal against luscious cupcakes. In what would appear to be an indirect spoof of General Mills's effective "Cardboard, no. Delicious, yes" commercials for its Fiber One cereals and other products, FiberPlus brand reps went to The Perfect Circle Cupcakery (Orange, Calif.) to have customers compare the taste of the new FiberPlus flavor against the bakery's famed chocolate lava cupcake. Taste testers' consensus? Great cereal, but the cupcake wins. The 60-second spot concludes with the messaging: "Not the best tasting cupcake ... the best tasting fiber. Kellogg's FiberPlus: Taste the Plus." Kellogg's and agency Leo Burnett are being mum about the spot, which represents a somewhat edgier direction than FiberPlus's previous campaign (also from Leo Burnett), featuring comedian Kieron Elliott as a "genie" who pops into homes to grant breakfast eaters' wish for a "deliciously nutritious fiber cereal." Kellogg launched FiberPlus cereal in July 2010, after the success of its FiberPlus Antioxidant Bars. General Mills's Fiber One cereal launched in 1985. The latest extension, Fiber One 80 Calories cereal, was launched in late June.
DirecTV is looking to boost appeal for its "Sunday Ticket" product among devoted fantasy football players, offering live updates in partnership with the NFL. In addition, access to its "Sunday Ticket To-Go" package will be expanded to a slew of devices, including the iPad. Fantasy players using NFL.com as their platform who have the proper set-top box will be able to access an app that allows them to keep up with their teams live on-screen while watching "Sunday Ticket" games. Also, there's a chance to click a "Watch Now" icon attached to a specific player that automatically switches to the game where he's playing. Access to "Sunday Ticket To-Go" will be available through iOS devices, tablets from Motorola and Samsung, BlackBerry devices with 3G and other mobile platforms for the first time. The service also offers the ability to view the Red Zone Channel on the go. Games will also be available to all "Sunday Ticket" through the PlayStation 3. Tony Goncalves, a senior vice president at DirecTV, stated that with "the growth in mobile and connected consumer electronics devices, we believe it makes sense to enable viewers to watch ... on more of those devices," including gaming consoles. Traditional "Sunday Ticket" goes for $334.95 for the season, although there is a promotion for "no extra charge" with a two-year commitment.
Ramping up some big fall-season sports programming -- and closing down some summer reality shows -- were the highlights on this mid Thursday in August. Early Nielsen results show a NFL pre-season game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers gave Fox a moderately healthy 3.3 rating/10 share among 18-49 viewers, the best-rated program of the night. CBS's strong summer reality effort, "Big Brother," took in a 3.0/5 -- down slightly from its preliminary numbers a week ago. A week ago, the show was also affected by the NFL -- partly due to local TV stations running NFL pre-season games. Likewise, ABC witnessed some declines from its Thursday shows for the same reasons. "Wipeout" was flat at a 1.9/7; "Expedition Impossible" was down 20% to a 1.3/4; and "Rookie Blue" was off 14% to a 1.2/4. Everything else was in repeats on the broadcast networks. For the night, according to Nielsen, Fox preliminarily averaged among 18-49 viewers with a 3.0/9; CBS earned a 2.0/9; ABC scored a 1.5/5; Univision took a 1.3/4; NBC earned a 0.8/3; and CW finished at a 0.3/1. The Thursday before, CBS was on top in early results with a 2.3/7; Fox (without an NFL game) had a 2.1/7; followed by ABC at a 1.6/5; Univision with a 1.3/4; NBC at a 1.0/3; and CW with a 0.4/1.
Early morning network shows are seeing an overall tighter ratings race than in the last few years -- although "Today" is still far ahead among key viewers. ABC News says "Good Morning America" is attracting its biggest overall viewer audience in four years -- since 2006-2007 -- moving to the smallest viewer gap to NBC's "The Today Show" in four years. "GMA" averaged a Nielsen 4.343 total viewers and a 1.656 million among adults 25-54 during the week of August 8, 2011. This is a 14% improvement in total viewers and an 8% gain in 25-54 viewers from the week before. Season-to-date, "GMA", has gained 10% in total viewers versus a year ago. NBC's "Today" and CBS' "The Early Show" are also higher -- with "Today" picking up 2% and "Early" adding 1% in total viewers. "GMA" has grown 2% season-to-date among adults 25-54. Weekly numbers have "Today" in the lead, with 4.993 million total viewers and 2.2 million 25-54 viewers. "GMA" is at 4.343 million and 1.656 million 25-54 viewers. "Early" is at 2.224 million total viewers and 867,000 adult 25-54 viewers. Recently "Today" made some major on-air moves, with co-host Meredith Vieira departing in June and Ann Curry moving up to co-host with Matt Lauer.
I have been in Los Angeles for the last few weeks, and at every turn I have heard somebody talking about ABC's silly sophomore series "Bachelor Pad," which made its season premiere August 8. At the beginning of my trip the talk was all eager anticipation. During the last two weeks it was all about the show itself. Thank God I'm heading home soon. "Bachelor Pad" is nothing more than a mindless exercise in sexual attraction and half-dressed recreation; an empty diversion custom-designed to make the traditional dog days of August less of a drag, I guess. Of course, from where I sit, August isn't such a mutt anymore, not with so many great scripted shows on basic and pay cable. On the unscripted front, Food Network's just-concluded "The Next Food Network Star," HGTV's "Design Star" and Oxygen's "The Glee Project" stand out among dozens of summer reality entries. They're fun, smart, emotionally engaging and don't leave you feeling that yet another hour of your life has slipped away into nothingness. (I have to say that with Cathy Knows Best Hobbs eliminated from "Design Star" last Sunday, I fear the show might lose a little of its entertainment value as the season progresses.) Competition comes in many varieties, especially on television, but for many, "Bachelor Pad" is prime stuff. Maybe it's the hot mix (or is it mess) of interchangeable past contestants from "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" grouped together, stripped down and encouraged to re-engage with each other in all manner of ways. When they aren't drinking, trying to hook up or crying about something, they're made to compete in nutty "Big Brother"-style competitions, often with considerably less clothing. This week, the men were made to line up with their backs to the women, who then threw paint-filled eggs at the men they most wanted to see eliminated; then the men returned the indignity. The outcomes of such challenges can lead to bragging rights, dates, immunity from the week's painful eliminations or other perks. (Enduring humiliation while avoiding elimination is important: The last hottie in the pad will collect a cool $250,000.) Surprises abound. Two people are supposed to be ejected from the house at the end of each episode, but this week three people went home. Jackie was chosen for elimination, Gia left because she was betrayed by a friend, and Ames, who's in love with Jackie and couldn't bear to be separated from her, decided to bolt. (How long would Jackie and Ames have actually been apart, anyway? I can't believe the total production time for the entire season exceeds two weeks.) I'm giving this show more thought than it's due, though ardent fans might disagree. But I will offer this: "Pad" often has more sizzle than many carefully plotted daytime and primet-ime serials, so maybe it's on to something. Meantime, anyone looking for a show in which men and women really mix it up, seemingly without any shame at all, should check out GSN's "Baggage," now in its exciting second season. It's hosted by trash-talk titan Jerry Springer, which says a lot right there. Throughout each galvanizing half hour, men and women attempt to attract each other by revealing increasingly intimate (and often ugly) secrets about themselves. The secrets are concealed in briefcases, giving it all a "Deal or No Deal" vibe. (The bigger the case, the more startling the secret contained therein.) The prize for putting themselves out there is a far cry from the cool quarter mil on "Bachelor Pad": just dinner for two. Here are some of the secrets I've seen revealed in recent episodes, some from men looking to impress a woman, some from women looking to impress a man: "I urinated in an ex's gas tank." "I have a library of my own sex tapes." "I love cheese so much it's tattooed on my butt." "I sleep in a horse stall." "I stole from a homeless man." "I have a room devoted to 10,000 sci-fi action figures." "I made a living taking experimental drugs." "I broadcast and rate my man's performance on the radio." "I only shave my legs once every 2 ½ months." "I've lost women because of my oversized testicles." "My ex-husband chose the psych ward over me." "I tied a woman to a hotel bed and left her there." Plainly, one can learn more about the human condition and affairs of the heart by choosing "Baggage" over "Bachelor Pad." It's amazing what people will do for a free dinner.
It sounded cheeky, outrageous, downright strange -- which means it smelled like some PR stunt. Guess what? It was. And it worked. Everyone wrote about it, including MediaPost (but not without some questions). If you are Abercrombie & Fitch, looking to glom onto the highest-rated TV show for young people in the summer, what better way to snag some fish (reporters) in the summer, which can be a dull time for stories? At first, it seemed like a strange reverse-product-placement deal: A&F wanted to "pay" Mike Sorrentino, aka "The Situation," for not wearing its clothes on "Jersey Shore" because it was hurting the company's "image." This offer was also extended to other cast members. Maybe. An A&F chief executive said the retailer was "having fun with this." Bottom line: How much did A&F pay for such attention? Zero. That's some nice media budget ROI working there. This comes along with recent data showing that while branded entertainment is still a good buy, many marketers have less confidence in the post-buy metrics on what they're actually getting. Press clippings are another matter. MTV execs fired back with with an Open Rebuttal To A Certain Clothing Retailer Who Dissed Our 'Sitch.'" We don't know if A&F is a big MTV advertiser. But if it isn't, all this might push A&F to become one. (MTV ought to issue a press release seeking the faux cast member payments.) Seems that there is always some "controversy" around "Jersey Shore." Early on, this came from public interest groups who were upset the MTV show didn't portray young Italian-Americans in the right light. A&F jumped on this PR in the peak summertime period because the show can be a lightning rod for all sorts of stuff. And back-to-school business is around the corner. Young-skewing marketers don't always have many opportunities to grab large amounts of young viewers in key TV shows -- because many viewers are elusive and slippery, moving around to other media, especially digital, very quickly. Young-skewing marketers like A&F need to be cool and to charm their young customers in different ways - even something fleeting, even something that appears opposite of what the marketer publicly says it wants.
In a previous Video Insider post, I wrote that demographic changes in our population perhaps amplified, or were even mistaken for, cord-cutting data. The crux of this was the decline in the 18-49 age audience for broadcasters. This is a critical audience metric that drives the approximately $70 billion television advertising market. Traditionally, this is so because the 18-49 audience is considered to be the heaviest consumers and buyers of goods and services advertised on television. In my earlier post, I suggested that as our population ages and the last of the baby boomers migrate out of this demographic, its overall size is not growing as fast as it did, and in fact the older of this demographic -- who are actually reaching their peak earning and spending years - is actually declining. One adjunct point that I left out of the original post was the question of whether 18-49 demographic actually mattered as much as we count on it to, or whether it was a vestige of some legacy limitation or consideration. Surely as measurement technologies advance and we have better ad targeting capabilities for television, actual content viewing and response to advertising will outweigh the age metric. In another post on this topic in Gigaom, "Bad news for Nielsen: TV ads to be bought more like online ads," Ryan Lawler quotes Michael Hayes, president of Initiative Digital, suggesting that the 18-49 demographic does not matter because what matters is the buying behavior and intent, regardless of age and gender. If we can measure this -- which is the goal with digital ads and IP enabled set top boxes - then the age demographic is irrelevant. I could not agree more with these statements. At the same time, even without getting to the highly measurable state of television advertising with new IP-based solutions, it seems that marketers and media buyers would have other important considerations given what we already know of aging demographics of our population. I don't claim to be a statistician or a sociologist. I am a consumer of data rather than creator or aggregator of it, such as is done by analytics firms like Nielsen and comScore. At the same time, as a marketer, I cannot help but point out another shift in consumer behavior that is noteworthy to marketers. There is some truth in statements like "40 is the new 30," and "50 is the new 40." People are living longer, healthier lives, and older people today live more like their much younger counterparts of before. I suspect very little of this idea has been incorporated into the media buying considerations, given the 18-49 criterion has been static for some time. As IP connectivity continues to mushroom for TV playback devices, such as is happening in spades already, expect to see the media buying landscape shift as well. How quickly this happens will be subject to the big blocks of consumer demand, content services, and device penetration coming into formation. It will not happen overnight, but much faster than one would have predicted a few years ago, given the tectonic shifts already happening in the media industry.
According to the Nielsen Cross Platform Report, Americans are spending more time watching video content on traditional TVs, mobile devices and via the Internet than ever. Overall TV viewership increased 22 minutes per month per person over last year, demonstrating moderate growth and remaining the dominant source of video content for all demographics. Even the lowest fifth quintile of TV viewers still averages an hour of TV consumption per day, with the highest quintile tuning in for nearly ten hours per day. Mobile video viewing continues to see marked gains, with the number of Americans watching video on their mobile devices increasing 41% over last year and more than 100% since 2009. Time shifted TV continues to grow, both in the penetration of DVR devices in the home and the time spent. Internet video streaming also saw increases in time spent; this behavior is the highest among a younger and diverse subset of the population. Over the past year, satellite and telephone company-delivered TV subscriptions increased while subscriptions to wired cable decreased slightly. Broadcast-only households remained stagnant. Two thirds of TV homes now have an HDTV, an increase of more than 20% over last year. Slightly less than half have a video game console or a DVR, 45% and 40%, respectively. Television Distribution Sources - Number of Households (in 000's)Market Break Q1 11 Q4 10 Q1 10 Broadcast Only 11,193 11,147 11,170 Wired Cable 62,651 63,393 64,951 Telco 7,654 7,339 6,042 Satellite 34,297 34,273 32,877 Source: Nielsen, Q1 2011. (Based on Quarterly Universe Estimates.) African-Americans watch the most video content, including traditional TV and mobile video, though less timeshifted TV than the general population. Asians have emerged as the hands-down leader in time spent watching video on the Internet, averaging six-plus hours more per month than Whites and nearly four hours more per month than the next closest ethnic group, Hispanics. Asians also watch far less traditional TV than the general population-more than a third less than Whites and half as much as African-Americans. Like Asians, Hispanics watch less traditional TV but more Internet video than the general population, but to a less extreme degree. Video Audience Composition - Monthly Time Spent in Hours: Minutes - Ethnicity & Race WhiteAfrican-AmericanHispanicAsian On Traditional TV 155:33 212:53 135:42 100:25 Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes) 11:55 7:37 6:56 8:14 DVR Playback (only in homes with DVRs) 26:59 22:12 24:03 22:47 Watching Video on Internet 3:57 5:52 6:24 10:19 Mobile Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone 3:37 6:30 4:20 4:20 Source: Nielsen, Q1 2011. (Based on total users of each media.) Satellite, broadcast-only and wired cable delivery of TV content is nearly even among three of the four ethnic groups tracked, with Hispanics being the outliers. They are more likely to get satellite or be broadcast-only than Whites, African-Americans and Asians, and much less likely to get wired cable. Television Distribution Sources by Ethnicity White African-AmericanHispanic Asian Broadcast Only 9% 11% 15% 10% Wired Cable 61% 63% 51% 65% Telco 7% 7% 6% 9% Satellite 31% 27% 35% 27% Source: Nielsen, Q1 2011 Age plays an interesting role in video audience consumption across media, with the age groups 25-34, 35-49 and 50-64 each dominating a specific platform. Traditional TV viewership steadily increases with age, so it comes as no surprise that Adults 50-64 make up the largest segment of the traditional TV audience (25%). The largest segment of the Internet video audience is Adults 35-49 (27%), while the largest segment of the mobile video audience is 25-34 year olds (30%). A Week in the Life: Weekly Time Spent in Hours: Minutes 2-1112-1718-2425-3435-4950-6465+P2+Hispanic 2+African-American 2+ On Traditional TV 26:31 24:21 26:28 30:34 36:23 44:54 49:17 35:37 30:42 47:37 WatchingTimeshifted TV 1:49 1:31 1:30 3:11 3:11 2:48 1:40 2:25 1:34 1:42 Using the Internet on a computer 0:40 1:45 5:31 8:29 8:34 7:20 3:55 5:43 4:10 4:54 Watching Video on Internet 0:07 0:20 0:48 0:57 0:38 0:25 0:12 0:33 0:32 0:30 Mobile Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone NA 0:20 0:15 0:10 0:05 0:02 <0:01 0:07 0:12 0:13 Source: Nielsen, Q1 2011 (Uniquely based on the Total Population in the US; all 297 million Americans over age 2) The new trend among our TV and Internet homes shows the lightest traditional television users streaming significantly more Internet video via their computers, and the heaviest streamers under-indexing for traditional TV viewership. This behavior is led by those ages 18-34.The group of consumers exhibiting this behavior is significant but small. More than a third of the TV/Internet population is not streaming, whereas less than 1% are not watching TV. Usage:Number of Users 2+ (in 000's) - Monthly Reach Q1 11 Q4 10Q1 10% Diff Yr to Yr Watching TV in the home 288,500 289,284 286,225 0.8% Watching Timeshifted TV (all TV homes) 107,065 105,936 94,599 13.2% Using the Internet on a computer 190,913 191,237 191,301 -0.2% Watching Video on Internet 142,437 141,420 135,855 4.8% Using a Mobile Phone 231,000 230,300 229,495 0.7% Mobile Subscribers Watching Video on a Mobile Phone 28,538 24,708 20,284 41.0% Source: Nielsen, Q1 2011 Hispanic mobile subscribers are the most likely to have a smartphone, while White mobile subscribers are the least. The greater use of smartphones could be linked to Hispanics watching more video on their mobile devices than the general population. Likewise, the availability of Spanish-language channels available on satellite continues to drive the increased number of Hispanics who opt for satellite-delivery of their TV content. Mobile Device Penetration by Ethnicity WhiteAfrican-AmericanHispanicAsian Smartphone 30% 39% 53% 48% Feature phone 70% 61% 47% 52% Source: Nielsen, Q1 2011 Cord Swapping: Debunking the myth that consumers are no longer willing to pay for television content subscriptions, Nielsen found that 91% of TV households still paid for a TV subscription in Q1 2011. Instead, evidence points to a slight reshuffling of the method selected, whether cable, through telephone companies or satellite. For additional information from Nielsen , and access to the PDF report, please visit here.
CIMM is taking a pro-active role in advancing new media nomenclature and processes with both its Lexicon(terms and definitions associated with Set-Top-Box data measurement) and Asset Identification Primer (glossary of asset terms). These documents form the basis of the Word-A-Week column which offers a common language for Set-Top Box nomenclature that can expedite the roll-out of the data for its many industry applications. The word "augmentation" generally conjures up... ahem... physical enhancement. While we are not talking biceps or chests in this column, we are talking about more than just an average and expected program, commercial or viewing experience. In the STB world, augmentation -- whether real or virtual -- is made possible through the use of Advanced Advertising capabilities. It provides the viewer and content user unique and enhanced experiences. More, in this case, is certainly better. The challenge is how to measure this cross-platform opportunity. Can we adapt current standard metrics, or do we need to create a new set of metrics that more accurately reflect the changing and multi-platform marketplace? But let's save that for later columns. AR abbr Augmented RealitySee also: Augmented Virtuality, Advanced Advertising CIMM DEFINITION : The ability to combine video content with interactive features on the same screen so that it is interactive, real-time and is registered in 3D. Mixing reality with virtuality on the same screen. 2 : Augmented Reality is closer to the real environment while Augmented Virtuality is closer to the virtual environment. (Source: Wikipedia) NOTE - This is currently available in smartphones as an app. For example, standing in a subway station and seeing the station -- but then there is a virtual overlay of nearby restaurants, art galleries, etc. Augmented VirtualitySee also: Augmented Reality, Advanced Advertising CIMM DEFINITION : Like Augmented Reality, Augmented Virtuality combines real video content with interactive features to make it more virtual. AV is further along the reality / virtuality continuum in that it is more to the point of virtual than to the point of reality. Please refer to the CIMM Lexicon online at http://www.cimm-us.org/lexicon.htm for additional information on these and other terms.
"Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" hasn't conquered movie theaters --- unlike what the franchise accomplished with television, iTune downloads, and live concert tours. Seems "Glee" took one entertainment step too many. Fox Filmed Entertainment looked to do what any modern media company with a big valuable asset would do -- eke out a few more shekels, not the least of which would come from a premium 3D ticket price. The movie -- with a pretty nice wide release on over 2,000 screens -- earned a humble $6 million this past weekend, coming in 11th place among all movies. But, one Fox executive told The Wrap, the studio knew the film wouldn't be a lock, that it could be going into "uncharted waters." "Glee"'s pedigree wouldn't have signaled this. Even before its premiere a couple of seasons ago, Fox television executives had sold the show highly to critics as the next big thing. And -- rare for such claims - "Glee" delivered big juicy ratings. Next came those music sales, then the concerts. All that is hard to do in the ever-more competitive entertainment world. And give "Glee" some more credit: It will honor its storyline. Those "Glee" kids entering their senior year this season will need to "graduate" -- that is, leave the show. (Hey, the cast of Disney Channel's "High School Musical" needed to graduate as well. And, mind you, there is already talk of a "Glee" spinoff.) What went wrong with the movie? While "Glee" has done a lot for Fox in its short history, some critics say fans perhaps didn't need more of the "Glee"-sters singing songs they had already heard on the TV show, via iTunes, or in concert. Reasons the film might have worked included: