• by May 19, 2004

WE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY THE EXECUTIVES OF SOME NETWORKS GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO MAKE UPFRONT SALES PREDICTIONS, WHILE OTHERS REMAIN MUM ON THE SUBJECT - AT LEAST ON THE RECORD - AND NOW WE KNOW WHY. - It seems it has more to do with issues concerning shareholders than it does with advertising stakeholders, Univision chief Ray Rodriguez tells the Riff. Apparently, it's all about the financial guidance publicly traded companies provide shareholders and, more specifically, how far they are willing to look out.

"We only go out one quarter," says Rodriguez, estimating that about "50 percent" of publicly traded companies predict one quarter out, while the other half are willing to make longer term bets. Since TV networks generally are owned by publicly traded companies, Rodriguez says their traditions of upfront sales spin are rooted in their financial relations culture and have less to do with Madison Avenue. But all that could change.

"We think you will see more and more companies going this way," says Rodriguez, predicting less upfront hyping and more focus on the near-term quarters among his rival network companies.

AMERCIAN IDOLTERY - Does anyone else find it ironic that Fox is being accused of a statistical measurement bias that may be under-reporting African Americans? But that's just what this week's Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports Fox has done by utilizing a telephone polling system that isn't counting all the votes for contestants on its wildly popular "American Idol" series. That process, the TV trade mag reports, contributed to the surprising ouster of several African-American contestants who were considered favorites.

"This is not a quiz show scandal," B&C Editor-in-Chief Max Robins said in an interview with Reuters, adding, "They're getting the votes the best they can given the system they've got, but technology is thwarting democracy on 'American Idol.'"

Following the report, Fox announced plans to extend the phone voting time to four-hours for the finale vote. Meanwhile, there have been no calls for Congressional investigations, no General Accounting Office audits, and no complaints from civil rights groups. Go figure?

OUT OF AFRICA, AN AGENCY COMPENSATION MODEL THAT'S SURE TO BE COVETED - Omnicom shop DDB is experimenting with some radical approaches to agency compensation, according to agency chief Keith Reinhard, who laid out the strategies during the Association of National Advertisers recent Financial Management conference in Scottsdale, AZ. In the most aggressive model, DDB has launched a high-end services brand dubbed Africa in - where else? - Brazil - that actually requires clients to audition for the right to be serviced. If the client passes the agency's "review," then it gets to pay a hefty monthly retainer to the agency that provides an all inclusive package of advertising services: creative, production, research, media, etc. Most daring of all, the arrangement requires absolutely no transparency on the agencies part, meaning, there is no cost accounting or performance auditing on the work it does for its clients. Now that's advertising brand equity.