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TV SPENDING UP 4.4% LAST YEARBROADCAST TV UP 4.4%, CABLE UP 4% Overall ad spending was up 7% in 2016, according to Standard Media Index estimates. But the good news in the report concerned where the dollars were spent. Digital media dollars were up an impressive 13.3% last year, but that’s a down number. In 2015, growth over the previous year was 50%. SMI estimates show more dollars are going back to TV. “Retail, telcos, and consumer electronics marketers have not seen the outcomes they expected from digital and have moved back to the medium they have trusted for decades,” according to James Fennessy, CEO of SMI. Mediapost reported on the specifics: TV spending had a 4.4% increase in 2016 -- 4.6% higher for broadcast TV and 4% for cable TV. Ad spending on TV entertainment programming slipped 1.8%, with sports 16% higher, in large part due to the Olympics. Ad spending on news programming grew 14.1%- due to the election. Among the broadcast networks, NBC was up 20% for the year (a large part being the Olympics); CBS added 3.2%; ABC down 2.2%; Fox lost 4.6%; and Univision declined 3.4%. As for other media last year, magazines were down 9.1%, with newspapers losing 13.9%. Radio revenue was down just 0.5%. Out-of-home advertising grew 6.9%.

SO WHAT ABOUT THIS YEAR? Wells Fargo Senior Analyst Marci Ryvicker issued a report Tuesday that shows pacings are picking up after a slow start. Pacinigs for Jan. were looking ‘pretty dire’ back in Nov/Dec, before the election. But they’ve picked up; February and March numbers are up slightly over last year. Ryvicker’s report also mentions a TVB forecast for core business to finish up 1.5 - 2.0% this year. Core excludes political but includes all other “special” events like the Olympics, Super Bowl, etc. The wild card might be automotive. As long as car sales stay at or above 16.7 million units, auto advertising should grow. While correlation between auto ad dollars and sales has been spotty over the past few years, auto spending should still be up--as long as car sales remain above 16.7M units (There were 17.5 million units sold in 2016). And a look ahead to 2018: Political avertising in ‘18 should be BIG. Democrats will be defending 25 of 35 Senate seats, and there will be 36 governor’s seats up for grabs. Meanwhile, Telecom spending is up, while QSR ad spending is down.

ADVERTISER NEWS A U.S. District judge has given final approval to the deal between Volkswagen and its dealers, so 650 of them can expect an average payment of $1.85 million spread out over 18 months. Additionally, VW will continue to make volume-based incentive payments to dealers and will allow them to defer making capital improvements to their facilities for two years……Ford will expand its Omnicraft brand of aftermarket parts to fit non-Ford vehicles, starting with common items like oil filters, brake pads and rotors. Ford says its dealers will then be able to service 85-90% of vehicles

made by other manufacturers……There’s a glut building up in used vehicles that has already started to undermine values on those vehicles. J.D. Power estimates 3.36 million cars and trucks will come off lease this year on top of a 33% surge in lease expirations last year……A federal judge sided with the Justice Department and blocked the proposed merger of Aetna and Humana, saying the proposed deal would lessen competition in more than 300 counties nationwide. Aetna, which will owe a $1 billion breakup fee to Humana if

the deal doesn’t close, signaled it might appeal and keep the case alive until different regulators are appointed by the new administration……And at this writing the deal between Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Fred’s is still in limbo after the outgoing Federal Trade Commission members did not resolve the question last week. Most observers still expect eventual approval, although the current agreement expires this Friday 1/27……Pep Boys has purchased Just Brakes, a Dallas-based auto repair and maintenance chain with 134 locations in eight states that will bring the buyer up to more than 900 locations nationwide……But a potentially tough competitor is looming for Pep Boys, AutoZone, O’Reilly and all others in the auto aftermarket business. Barron’s reports Amazon is moving aggressively into that space, signing deals with several major parts makers and offering same-day delivery of parts in 40 major cities at prices substantially below existing bricks-and-mortar competitors...(continued on page three)

The Daily News of TV Sales Wednesday, January 25, 2017

PAGE 2 The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com

NETWORK NEWS Stephen Colbert of The Late Show will host the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards airing on Sunday, September 17th. Colbert’s hosting gig follows a trend by the networks to have their late-night stars host the big award shows. NBC used Jimmy Fallon to host the Golden Globes, ABC named Jimmy Kimmel as host of the Academy Awards, and CBS host James Corden emceeing last year’s Tony Awards and the upcoming Grammy Awards……Reverie, a new drama from Extant creator Mickey Fisher and Amblin TV, has picked up a pilot order from NBC. The project is described as a grounded and dramatic thriller about a former detective specializing in human behavior brought in to launch a virtual reality program. Fisher and Amblin TV have a straight-to-series order from CBS for Extant, a sci-fi project starring Halle Berry……NBC has given a green light to a new single-camera comedy from late night host Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live’s Mike O’Brien and Lorne Michael’s Broadway Video. The untitled project is about a cynical Ivy League professor who loses out on his dream job and goes to work as a high school biology teacher. This is the second half-hour pilot order for NBC, joining the new Kourtney Kang family comedy……CBS has issued pilot orders for two new projects including a new crime drama called Killer Instinct with former The Good Wife cast member, Alan Cumming. Cumming will star as a former CIA operative trying to live a normal life, but is pulled back into his old life to help stop a serial killer. Perfect Citizen is the second pilot commitment from CBS. The program is a character based crime drama from writer Jenny Lumet and producers Katie Couric and David Marshall Grant. Perfect Citizen centers on a former NSA General Counsel that joins up with a prestigious law firm in Boston. The drama is written and executive produced by former Good Wife executive producer, Craig Tuck……Not to be left out, ABC has given pilot orders to a new a new medical drama from House creator David Shore and Hawaii Five-o co-star Daniel Dae Kim. The Good Doctor is based on a South Korean format about a young surgeon with Savant syndrome who is recruited into the pediatric surgical unit of a prestigious hospital. In addition, ABC has a put pilot commitment for Doomsday about a special think tank formed in the aftermath of 9/11, featuring the most creative minds in science and entertainment, tasked with dreaming up man-made disaster scenarios.

PLAYOFFS GREAT FOR NEW SPOTS All of the top five advertisers breaking new creative during the week of January 9th spent part of their budgets in the NFL Playoffs according to Kantar Media analysis, with number one Verizon and number five Apple spending the majority of their budgets (81% and 82% respectively) in the high-reach games. Two movie studios, Warner Brothers and Paramount, each spent over $5 million on new creative, and H&R Block spent $5.2 million on new creative, with 44% spent on football. Kantar notes H&R Block started its tax campaign earlier this year and is using more high-profile programming than in the past.

1/25/2017

Rapper Snoop Dogg recently revealed that country music

singer Willie Nelson is the only person who can “out-smoke” him. And then someone said,

“Snoop, that’s a mop.”

Seth Meyers

AVAILS Account Executive, Tampa, FL - FOX O&O, WTVT. This opening at the top rated station in Tampa requires the servicing of existing transactional accounts along with the development of new broadcast and digital business. Candidate must be highly motivated and possess strong presentation and prospecting skills. Position requires prior broadcast sales experience, preferably in an LPM market. Excel and Power Point are a must and a working knowledge of WideOrbit, ComScore, PRIME Lingo, and Kantar Media are a plus. College degree preferred. CLICK HERE to apply.

EOE/M/F/Veteran/Disabled. Are you ready to make a solid career move? WFXT/FOX25 in Boston may be the right fit for you if: You embrace change, innovation and new opportunities; You are good at recognizing the needs of others; You naturally develop successful, creative solutions that fit those needs; You are hungry to develop new business; You deliver unparalleled service and follow-through. Cox Media Group will provide

you with the all of the tools, training and assets you need to succeed. This position requires 2+ years of media sales experience. Resume to: Romeo.Solomon@coxinc.com Waterman Broadcasting, Ft. Myers, FL is searching for a Digital Sales Manager. The DSM will be responsible for all aspects of Waterman Broadcasting Digital sales efforts, which includes but is not limited to, Waterman legacy websites, mobile and social media. The DSM will work closely with the staff of 13 Local and Regional AEs and sales management, should have superior time management skills and should be completely self-motivated. Interested? Submit resume to Laure Tourt, Human Resource Director: laura.tourt@water.net. EOE.

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DONE DEALS: Robert Langer has been named EVP and CFO of Disney|ABC Television, reporting to Ben Sherwood, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney|ABC Television. Langer replaces Peter Seymour, who, after 20 years with the company, announced his plans to depart last November. Prior to this new appointment, Langer served as The Walt Disney Company’s country manager for Germany, Switzerland and Austria……Andrew Feigenson has been named Chief Revenue Officer at Nielsen Catalina Solutions. He will lead sales and marketing and report to CEO Matt O’Grady……Steve Daniloff has been promoted to VP/GM of Nexstar’s WBRE (NBC) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA and will also oversee Nexstar’s relationship with Mission Broadcasting’s WYOU (CBS) under a joint operating agreement. He has been WBRE’s Director of Sales since 2013……WBRE’s previous GM, Robert Bee, has been named VP/GM of Nexstar’s WHTM (ABC) Harrisburg, PA……Nexstar also named J. Patrick Nevin VP/GM of KOIN (CBS) Portland, OR. He was most recently interim VP/GM of Nexstar’s KASW (CW) Phoenix.

The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com PAGE 3

ACCOUNT ACTIONS Advertising Age reports MediaCom has been named to handle the national media planning and buying for Whole Foods Market, for which it will replace GSD&M. The account spends about $60 million annually. As most of its industry has suffered from food price deflation, the chain had a decline of 2.6% in same-store sales in its latest fiscal quarter……Anomaly’s Los Angeles office will take on creative duties for Diet Coke, replacing Droga5. The brand is still the top seller in a category that has been declining—sales were down 3.7% in 2016 as six of the top nine diet sodas saw sales drops. Kantar Media says Diet Coke spent $39 million in measured media through October last year.

THIS AND THAT More good news for the housing sector—new orders reported by builder D.R. Horton rose by 14% in the fourth quarter, exceeding expectations. The Commerce Department had reported last week that housing starts had risen by 11.3% in December to a seasonally-adjusted 1.17 million annual rate……With a more merger-friendly administration expected, a Wall Street analyst sees a high likelihood of a consolidation in the telecom business, possibly another attempt to put Sprint and T-Mobile together. That merger had been tried a couple of years ago with the two giving up the idea in August, 2014, after running into regulatory resistance. Both companies have primarily foreign ownership, with Japan’s Softbank Group owning 80% of Sprint, and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom owning about 65% of T-Mobile. A JP Morgan analyst wrote “We believe that parents Softbank and Deutsche Telekom have increased their preference for a tie-up in the last six months and that the value of about $5 billion of annual synergies is enough to smooth over most disagreements on relative value.”

GOOD YEAR FOR FURNITURE RETAILERS? In an outlook for furniture retailing this year, Furniture Today says it found “an industry ready to make the most of opportunities presented by new direction on Washington, but also cognizant of the challenges presented by evolving technology, changing consumer lifestyles and a resulting shift in purchase habits.” Most of the biggest execs in the industry are optimistic about the economic conditions and hopeful for a lessen-ing of government regulations, but also wary of the shift-ing purchase habits of customers. Todd Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture said, “We have a tremendous amount of optimism for 2017. The macroeconomic factors are very strong and the expectation of historically low interest rates, low unemployment, and strong housing should make 2017 an outstanding year.’ But he also added “It is obvious that traditional furniture brick-and-mortar retailers must continue to evolve. Pure play e-commerce companies are continu-ing to take market share because they make the process of customer sales easy. Brick-and-mortar furniture retailers must invest in technology while continuing to invest in creat-ing a great in-store shopping experience.”

AVAILS SNN - the Suncoast News Network, located in beautiful Sarasota, FL is looking for an experienced Account Executive. The ideal candidate is a motivated self-starter who enjoys the challenge of developing new business in a competitive environment, as well as being a consultative partner with existing clients. Must have strong organizational, written and presentation skills, be proficient in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Send cover letter and resume to charles.cusimano@snntv.com.EOE

WDBJ7, the dominant #1 station in market #67 (Roanoke, VA) is searching for a main evening co-anchor. This person will work a night side shift and anchor WDBJ7’s top rated evening newscasts. Our next Anchor will be an integral part of our team and must be an active member of the community. If you are up to the challenge, please go to the CLICK HERE to submit your resume and a link to your reel. MVR/Driver’s review and testing required. EOE.Looking for an opportunity with the best

company in the business? WKCF, Hearst’s powerhouse CW affiliate in Orlando, has an opening for an experienced seller. With 27 hours of local news each week, plus strong syndicated and prime programming, we are one of the top rated CW’s in the country. We also offer premier digital products, state-of-the-art sales training, and a winning culture! Contact: Samantha Johnson, LSM, Sjohnson@hearst.com. Or CLICK HERE to apply now. EOE.

ADVERTISER NEWS (continued from page one)……Verizon posted its third straight quarter of lower revenue as subscriber additions have slowed amidst a price war in the industry. It also reported a gain of 21,000 subscriber additions to FiOS, and said it “continues to work with Yahoo to assess the impact of data breaches”……Cincinnati-based Fifth Third reported a drop in total outstanding loans after it had decided to move away from auto loans. The important net interest margin metric was down a bit from 2.88% in the prior quarter to 2.86%.

1/25/2017

Larry The Cable Guy

MONDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

After more than 100 years, Ringling Bros. circus is

closing down. Great, now the only Big Tops left will be my

sister-in-laws blouses.