Strong TV Scatter Market Continues In Early 2016

The story below may help local-direct businesses to see that the economy is growing and that large advertisers have faith in 2016 enough to raise their advertising and marketing investments. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. CA

by Wayne Friedman, January 26, 2016, 4:26 PM 

The strong TV scatter market advertising of the fourth quarter of 2015 continues into the current first-quarter 2016 period, after years of weak TV advertising buying.

 

As a result, MoffettNathanson Research expects total national TV advertising activity for the fourth quarter of 2015 to rise 4.3% to $10.8 billion for major broadcast and cable network groups.

Big gains are expected for NBCUniversal, CBS, Disney cable networks and AMC Networks.

 

CBS is expected to rise 5.6% for the fourth quarter to $1.29 billion in domestic national TV advertising revenues with NBC climbing 5.0% -- including its TV stations -- to $1.74 billion. Both media companies have strong NFL programming packages.

 

Fox, which has a big NFL franchise with the NFC Conference games on Sunday afternoon, will also see 3% growth to $976 million. Analysts cite big advertising gains from “Empire,” which started its second season in the fall. Its initial year began in January 2015.

 

AMC Networks will see the best network group results -- as a percentage -- up 15% to $274 million, much of this coming from “The Walking Dead” and its spin off “Fear The Walking Dead.” Disney cable networks, specifically ESPN, will climb 14.3% to $1.4 billion. It expects positive results from the sports network’s College Football Playoffs, although the games produce lower than expected TV viewership.

 

There are other positive forecasts for cable networks: Scripps Networks Interactive, 6.5% higher to $472 million; Time Warner, gaining 6.0% to $1.0 billion; Discovery Communications, up 4% to $410 million; Fox cable networks, improving 3.5% to $514 million; and NBCUniversal, adding 1% to $866 million.

 

MoffettNathanson expects continued struggles with Viacom networks -- down 5.5% to $1.01 billion.

Although TV ratings -- broadcast and cable -- continue to generally suffer, media analyst Michael Nathanson writes: “We expect media companies to benefit from a continuation in national advertising strength, due to a robust scatter market that is offsetting some pockets of continued weak rating trends.”

Sinclair Buying Tennis Channel For $350M

The purchase price is partially offset by the network's $200 million in net operating losses, which Sinclair will be able to carry forward to its taxes and save it around $65 million. Sinclair has lined up deals with MVPDs to increase the channel’s coverage from 30 million to 50 million homes. The channel’s CEO, Ken Solomon, is staying on.

 

By Staff

    

TVNewsCheck, January 27, 2016 4:55 PM EST 

      

Plunging deeper into programming, Sinclair Broadcast Group has signed a definitive agreement to buy The Tennis Channel for $350 million, the station group announced Wednesday afternoon.
Sinclair said that it has already signed distribution agreements with MVPDs that will stretch the network's household reach from 30 million homes to 50 million.

 

Sinclair said the purchase price is partially offset by the network's $200 million in net operating losses, which Sinclair will be able to carry forward to reduce its taxes and save it around $65 million.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of March.
“Tennis Channel is an established property with high-quality content and advertisers, and is vastly under-compensated and under-distributed relative to the value it brings to its viewers. It was the only independently-owned major sports network left, and we knew we could unlock value through a tuck-in acquisition,” said Sinclair CEO David Smith.

“The additional subscriber base, which has already been contracted, equates to the creation of approximately $200 million of incremental value at closing," Smith added. "Furthermore, we expect this combination to create additional linear and OTT viewership and advertising growth, and we have the added benefit of the continued involvement of Ken Solomon, CEO of Tennis Channel, and a seasoned programming executive.”

Sinclair EVP Barry Faber added that "nothing is more valuable to video distributors than high-quality, live sports, and we expect the increased carriage of Tennis will be well-received by their subscribers.

 

"We also expect to leverage our broadcast platform to promote Tennis Channel, which we anticipate will result in increased viewership, further adding to the channel’s value in attracting and retaining subscribers,” Faber added.

Solomon called Sinclair the "perfect" partner. “The larger platform will immediately help develop incremental advertising and sponsorship business and puts us in a great position to enhance our already comprehensive rights portfolio domestically, as well as develop the brand internationally.

Ad Blocking's New 'For Profit' Efforts: Aren't You Glad You're Buying Good Old Linear TV? A media critique by Wayne Friedman, Staff Writer Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016   For all the problems traditional linear TV has -- measurement issues and shifting TV content to new platforms/devices -- just look at the growing-even-more-complicated digital world of ad blocking.  Maybe things aren’t so bad.   The scatter TV marketplace has seen some resurgence -- in large part due to traditional TV marketers holding back spending in the previous upfront and other media buying periods.  But perhaps there is another reason: lack of confidence in specific digital media arenas. Right now traditional TV consumers have three real choices: watch a TV show live; time-shift a program on DVR devices (complete with the less-than-perfect art of fast-forwarding through commercials); or view a show on advertising-supported video-on demand services with some commercials. But in the digital world, a consumer -- can efficiently block all advertising -- display, video, pop up ads, whatever. That has gotten digital media executives into a frenzy about what happens next. Now apparently, there is another side of the coin -- with some ad blocking companies offering up "solutions" for publishers, which, for many, have an unsavory feel to it. In other words, ad-blockers will help publishers out with their ad-blocking customers if they become clients. Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg said as much, calling one ad blocking company “an old-fashioned extortion racket.” He cited Andrew Leonard in Salon two years ago with a similar tone: “Pay up, or we’ll break your windows!” For-profit ad-blockers? Who pays the freight there? Yikes. If you are a national or local TV advertising sales executive, you might not need much these day to convince marketers to slow down on digital media spending. You can also throw faux bot-driven media placement into the argument. Time shifting of TV programming, with some fast-forwarding of TV commercials, and some less than perfect ROI? No problem. No need to be greedy.

Broadcast TV Ads Gain Slightly In December, Cable Dips

 

• by Wayne Friedman, Yesterday, 10:36 AM
•                             

Looking at the 2015 fourth-quarter period, broadcast networks continued to see rising ad growth in December -- but cable, spot television and syndication all had declines.

 

Broadcast networks inched up 1% in national advertising for December and 13% in the fourth quarter, according to Standard Media Index. Many point to strong NFL ad activity during the period.

Cable declined 4% during the month (up 4% in the fourth quarter), while spot TV was down 11% (2% higher in the fourth quarter) and syndication lost 7% (rising 4% for the overall last three-month period of 2015).

 

Local cable advertising -- a smaller TV segment -- grew 4% in December, up 17% for the fourth quarter. All TV was down 3% in December, but strong for the fourth quarter overall -- up 9%.

As part of the still-rising digital media category, SMI says TV network-based digital advertising activity -- CBS.com, and other network platforms, for example -- grew 14% in December and 20% in the fourth quarter. The performance for TV networks in the digital space was up 7% for the 2015.

Total digital advertising witnessed strong 34% growth in December and 35% in the last 2015 quarter. It also up 26% for the year.

 

Newspaper advertising continued to see improvement -- up 8% in December, 14% in the fourth quarter, and 7% for the year. However, a number of areas lost ground in December: Magazines were down 3% (off 5% for 2015); radio, giving up 1% (down 2% for 2015); and out of home, going backwards 4% (up 12% for the year).

 

Standard Media Index data comes from actual spending by ad agencies, representing about 80% of all U.S. media agency spending.

Inside Story: Why PM Drive Is Radio’s King—and a Brand Kingmaker

 

INSIDERADIO

January 26, 2016

 Radio stations have always made it a priority to corral listeners with strong morning drive shows that amp brand loyalty and ratings. It is, however, actually afternoon drive that draws the highest cume. This fact may not be a news flash to programmers, but the difference in audience between AM and PM drive is indeed profound—as are potential opportunities for stations to better mine the daypart. "That huge line of cars going home is a goldmine," says Brian Demay, PD of Cumulus AC "Lite Rock 105" WWLI, Providence, RI and a Westwood One afternoon AC personality. "Recycling into evenings is a key part of my show every afternoon. The afternoon commute starts earlier and ends a lot later than people think." Information provided to Inside Radio from Nielsen RADAR for December 2015 reveals that PM drive (3pm-7pm) reaps the highest percentage of radio listeners 12+, with 73.5% of all Americans tuning in. Compare that to AM drive, at 66.7%, middays at 69.5% and evenings at 48.2%. Furthering the point, in the top-ranked New York City market, iHeartMedia’s 6+ leader AC "106.7 Lite FM" WLTW had an average 1.3 million monthly listeners in AM drive—and 2.2 million in PM drive—from May- July 2015. In market No. 2 Los Angeles for the same term, iHeart leader CHR KIIS-FM (102.7) averaged 1.0 million monthly listeners in AM drive and 1.6 million in PM drive. 

Best Use Of PM Drive? Drive Home Brand Strategy. Morning radio’s mojo has long been commandeered by personality-driven shows. Not so for the more music-intensive afternoon drive. And according to nearly a dozen programmers and consultants surveyed by Inside Radio, that’s as it should be— although there is potential for more local content during the PM commute. Rob Roberts, OM for Cumulus Atlanta, believes that the wants and needs of afternoon drive listeners "are significantly different from morning drive. Without hard facts or a really good and trusted gut telling you it’s a direction your station should travel, I wouldn’t suggest creating an afternoon team." Doing so, of course, would have to be part of a station’s breakout strategy. "Afternoon personality programming is the future, but there is no cookie cutter solution," believes Jeff McHugh, consultant with The Randy Lane Co. "Some shows we helped launch in afternoon drive found success by beginning with short bursts of content with a high song count—with expanded airtime for content as the show’s chemistry and content gelled. In other cases, the right move was to keep the song count high and the content short but memorable." He also believes there are opportunities for "monster revenue growth through endorsement spot campaigns that you cannot have with just a music playlist or a generic host." Radio consultant Alan Burns cites the successful afternoon drive show on Hubbard’s hot AC KSTP-FM Minneapolis, where Moon and Staci "get great ratings, win Marconis and boost loyalty for the station." He acknowledges that there’s more demand for music in the afternoon, and less for information beyond traffic, "however, people will listen to great personalities in any daypart." The Right Balance—Nash PD John Foxx says PM drive has to have a balance with AM drive in order to keep brand strategy on point.

 PM Drive is Ready-Made for Ad Opportunities. With audiences peaking in afternoon drive, is there greater potential to bring in new advertisers with a specific interest in a captive car audience heading home? The answer may be ‘yes,’ but so far, large national advertisers appear to be using use both drivetime dayparts equally. Media Monitors’ daypart Ad Analysis for the week ending Jan. 17, 2016, shows that there is little difference among national radio advertisers in AM and PM drive times. The usual suspects—GEICO, Macy’s, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walgreen’s and McDonalds—are among the top 10 in both dayparts. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential for such advertisers as restaurants and grocery stores to focus on PM. “If you believe Mom isn’t thinking about dinner on her drive, you are seriously underestimating the audience,” offers Cumulus Atlanta OM Rob Roberts. Keith Cunningham, PD of classic rock KLOS L.A. and Cumulus’ head of corporate programming for rock formats, says that among stations’ regular stable of advertisers—and with music formats in general—“mornings are still the first-class cabin clients want access to.” But he also believes that clients are “craving new and creative ways to integrate their messages into programming that features great TSL. As more content and personality become available in afternoons, we very well could see cases where an afternoon show begins to lead market demand.”

Nielsen: Millennial Voters Seek Radio On the Web. For radio stations targeting the 18-34 Millennial audience—and advertisers working to reach them—Nielsen serves up a bevy of new information about their media usage in front of the upcoming presidential election. The info came under the headline, "They Vote, They Decide: Finding Young Voters With Local and Social Media." The company says in its Local Watch Report that while the Millennial generation has "more ways to watch what they want, when they want and how they want," the group is 48% more likely to listen to a local radio station online than overall adult registered voters. Observing their other media usage, Nielsen posits, "There is no doubt that today’s media landscape is changing, and viewers are accessing content on their own terms. For political campaigns and candidates, these changes require them to be more strategic in how they connect with voters, especially younger voters, who can be reached through a large variety of platforms." In local markets, traditional media paired with digital and social media can be an effective way for political campaigns to connect with young voters at home or on-the-go, via live or time-shifted TV and streaming services or mobile devices, the report says. Nielsen also points out that more than 51 million adults 18-34 are registered to vote in their local districts, representing 26% of the registered population. Among Millennials, half fall into independent or non-affiliated parties while 29% identify as Democrats and 21% as Republicans. Among local markets, the greatest saturation of millennial voters is in Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix and Washington (29%), followed by Baltimore (28%), Atlanta, Portland, Charlotte, Houston and Sacramento.

Why Radio Ads Are Candidate’s Best Asset. In a lengthy news story, Time magazine explores what it deems “The Political Ad War You Haven’t Heard About,” explaining how “radio is a different kind of campaign battlefield.” In addition to lower costs, radio ads allow presidential candidates to target specific audiences. Perhaps more importantly, radio ads “also allow campaigns to keep other audiences from hearing those messages,” Time points out. Marvin Overby, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, notes that political ads on radio “tend to be more pointed, oftentimes more controversial. If they got broader coverage, [they] might spark some blowback from parts of the constituency.” An example is Donald Trump’s new ad airing in Iowa and South Carolina featuring evangelical leader Jerry Fallwell Jr., which cites a Bible verse, as Inside Radio reported Friday. Time reports, “The ad hints at a potential endorsement that would go a long way in shoring up votes with the Christian conservative voting bloc that Trump is reaching out to in both states. Airing it on Christian radio stations avoids overplaying the message to audiences that might not be interested.” Likewise, ahead of the recent Democratic debate in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton ran a radio ad featuring Rev. Donnie Hunt, a black associate minister at a Baptist church in the state. Jay Barth, a professor at Arkansas’ Hendrix College, adds in the Time story, “You can do some targeting on television, especially on cable, but nothing like you can on radio, where the demographics of the listeners are so much more tightly targeted than even on cable.” Because radio ads hit a narrowly defined audience, candidates can worry less about whether the ad will offend, Time concludes.  

Myers Report Projects Healthy Ad Growth For Radio. The advertising market is showing surprising strength, with U.S. advertising spending expected to grow 7.7% to $194.6 billion in 2016, according to a report by MyersBizNet. The growth is attributed to, among other factors, a renewed confidence in traditional media, namely network TV, radio and out-of-home "as necessary drivers of audience reach and sales influence," the report says. Overall broadcast radio is forecasted to grow a healthy 5% this year to $16.5 billion, with the legacy, over-the-air side up 2.6% to $14.6 billion and digital advertising up 28% to $1.9 billion. Myers also predicts Hispanic radio will grow 8% to $720 million. And the reason? MyersBizNet chairman Jack Myers says it has a lot to do with the radio industry better conveying the medium’s ability to deliver targeted reach, resulting now in revenue growth. "Radio leadership has been more visible and led by iHeart has transformed the image of radio and moved it into the shiny new object bucket," adds Myers. Speaking of that bucket, also cited among ad growth factors—increased digital advertising, political and Olympic-related spending, and growing interest in online video, mobile and social media advertising. The bullish growth estimate follows more modest gains for 2015, when MyersBizNet estimated advertising spending grew 1.8% across media categories. While radio is showing positive growth, it lags behind other categories in part because the bulk of political and Olympic advertising goes to television, and digital categories are also attracting more ad dollars, Myers notes. Internet audio is expected to grow 25% to $2.05 billion. Online video advertising is forecast to jump 60% to $5.5 billion, while mobile and app advertising is estimated to grow 43% to $16.1 billion.

 

 

 

Ad Market Continues Expansion, Ends 2015 With Highest December Ever

MediaDailyNews

• by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, Yesterday, 8:19 AM

The U.S. ad market finished 2015 with its highest December since MediaPost and Standard Media Index began tracking the marketplace in 2009. The U.S. Ad Market Tracker, a composite of actual ad spending processed by agencies representing 80% of the U.S. marketplace, hit a 238 in December -- its highest for the month, and its second-highest monthly total to date.

 

While the ad marketplace fell 25 points from an index of 263 in November, the decline follows normal cyclical patterns of ad demand that build going into the fourth quarter and erode coming out of the holiday shopping season. On a year-over-year basis, December rose 20 points over December 2014.

 

New data added to the index this month shows that the long-term expansion of the ad marketplace appears to be coming more from the biggest product categories. The top 10 categories turned in an index of 244 in December, six points over the overall marketplace and 28 points over the rest of the 11+ product category marketplace.

 

Across major media categories, digital continues to experience the most explosive expansion, and is the only sector in the index to gain in December vs. November 2015. Digital’s index rose to a record of 815 in December from a 728 in November. On a year-over-year basis, digital expanded 209 points.

The national TV marketplace was the only sector in the index to fall on a year-over-year basis, declining four points to a 162 in December 2015 from a 166 in December 2014.

Will Diversity Issues Be Hindrance Or Draw For Upcoming Oscars Broadcast?

A media critique by Wayne Friedman, Staff Writer Friday, Jan. 22, 2016   Controversial TV shows, most times, result in double-edged sword issues -- for advertisers and viewers. And for big-time popular TV shows? Double that. More than a few TV and film actors have been concerned and angry about the lack of diversity in actor nominations for the Oscars, including film director Spike Lee, and actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. All 20 acting nominees are white. Rev. Al Sharpton has already called for a TV viewer boycott of the event. But the main question -- at least for TV advertisers  -- is, what should one expect from this big, glitzy TV event this year? How does one plan -- or not -- for controversy? Many would guess some viewers will indeed not tune in, with others suggesting that Chris Rock -- who is black, and hosting the event -- will be more of a draw.  There will be anticipation of content delivered -- serious, comic and otherwise -- that will strongly comment about what has gone on. For his part, Lee has followed up with his original tweet, telling ABC’s “Good Morning America”: “I never used the word ‘boycott.’” Lee says he already had plans to see a New York Knicks basketball game in New York on that night. TV advertiser are always leery about content and how it reflects on them. Many will do anything to avoid negative publicly. Still, according to current reports, don’t expect any advertisers to abandon the show, which will air on February 28. The Academy Awards is regularly the second biggest non-sports TV show of the year, the so-called “Super Bowl for women.” Last year, it earned a Nielsen 36.6 million viewers, down 16% from the 43.7 million in 2014. Others executives argue if the Oscars gets, say, a bigger Nielsen rating than a year ago, it doesn’t mean TV viewers approve the status quo concerning acting nominations. While many analysts have pointed to the problem of an aging, heavily white Academy membership, others say there are issues to focus on, including better distribution, promotion, and marketing of lesser-known movies and performances to Academy voters. Should these details be of concern to TV viewers and TV marketers? Perhaps they are too “inside baseball” to clearly comprehend. But Oscar’s on-screen video images will be easy to see.

Why Daytime Syndication Remains a Sunny Proposition for Advertisers

ADWEEK

Buyers are undaunted by recent high-profile misses By Tim Baysinger                                  

• January 20, 2016

• of

• 

  Stable, veteran shows like Ellen are safe bets for advertisers. Ellen TV
  Given the negatives that face the syndicated TV marketplace—a lack of successful new entries, immense competition from digital video for ad dollars and technology that allows viewers to watch on their own time—somehow its major daytime players stand to do solid business in the 2016 ad bonanza. There are a few reasons for this, some of it resulting from being in the right place at the right time.
• 
  Stability among stalwart shows like CBS Television Distribution's Judge Judy, Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution's Ellen has given some advertisers a safe port in the stormy seas of video ad spending. "When you have really strong veteran shows where buyers know what they're getting, they become extremely valuable to advertisers," explained one syndication ad sales executive.
• 
  Ironically, daytime syndication is also benefiting from one of the strongest scatter markets in recent years, sparked in part by a weak upfront last year. Plus, the race for the White House is heating up. Syndicators expect to secure a healthy chunk of the more than $8 billion that Borrell Associates forecasts the presidential candidates will spend on TV this year. Talks with Washington, D.C.-based agencies and Super PACs have already started, earlier than the previous election cycle.
• 
  With the biggest financial windfall coming to local stations—beginning with outlets in early-voting states Iowa and New Hampshire—that market will soon get oversaturated, especially with so many presidential hopefuls on the Republican side. Those that might get bumped on their local buys will end up steering their funds to the national arena, including syndication.
• 
  Why? The mostly female audience—daytime syndicated programs predominantly deliver women 25-54. But that demo is also valuable to pharmaceutical, retail, packaged-goods and restaurant marketers. "It's a great place to reach women," said Courtney Martin, associate director, Starcom. "We've seen just really steady performance from the syndication daytime marketplace." Lending strength to those numbers is an almost-caveman-like behavior in TV viewing. Over 90 percent watch their shows live, despite time-shifted viewing everywhere else save live sports and news.
• 
  "It is rarely viewed on delay," said Bill Carroll, svp and director of content strategy for Katz TV Group. "They're loyal, and they watch when the shows air."
• 
  Even the high number of failures in the genre from the likes of Queen Latifah, Ricki Lake, Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira—FABLife, the lone fall launch that seemed a lock, saw its host Tyra Banks quit after two months—doesn't seem to be scaring ad dollars away. "Our clients are excited to try something new," explained Martin, adding that the new shows "each have their place. Each of them is going to reach a slightly different audience."
• 
  One high-profile launch expected to make noise at the annual Natpe confab, which kicks off in Miami this week, is NBCU's Harry Connick Jr. variety show. Otherwise the syndication marketplace is relatively quiet at the moment, as most shows are in the middle of their typical two-year deals with station groups.
• 
  "This is not a year that you're going to see a lot of new shows," said Carroll.

Radio On Crest Of ’16 Success Wave

INSIDERADIO

January 6, 2015

 Traditional radio may be the classic entry amid so many options in today’s media landscape, but the airwaves are in fact thriving with renewed vigor. It’s appealing as much to Millennials as to mature listeners—and evolving at breakneck speed…again. "I see our industry getting bigger and bigger. After years of negativity, some of it self-inflicted, radio is changing, and I think that wave will only get bigger in 2016," offers Entercom president of Programming, Pat Paxton. "Wall Street analysts and artists like Bono are publicly praising radio and extolling its virtues." With an eye on the revenue pie, CBS Radio VP of Programming, Jeff Sottolano, believes the year ahead will include a focus on new streams of information and data now available to PDs, including traditional callout, local digital sales, M-Scores and Shazam. "Programmers will continue to mine new sources of data and that could lead to some really interesting experimentation and discovery," he tells Inside Radio. Such value-added options as on-demand, podcasts and mobile listening will continue to evolve as stations in all formats shape playlists in the near future. Justin Chase, Beasley Media Group’s VP of Programming, posits, "We should be making our great talent available to listeners when they want to hear [them]. On-demand is something the general market expects," along with making content more mobile-friendly. It needs to be more than just a station app, available across numerous social channels. "Mobile is so critical to radio moving forward," he says.


Besides big gains in local-direct....here's
Top 10 2015 Spot Advertisers—More Doing At Home Depot. In 2015, Home Depot was once again radio’s leading spot advertiser, according to Media Monitors’ annual tally of broadcasters, which includes radio, TV and local cable. The retailer logged a total of 2,327,163 spots on AM/FM during the year, followed by Geico (2,095,754 spots) and iHeartRadio (1,652,728 announcements). The remainder of radio’s top 10 includes McDonald’s and Walgreens (maintaining No. 4 and No. 5, respectively), Macy’s (up from No. 8 in 2014), AutoZone in seventh, the U.S. Government’s Department of Health & Human Services, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Wendy’s (way up from No. 23 to No. 10). Media Monitors’ survey of TV spot advertising reveals just how much gap there is between radio and television. Among the top 10 in the latter medium, only two advertisers are shared with radio: No. 1 McDonald’s and No. 7 Geico. The majority on the tube are automakers, including Toyota (No. 2), Ford (No. 4), Chevrolet (No. 5), Nissan (No. 6), Honda (No. 8) and Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge (No. 10). Along for the ride at TV are No. 3 Progressive and No. 9 Walmart. Cable demonstrates Geico’s dedication across multimedia, where the company hit No. 1, followed by Progressive, Liberty Mutual Insurance, AT&T Wireless and Burger King. They are followed by State Farm, XFINITY Internet/Phone/TV, Subway, Taco Bell and T-Mobile.

Stations Find Value Feeding On-Demand Fever. In the New Year, radio broadcasters are doubling down on creating more value through portability and personalization. While stations have long connected with listeners in multiple locations—the home, the car, at work—station managers say a top 2016 priority is making their product available everywhere a listener may want it. "On-demand" is the all-encompassing buzzword, but it represents the idea of radio on any device, at any time. "On-demand is just a way of accessing content," says Rob McCracken, E.W. Scripps director of digital solutions. "We want to be there wherever our audience chooses to consume audio." At Scripps-owned stations, McCracken says on-demand includes both original content and repurposed broadcasts available on a consumers’ whim, rather than the on-air schedule. Public radio stations, considered among leaders in digital offerings, are already experiencing a growing appetite for on-demand content. Among 163 non-commercial stations tracked by NPR, total downloaded hours of on-demand content increased 18% from January to August 2015. With new devices rolling out constantly, broadcasters want their material delivered to every possible platform, including mobile devices, digital in-car dashboards and newer products, such as the Amazon Echo or Sony voice-controlled speakers. "We can literally turn any connected device with a speaker into a radio. Devices like Apple TV and Amazon Echo will provide opportunity for even more [listening] occasions," says Cox Media Group’s Tim Clarke, senior director, Digital Audience. As voice recognition software improves, radio stations need to have searchable content listeners can access easily, or they’ll go elsewhere, says Federated Media’s director of Interactive Media, James Derby. "If we are not findable or searchable, or don’t have content ready to be consumed, it won’t work," Derby says.

Why 2016 May Be the Year Of the Podcast.

 

On-demand is already a top priority for radio in 2016, and podcasting looks to be the star player. Podcasts are the hottest topic in programming, and execs say they’re increasing production this year considerably. Podcast awareness among both listeners and advertisers is growing, and radio execs say they plan to have content ready. Experts say radio is well positioned to be a top provider. "Podcast listeners are very loyal to their hosts, just like someone is loyal to their morning hosts," says Rob McCracken, E.W. Scripps director of digital solutions. "What has been happening in radio for years is now happening in an additional medium." Jacobs Media digital specialist, Seth Ressler, agrees. "Radio already has an audience to tap into and already has relationships with sponsors," he says. To get a boost in the space, Hubbard Broadcasting acquired a stake in the PodcastOne Network last year, while Scripps purchased Midroll podcast network, and both companies are working to integrate their partners into operations. At Hubbard, digital director Jeremy Sinon says its Minneapolis stations have launched two shows on the PodcastOne Network, and more will be added in 2016, and Hubbard stations promote the service on-air. CBS’ play.it podcast network features more than 400 podcasts,

including news, lifestyle, sports and entertainment series. While there are no hard rules on what a podcast should be, broadcasters are experimenting, with offerings ranging from a few minutes to as long as an hour. Cox Media Group stations, for example, create short-form "snackable" podcasts culled from broadcasts. "The long tail of podcasting allows that content to live on," says Tim Clarke, Cox Media Group senior director, Digital Audience. Everybody Gets Into the Act—Read how station groups are imaginatively working podcasting into strategies, only at InsideRadio.com.

Numbers Show Clients Who Try Podcasts Aren’t Sorry. While radio stations are embracing podcasting more and more, broadcast execs are still grappling with how to generate money from the format. "Stations are trying to figure out how to measure podcasts and how to monetize them," says Seth Ressler, Jacobs Media digital specialist. Stations can analyze their usage and share that with potential advertisers, but there isn’t an industry standard or a common language with buyers, which is holding some advertisers back. A more illustrative method comes from experiential numbers—several intrepid brands are dipping into sponsorships, and the results are overwhelmingly positive, broadcasters say, with loyal listeners reporting high brand recall. E.W. Scripps says it has over a 90% renewal rating for clients who do a test with Midroll. "We’ve had amazing success once advertisers try the medium," Scripps’ director of digital solutions Rob McCracken says. Hubbard digital director, Jeremy Sinon, says PodcastOne Network provides much-needed data and analytics. Similarly, Scripps receives a trove of data from Midroll, including 400,000 completed surveys from listeners. To grow podcasts’ advertiser support, however, radio execs say they need independent, third party data to share with clients and media buyers. Nielsen’s new digital audio measurement SDK, expected to roll out this year, is a positive step forward. So far, 2,500 stations have integrated the SDK in streaming audio players, as have streaming service providers such as Triton and Clip Interactive. For measuring podcasts, a potential obstacle is getting listening data through Apple’s podcasting app. According to a Clammr survey, 82% of smartphone podcast listening occurs on Apple’s app, making it paramount for stations to get access to that data. Need for Sellable Metrics—The importance of Nielsen’s SDK data can’t be overstated when it comes to podcast data;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  




  

 

  



 

7-Day Papers Will End, Streaming TV Will Rule in 2016 Borrell Panel Predicts

Predictions

 

 

A panel of 300 media and advertising experts convened by Borrell Associates has some pretty radical prognostications for media in 2016, seeing the death of seven-day newspapers and print coupons, a massive shift of prime-time TV to streaming video and most local media companies absorbing TV, newspaper and radio in their portfolios.

 

By Staff

NetNewsCheck, January 6, 2016 6:26 AM EST 

      

Borrell Associates' annual "Delphi Panel" of 300 media and advertising experts has convened, and the future it sees is bad for print, great for video.

Among its ten predictions are that seven-day papers are facing even odds of extinction by 2020, citing the ongoing layoffs at papers around the country and pronouncements from papers as large as USA Today that daily printing could cease in the next five to six years.

Also grim for print: print coupons will gradually disappear over the next seven years, hastened by smart carts tied to mobile devices.
Video is looking at a different story, the panel says. with 60% asserting that the so-called "second screen" will overtake the first by 2018 with smart TVs nudging the transition along. Broadcasters shouldn't see the trend negatively, "but rather a positive opportunity to increase engagement in their product with smart ads and click throughs to a show's site -- encouraging sharing with other viewers on social sites."

Video will also lead the dance on local media sites, which the panel predicts will "morph into interactive TV screens." There, video will trump text and photos, a transition it finds likely to happen in the next four or five years.

Local media companies will also be broadening their portfolios to include a newspaper, TV station and radio station, the Borrell panel says. This shift, which it sees happening in the next four years, will be predicated on a repeal of current cross-ownership rules.

U.S. Auto Sales Hit An All-Time High In 2015

 

U.S. auto sales hit a record high of 17.47 million in 2015, topping the old record of 17.35 million set in 2000. Analysts expect sales could go even higher this year as unemployment continues to decline and more young buyers enter the market.

 

By Dee-Ann Durbin

    

The Associated Press, January 6, 2016 5:42 AM EST 

      

DETROIT (AP) -- Americans are buying more new cars than ever before.

U.S. auto sales hit a record high of 17.47 million in 2015, topping the old record of 17.35 million set in 2000. Analysts expect sales could go even higher this year as unemployment continues to decline and more young buyers enter the market.

 

Automakers reported December and full-year sales Tuesday.

 

Low gas prices and historically low interest rates left more money in buyers' pockets. Nationwide, gas prices ended the year at an average of $2 per gallon, according to AAA. And while the Federal Reserve raised a key interest rate in December, it remains near zero. By comparison, that rate was 6.2 percent in 2000.

 

Oliver Strauss, the chief economist at car buying site TrueCar.com, says the interest rate would have to reach 3 percent before it would cause car sales to stagnate.

Employment numbers also improved last year, so more buyers - particularly the huge generation of under-34 millennials - found they could finally afford a new car. People who held off purchases during the recession were also lured back into the market by enticing new vehicles like the Jeep Cherokee and the revamped Ford F-150 pickup. Ford sold 780,354 F-Series trucks last year - more than one every minute - making it the nation's top-selling vehicle.

 

Analysts say the growth should continue this year, but at a slower pace. One reason: Millions of cars will be coming off of two- and three-year leases and into the used car market, so some buyers who would have purchased new cars will go for used ones instead. New-vehicle sales could rise as much as 3 percent to 18 million, says Kelley Blue Book. That's half the pace of 2015, when full-year sales were up 6 percent. 

Here are more details of 2015 sales:

WINNERS AND LOSERS: General Motors led all automakers in the U.S. last year, with sales up 5 percent to just over 3 million cars and trucks. Ford was the best-selling individual brand for the sixth straight year, with sales of just over 2.5 million. Volkswagen, meanwhile, saw sales plummet after it admitted in September that its diesel cars cheated on U.S. emissions tests. VW's sales fell 5 percent for the year.

 

SUV LOVE AFFAIR: As gas prices fell, Americans upsized. This fall, small SUVs became the largest segment of the market, at 14 percent, beating out small and midsize cars, KBB said. Unlike 2000, when the midsize Ford Explorer SUV was the nation's third-best seller, small SUVs like the Honda CR-V are the now the vehicle of choice. Honda sold more than 900 CR-Vs every day in 2015; sales of the Nissan Rogue small SUV jumped 44 percent.

 

FUEL EFFICIENCY BLUES: Low gas prices also have a victim: Small cars, hybrids and electrics. Sales of Nissan's Leaf electric car dropped 43 percent last year to just over 17,000, while Toyota Prius hybrid sales fell 11 percent to around 185,000. Subcompact cars were also hurting. Chevrolet Sonic sales fell 31 percent for the year.

 

LAP OF LUXURY: Mercedes-Benz took the crown as the top-selling luxury brand in 2015. Mercedes' sales rose 4 percent to 380,461, a U.S. record for the brand. BMW and Lexus were close behind. Even during the recession, luxury vehicle sales held steady, never dropping below 12 percent of the U.S. auto market. Now, with more lower-priced luxury vehicles on the market like the Mercedes CLA-Class, luxury sales are rising. Luxury vehicles made up 15 percent of sales in December and are expected to make up around 13 percent of total U.S. sales in 2015, according to Kelley Blue Book.

 

DECEMBER TO REMEMBER: It was the best December in history for the U.S. auto industry, with sales of 1.6 million cars and trucks. Warm weather helped, along with the usual round of holiday promotions. TrueCar.com said incentive spending rose 4 percent over last December to an average of $3,063 per vehicle.

 

Toyota's U.S. sales rose 11 percent over last December. Honda's sales gained 10 percent, while Nissan's were up 19 percent. GM's U.S. sales rose 6 percent, Ford's were up 8 percent and Fiat Chrysler's sales jumped 13 percent. Hyundai's sales were down 1.5 percent, while Volkswagen's sales fell 9 percent.

Smart TV Most Popular Connected Device For Viewing

  by Daisy Whitney, Yesterday, 3:15 PM 

                         
 

Remember when on-demand video was a quaint little subset of the TV business? Or how about when it was a service provided only by cable or satellite operators?

 

Nowadays “on-demand video” refers to any sort of “consumer-is-in charge” mode of viewing programming. A study from Limelight Networks finds that more than 83% of consumers watch on-demand video, an increase of 4% from its study in April 2015. What’s more, many of those viewers are regulars, with more than 35% of consumers surveyed watching four of more hours of on-demand video each week. They’re doing so on SmartTVs, Rokus, Apple TVs or gaming consoles.

 

Interestingly, the TV set itself is still the preferred device, and most over-the-top content consumption is coming through SmartTVs, according to the survey of more than 1,200 consumers. About 30% of those owned a smart TV for watching online video, with 24% using an Xbox, and 19% opting for a Sony PS4. About 28% of consumers don’t own any over-the-top device.

 

The younger demos are driving the shift, with more than 40% of Millennials subscribing to at least one over-the-top service, compared with 32% for older demos. Some of them have cut the cord already and Limelight found that price is less important a factor when it comes to snipping. Access to content direct from the programmer is influencing the consumer choice to cut the cord and watch favorite shows in new ways, the study found.

iHeartRadio Integrates Apps With New Devices

 

• by Wayne Friedman, Yesterday, 3:35 PM

Digital radio and streaming music service iHeartRadio is getting some new multiple app integrations. 

 

In making the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show, parent company iHeartMedia says it is integrating iHeartRadio with new devices/platforms across home entertainment, home connectivity and wearable technology.

 

These include efforts with Samsung and its Multi-Screen service, which will allow iHeartRadio to be seamlessly cast to various Samsung devices, including Gear S2, Samsung’s wearable smartwatch. In addition, the integration with Multi-Screen will allow iHeartRadio users for Android and Tizen apps to cast content to Samsung speakers and televisions. 

 

Another effort, with LG’s Smart ThinQ, the new smart-home hub, allows users to listen to both live and custom stations through iHeartRadio’s app, automatically recalling the user's favorites and preferences. 

 

An integration with Apple TV will allow users to get core elements of the iHeartRadio app including access to thousands of live and custom stations, based on a song or artist search, and podcasts. 

A deal with DTS for its DTS Play-Fi allows listeners with the free Play-Fi app to stream their iHeartRadio live and custom stations, as well as enabling casting through any Play-Fi enabled speaker via WiFi. 

 

Overall, there are now more than 60 iHeartRadio platform integrations for the Web, mobile, tablets, automotive, smart TVs, connected home hubs and gaming consoles.

Digital platform iHeartRadio counts more than 75 million registered users and 800 million downloads. Parent company iHeartMedia's over-the-air radio business covers over 150 markets through 858 owned radio stations.