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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2018.The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, March 29, 2019

BIGGEST TUNE-IN FACTOR? IT’S THE WEATHER For advertisers iffy about whether local television news remains worth the premium rates stations charge, here’s a powerful pitch line: When it comes to local news, Americans prefer television to all other mediums. That’s according to the Pew Research Center’s annual report on the state of news consumption. It shows 41 percent of Americans say TV is the way to go. That’s four points more than the 37 percent who prefer online sources, including 23 percent who favor websites or apps and 15 percent who name social media. TV is also multiples ahead of newspapers (13%) and radio (8%). Real-world actions work even more in television’s favor. The report says 86 percent of Americans still get some of their news from TV. “Even as the preference for digital delivery creeps up on that for news via TV, local television stations retain a strong hold in the local news ecosystem,” Pew says. Three-quarters of people still get local TV news the old-fashioned way: by watching a set. But 22 percent now say they also get news from a local TV station’s website or through their social media feeds. The biggest driver of interest in watching local newscasts remains the weather, with 70 percent of those surveyed saying it’s what’s most important for day-to-day life. It’s followed by news about crime (44%), traffic (41%) and changing prices (37%). And reflecting some TV stations’ scaling back on local sports coverage, Pew says sports news ranked last with just over one-third (34%) saying it’s not important or interesting. Pew’s data shows television-oriented local news consumers may have a stronger attachment to local news than those with digital preferences. The numbers show U.S. adults who prefer getting local news online are more likely to follow local news very closely: 40 percent, compared to 21 percent among those who prefer online. One of television’s strongest assets remains its local nature. Pew says the public has more trust in journalists from their town. “Americans place high value on a close connection to the community,” the report says. The data shows 81 percent of those surveyed say it’s either “very” or “somewhat important” for local journalists to be personally engaged in the community. A majority of U.S. adults (63%) say local journalists are generally in touch with their community rather than out of touch (34%). Local TV stations may actually be helping the image of the press more

(Continued on Page 3)

AMERICANS TURN TO TV FOR LOCAL NEWS, PEW SAYSADVERTISER NEWS Department store JCPenney remains in a financial slump and, as a result, is shuttering 27 of its 860 stores in 2019. “As part of a standard annual review, the decision was made to close 18 stores across the country, including the three previously announced stores in early January,” the department store told NBC’s Today show. In addition, nine home and furniture stores will close this fall, bringing the total to 27. In February, the company reported that total

net sales for fiscal 2018 decreased 7.1 percent, with a net loss of $255 million for the year... Ahold Delhaize says it’s rolling out a new forecasting and replenishment system to optimize inventory management of fresh and non-perishable products.

Fortune reports the new AI-based system will be put to work in the company’s Food Lion, Giant Food, Giant Food Stores, Hannaford, Peapod and Stop & Shop divisions... McDonald’s says it will no longer lobby against raising workers’ pay, CNN Business reports. The company shared the news in a letter to the National Restaurant Association, which represents companies in the food-service industry. “Going forward, McDonald’s Corporation will not use our resources, including lobbyists or staff, to oppose minimum wage increases at the federal, state or local levels,” wrote Genna Gent, vice president of U.S. government relations for the company. The average starting salary for employees at corporate-owned stores is above $10 per hour, Gent noted, adding that McDonald’s doesn’t set wages at franchises... Ride-sharing giant Lyft came to the market yesterday, pricing its stock at $72 per share, the high end of market expectations, giving the company a valuation of over $20 billion in the booming market for car sharing. The company beat rival Uber to the market in one of the largest and most closely watched initial public offerings of the year... Unilever is expected to announce the creation of new criteria for platforms that carry advertising for its brands, Ad Age reports. The consumer products giant will require the sites to reject pop-ups and other intrusive ads while meeting consumer data safeguard standards.

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

AVAILS KIRO TV, Cox Media Group, Seattle, seeks a Digital Sales Specialist to work with the media sales team to grow digital revenue by accompanying the media sales team in the field to conduct customer needs analysis and present client-facing solutions. The Digital Sales Specialist must understand all CMG Local Solutions digital product offerings and how to leverage them to meet the client’s strategic objectives. Digital assets include all kirotv.com core products and platforms inclusive of display advertising, streaming media, and native advertising. CLICK HERE to apply.

Sales Assistant: Are you energetic, self-motivated and good with deadlines? Skilled in Excel, Word and Power Point? Would you like to put these skills to work in a fast-paced, energy-filled environment where no two days are alike? Then we would like to talk with you about becoming a member of our team! This is a full-time position offering competitive pay, insurance, 401k, paid holidays and vacation. Email resume and cover letter (stating referring source) to: cantonio@

abc6.com. No calls, please. WLNE-TV / ABC6 is an EOE. WSOC-TV, the COX-owned ABC affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., is looking for a dynamic Local Sales Manager to co-lead its winning sales team. Must possess an entrepreneurial mindset, competitive spirit, and passion for marketing sales, both broadcast and digital. The ideal candidate will have a proven history of growing revenue for both television and digital. CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. Radio Account Executive: WCLY-FM, Raleigh, N.C., is seeking a sales professional to identify, develop and grow new business accounts on our radio, digital and event platforms. 3+ years of sales experience required. CLICK HERE for details or to apply. EOE M/F. All Capitol Broadcasting Company properties are tobacco free. Capitol Broadcasting Company participates in E-Verify.

See your ad here tomorrow! CLICK HERE for details.

OUTLOOK: AMAZON MUSIC TO LEAD THE PACK Amazon Music will cross 35 million monthly listeners in the U.S. this year, eMarketer reports. At a growth rate of 17.7 percent year over year, the research firm expects it will grow faster than any other digital audio service in its forecast. Amazon’s audio platform is subscription-only and not supported by ads at any membership level; neither is Apple Music, the second fastest-growing digital audio platform. This means that the fastest-growing segment of audio streaming listeners cannot be reached by advertisers. The more prominent streaming services that have ad-supported options still have more U.S. monthly active users (MAUs), but those figures are either growing slower or not at all. The number of Spotify MAUs will grow by 13.9 percent and Pandora will lose 0.5 percent of its U.S. MAUs this year. This includes ad-supported and subscription, ad-free MAUs for both companies. Amazon Music will continue to grow faster than its aforementioned competitors through 2023, according to eMarketer’s latest forecasts.

NETWORK NEWS Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show) and Susan Wokoma (Year of the Rabbit) are set as series regulars opposite Elizabeth Alderfer and David Walton in Super Simple Love Story, a CBS hybrid comedy pilot. It’s a story told through interviews and vignettes spanning 10 years, about how an unlikely couple becomes an unlikely family... The 2019 American Music Awards will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 24 from 8-11 PM (ET) on ABC. The live telecast honors artists in multiple musical genres, including pop/rock, country, rap/hip-hop, soul/R&B, adult contemporary, contemporary Inspirational Latin and EDM and soundtrack... Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy has been tapped for a lead role opposite Mike Vogel in Triangle, ABC’s drama pilot. Triangle poses the question: What if the Bermuda Triangle was not a watery grave in the middle of the ocean but a land lost in time that has trapped travelers over the course of human history? When a family is shipwrecked in this strange land, they must band together with a group of like-minded inhabitants — from throughout history — to survive and somehow find a way home... Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls) is set as the female lead opposite Ken Jeong and Max Willems in CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot The Emperor of Malibu... Pat Healy (The Post), Melinda McGraw (Outcast) and Michael Harney (Orange Is The New Black) are set to recur opposite Peter Sarsgaard, Kyle Gallner, Kodi Smit-McPhee and David Strathairn in CBS All Access’ straight-to-series true-crime drama Interrogation. The show is an original concept based on a true story that spanned more than 30 years, in which a young man (Gallner) was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother... Nancy Lenehan (Veep) and Phil Hendrie (New Girl) are set as leads opposite Katherine Heigl and Malcolm Barrett in CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot Our House. It centers on a devoted dad, Shawn (Barrett), and mom, Bridget (Heigl), who are committed to raising their children with the love and support the mom never got as a kid but discover how difficult that is with her insane parents, played by Lenehan and Hendrie, and siblings back in the picture... Gotham alumna Victoria Cartagena is set as a series regular in Fox’s untitled drama pilot based on the Australian series Sisters. The story centers on Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow), an only child who finds her life turned upside down when her father is forced to reveal that over the course of his pioneering career as a fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children.

U.S. JOBLESS CLAIMS FELL LAST WEEK The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits declined last week, The Wall Street Journal reports. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 in the week ended March 23, the Labor Department said yesterday. Economists surveyed by The Journal expected 220,000 new claims last week. The four-week moving average of claims, a steadier measure, also fell.

3/29/2019

Conan O’Brien

On an island vacation with my family. If I get

attacked by a shark, don’t blame him. The chum Speedo was my idea.

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

AD DEMAND PLUMMETS 5% IN FEBRUARY Demand for advertising inventory declined 5 percent in February versus the same month last year, according to the U.S. Ad Market Tracker, a collaboration of MediaPost and Standard Media Index. The index, which is a composite of actual media buys processed for the major agency holding companies, declined to 218 in February from 230 in February 2018. Year-over-year declines in the index are unusual, and February’s likely reflects comparisons with February 2018, which benefitted from NBC’s coverage of the Winter

Olympic Games in South Korea. In fact, the national TV marketplace had the greatest decline among the media tracked by the index, falling 8 percent year-over year. During the same period, digital media expanded 6 percent. The advertising contractions appear to have been mostly from the biggest advertisers cutting their budgets. The top 10 ad categories declined 6 percent, while all the rest declined only 2 percent.

PEW: AMERICANS TURN TO TV FOR LOCAL NEWS(Continued from Page 1)broadly. Pew says those who prefer to get local news on TV offer somewhat more positive ratings of local media, giving higher marks on things like whether the local press does a good job or presents all sides fairly. “Those who prefer TV also stand out in terms of their confidence in the ability of their main source of local news to provide them the news they need,” the report says. Pew says its data continues to show TV plays an outsized role when ensuring all Americans have access to news. “Residents of lower-income areas are more reliant on TV news and less so on digital pathways,” the report says, noting 44 percent of lower-income people prefer getting local news through the TV set. Pew’s study is based on a massive survey with a nationally representative sample of 34,897 U.S. adults, conducted Oct. 15-Nov. 8, 2018. See the entire report HERE.

3/29/2019

Funny Tweeter

I call loading the dishwasher “quantum physics” because

no one else in this house knows how to do it either.

WEDNESDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

STUDY: CONNECTED TV IMPRESSIONS GROWING In its latest Global Video Benchmark study, advertising platform Innovid found that connected TVs continues to gain in viewership and advertising usage, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Connected TV accounted for 28 percent of the digital video ad impressions on the Innovid platform in 2018, up from 17 percent last year. Innovid said that 68 percent of the campaigns it monitored included CTV in 2018. “Modern advertisers have become increasingly accustomed to working in digital, with its dense metrics and potential for meaningful engagement and interaction,” the report said. “The rise of connected TV will allow top marketers to bring those same expectations to advertising’s most powerful channel, television.” Broadcast networks are getting a boost from CTV as viewership shifts to digital platforms and devices. Innovid said that 63 percent of the broadcasters’ digital impressions were in CTV environments and broadcast impressions made up 83 percent of all CTV campaigns. With viewers watching on large TV, rather than smaller digital devices, Innovid found high levels of engagement with CTV campaigns. Interactive ad units generated an additional 71 seconds of time earned within broadcast content and a more than six times lift in engagement compared to a standard pre-roll unit. Advertisers are using more data to target and personalize campaigns. Use of everything from first-party data to weather conditions jumped 79 percent in 2018. On mobile, Innovid saw an increase in videos shorter than 10 seconds to 11 percent from 5 percent a year ago. Most of the growth was detected on social and programmatic channels, Innovid said.

J&J TO AIR FIRST TV AD WITH DRUG PRICE Johnson & Johnson plans to start airing the first U.S. television commercial for a prescription drug that discloses how much it costs, a nod toward rising political pressure over prices. The Wall Street Journal reports the ad for J&J’s bloodthinner Xarelto — a version of which has already been on the air without mentioning price — will now end by briefly showing its list price of $448 a month. It is scheduled to start running nationally today, according to Scott White, head of J&J’s pharmaceuticals business in North America. The commercial also states that most patients pay between zero and $47 per month, depending on insurance coverage and eligibility for financial-assistance programs. J&J said about 75 percent of patients pay within that range. The introduction of such pricing information would be a big change to the nature of the ads, which have blanketed TV airwaves for more than two decades and become as memorable for the litany of side effects they run through as for the drugs they promote. In October, the Trump administration took aim at the lack of pricing information in the commercials, proposing a new rule that would require companies to include the list price as part of a broader plan to rein in prices.