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UNIQUE VISITORS RISE WITH AD SPEND The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) has been focusing on the automotive sector quite a bit lately. After all, automotive is the most important advertising source for television—at both the national and local level. The newest VAB study, Shifting Gears, looks specifically at whether there is an identifiable correlation between ad spending by an automotive brand and traffic to its website. Not only did the VAB find that there is a correlation, but a pretty significant one in most cases. The study looked at ad spending by 20 auto/truck nameplates over the past two years (August 2014 to July 2015 and August 2015 to July 2016) and found an identifiable correlation with unique web visitors for 15 of them, or 75%. Only five brands (25%) didn’t show an identifiable correlation. Of the 15 brands with a correlation evident, 11 had increased average monthly TV ad spending and experienced an increase in monthly unique visitors online. Four had decreased spending on TV advertising and experienced a drop in monthly unique visitors online. The 11 who were up on average spent 16% more on TV advertising and recorded an average 37% rise in unique monthly web visitors. For the other four, TV spend was down an average 10% and unique visitors online declined 12%. Based on data from Nielsen Ad Intel, VAB found that Hyundai increased its TV ad spending by 55% and saw unique visitors online rise by 30%. Cadillac boosted ad spending 21% and got a 34% boost online. The biggest gain in unique monthly web visitors was for Toyota, a gain of 81% although the brand only had to increase TV advertising spending by 9% to get there. GMC, by the way, increased TV ad spending by 24% and also got a 24% increase in web visitors. Also gaining visitors with increased TV advertising were GM, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Ram, Lincoln and Jeep. What about the four who cut TV spending? Mazda reduced TV advertising by 18% and saw web visitors drop 25%. Dodge TV spend fell 30% and online visits declined 14%. Honda reduced advertising 2% and online unique visitors fell 5%. Also in the group is Volkswagen—and we would note that the two years of data used in VAB’s analysis ended shortly before the “dieselgate” scandal became public. VW had reduced TV spending by 2% and unique monthly web visits fell 19%. VAB notes that total TV ad spending from the automotive sector (broadcast/cable, national/local) has been increasing in recent years, growing from $10.1 billion in 2011 to $12.8 billion in 2015. The Shifting Gears study may be downloaded HERE.

ADVERTISER NEWS Here’s some good news for a major advertiser category that could use some: The MillerPulse survey found the restaurant industry reversed a six-month negative trend in November with an overall 0.3% increase in same-store sales. The quick-serve segment of the industry provided the strength with a 1.3% increase, although traffic was still down for QSRs by 0.3%. Overall industry traffic was down 1.7%......The furniture business had a good November according to Furniture Today. Citing Commerce Department

data it notes monthly sales for furniture and home furnishings retailers were up 4.1% compared to November, 2016……Apparel retailers could get a boost this month: coming off the warmest December on record last year, analysts see this month as the coldest December in at least four years and one says in the “buy now, wear now” society we’re in, “weather becomes the largest external driver of need.” He also suggests necessity will prompt customers to pay a little more, creating better margins

for retailers……Pier 1 same-store sales were up 1.8% in the quarter that ended on 11/26, but after having closed 33 stores in the year, total sales were down 0.4%. Still, the closings helped profitability, which was up 24% for the quarter……Toys ‘R’ Us domestic same-store sales were down 1.9% in its latest fiscal quarter. The CEO noted many toy categories did well but weakness in baby business and the electronics and entertainment category pulled down results……Advertising Age is reporting speculation is growing about a possible re-unification of Mondelēz with former sibling Kraft Foods (which since the split four years ago has merged with Heinz). Kraft Heinz was the 79th largest advertiser last year according to the Ad Age Datacenter while Mondelez ranked 129th for its numerous brands such as Nabisco, Oreo and Ritz……Weight Watchers is starting a new subscription plan including a new Apple Watch Series 2 with the purchase of a Weight Watchers OnlinePlus membership. An upgraded app allows users to get exercise and food related info sent directly to the watch……PetSmart opened 20 new stores in the quarter that ended on 10/30, bringing its year-to-date expansion total to 43. Chain Store Age reports some of the new units are testing different formats including smaller footprints, a self-service dog wash, and a bar-lounge area for customers while they’re waiting for Fido to be groomed……Extended warranties are a valuable profit center for some retailers and a study done by underwriting resource The Warranty Group found the highest “attachment rates” are for exercise machines (54%), major appliances (41%), and digital cameras (32%). Mobile phones (28%) and computers/tablets (22%) rank at the bottom.

TELEVISION DRIVES AUTO ONLINE TRAFFIC

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The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, December 16, 2016

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NETWORK NEWS The Miss Universe Competition will air on FOX Sunday, January 29th at 7 PM (ET). This year’s competition will take place in the Philippines with Steve Harvey returning as emcee. Model Ashely Graham has been tapped to serve as backstage host……Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2017 on ABC will feature Lionel Richie doing the first performance of the New Year. Richie will perform his hit “All Night Long” from Las Vegas immediately following the midnight countdown and Times Square celebration. Lucy Hale from Pretty Little Liars will host the first-ever New Year’s countdown from the Central Time Zone. Hale will be joined in New Orleans by Panic! at the Disco and Jason Defulo from the Allstate Fan Fest……CBS may be looking at a reboot of the classic sitcom The Honeymooners. The multi-camera comedy is being written by Bob Kushell, the man behind The Muppets reboot on ABC. The move is not unlike the CBS revamp of The Odd Couple, which is now in its third season……Molly Ringwald (The Breakfast Club & Sixteen Candles) has been booked in a recurring role on The CW’s Riverdale. Ringwald will play Mary Andrews, Archie’s mother, who returns to town in her family’s hour of need. Riverdale premieres Thursday, January 29th at 9 PM (ET)……A spinoff of the CBS series How I Met Your Mother is being developed by This Is Us writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. The new series is called How I Met Your Father and will offer a new take from the female point of view. Creators of the original series, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas will serve as co-executive producers. The series is yet to land a home, but it’s being shopped to several networks……Saturday’s CBS telecast of the Army-Navy college football game averaged 7.9 million total viewers per Nielsen. That was an increase of 11% over last year’s game and a whopping 27% increase from 2014. Army’s 21-17 win over Navy was its first victory since 2001……Sunday Night Football on NBC was the top program of the week among Hispanic Viewers. Nielsen reports that the New York Giants win over the Dallas Cowboys averaged 3.5 million Hispanic viewers beating all shows on all networks, including those on Telemundo and Univision. Sunday night’s pre-game delivered 2.26 million Hispanic viewers, while Thursday Night Football on NBC posted 2.12 million……The number one Spanish-language program for the week was Telemundo’s Señora Acero averaging 2.59 million Hispanic viewers. Thursday’s episode of El Chema was the second-place program among Hispanics, averaging 2.39 million viewers......Telemundo will ring in 2017 with a live New Year’s Eve broadcast from New York’s Times Square. Patricia Manterola and Daniel Sarcos will host Bienvenido 2017 (Welcome 2017), on Saturday, December 31st starting at 10 PM (ET). In a simulcast with NBC’s New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly, viewers will see music performances by Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Pentatonix, Blake Shelton, Gente de Zona, Regulo Caro, Alexis & Fido, Carlos Ponce and Sebastian Yatra, Telemundo’s coverage will also include special reports by Janice Bencosme from New York’s Telemundo 47, reporting from the streets of the Big Apple.

AVAILS Buckeye Broadband, Toledo Ohio is looking for a qualified candidate to fill a Manager, Local Sales position. We’re searching for an energetic and creative individual to manage our advertising sales team as we imagine and craft the future of TV advertising. 5 years Media Sales Management experience in the same or similar medium, a high level of computer skills and a history of developing non-traditional revenue are required.

CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. EOE. WFTX FOX 4, A Scripps owned station in beautiful Southwest Florida is seeking a high-energy Account Executive. The ideal candidate will have broadcast experience as well as an intense desire to prospect, develop and grow new direct business within the market. Strong time management and organizational skills are required. Please send cover letter and resume to LSM at

Don.Wargo@fox4now.com. EOE Raleigh, NC: Account Executive needed for sales of WRAL-TV, WRAL.COM, and digital channels. An in-depth knowledge of basic marketing concepts as well as familiarity with advertising on electronic media including the internet is necessary. Must have the ability to sell specials, promotions, and generate non-traditional revenue. 3-5 years of television and on-line sales experience required. CLICK HERE for more details or to apply now. EOE M/F. All Capitol Broadcasting Company properties are tobacco free. Capitol Broadcasting Company participates in E-Verify.

MORE AVAILS ONLINE @ SPOTSNDOTS.COMPlace a classified, email: ads@spotsndots.com

WEDNESDAY RATINGS

12/16/2016

Starbucks has come out with a new Frappuccino that’s named after Pokémon Go. They’re saying it has the

taste of something you lost interest in around September.

Conan O'Brien

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NBCU’s YACCARINO SLAMS NIELSEN With the March launch of Nielsen’s Total Content Ratings (TCR) as currency for advertising transactions fast approaching, NBCUniversal’s ad boss is calling the planned release “premature” and “irresponsible.” In a letter to the ratings giant, Linda Yaccarino, NBCU Chairman of Advertising Sales and Client Partnerships, says TCR is “far from meeting” requirements to provide a reasonable degree of accuracy and transparency. “Some say ‘something is better than nothing.’ We disagree. Bad, inaccurate and misleading data is far worse than no data at all,” Yaccarino wrote. Among other things, she objects to the inclusion of “opaque Facebook data”—alluding to the recent multiple disclosures by Facebook of errors in its data calculations—mixing different forms of audience measurement, the failure to include several leading pay-TV operators and digital video distributors and the complete lack of measurement of out-of-home TV viewing. Nielsen is undeterred, saying it stands behind TCR. It is going ahead with launch, scheduled for March 1, 2017. Despite the fact that NBCU is the largest seller of national TV advertising, Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser says the opinions that really matter are those of the buyers of advertising. “Ultimately, the perspectives that matter most here are not those of the networks, but of agencies and marketers, and so far as we are aware, few of those stakeholders have had significant exposure to the TCR product,” he said.

NBCU TO LAUNCH NEW OLYMPICS CHANNEL A new Olympic themed cable network is set to debut in 2017. NBCUniversal, the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee are teaming up to launch Olympic Channel TV. The network will offer Olympic sports programming year-round and will complement the digital channel of the same name that launched after the Summer Olympics in Rio. The network will carry live events and will include “Olympic-themed original content.” The new network will bear the tagline “Home of Team USA,” Along with the new channel, the partnership will include Olympic coverage that will appear exclusively on other NBCU platforms, including NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Digital outlets.

THIS AND THAT On the heels of the signing of state legislation to support autonomous vehicle testing and deployment in Michigan, General Motors says it will immediately begin testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. GM also announced that beginning in early 2017 it will build a test fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EVs equipped with fully autonomous technology at its Orion Township assembly plant north of Detroit, which currently manufactures the Bolt and Sonic……Mortgage rates inched higher, rising for a seventh consecutive week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 4.18%, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey.

AVAILS Comcast Spotlight in Richmond, VA is seeking a Local Account Executive. The AE is responsible for developing, servicing and maintaining a base of local clients and/or agencies who purchases advertising space or other media services to achieve established annual sales goals within assigned sales team. Offers zone buying to allow small

advertisers the opportunity to reach only the customers in their retail trading areas. Works with moderate guidance in own area of knowledge. CLICK HERE to apply now. Comcast is an EOE/Veterans/Disabled/LGBT employer. KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, MO has an immediate opening for a Local Sales Manager. College degree and experience in coaching and training AEs preferred. We want a manager who is team oriented and can work

toward budget achievement for multiple platforms. Must be organized, have exceptional time management skills, a minimum of five years of television advertising sales, and be proficient in selling and managing digital platforms. Experience with Matrix, One Domain, and Wide Orbit is a plus. CLICK HERE and attach your resume when applying. EOE M/F/D/V.

COMPETITIVE INFO Programmatic ad buying has expanded into the outdoor advertising. Clear Channel Outdoor is now offering its digital billboard inventory available to buyers via Rubicon Project’s Private Marketplace (PMP). The availability includes 1,000 digital billboards across 25 of Clear Channel Outdoor’s 29 digital U.S. markets.

WHEELER SETS FCC EXIT FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has confirmed that he will resign from the Commission on January 20 as Donald Trump takes office as President of the United States. Wheeler had previously hinted that he might buck tradition and serve out his entire term, even though he would no longer be Chairman. His indecision had led to the Republican Senate failing to act on the re-nomination of Jessica Rosenworcel, whose term will run out the end of this month. Had she been reconfirmed and Wheeler stuck around as well, the new Republican President would have faced an FCC with three Democrats to two Republicans, although Trump would be able to elevate one of the Republicans to Chairman. Now he’ll have two seats to fill (only one can be from the GOP) and the acting Chairman will be part of a 2-1 Republican majority until those seats are filled. The Republicans—Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly—have already indicated that they will move quickly to reverse Wheeler’s imposition of Title II regulation on broadband providers and so-called “net neutrality” rules. They also are expected to loosen broadcast ownership regulations, which Wheeler had resisted. The only Democrat who will remain on the FCC is Mignon Clyburn.

12/16/2016

United Airlines announced you will have to pay to store a carry-on in the overhead

bin. What’s next? ‘In case of a water landing, your seat can be used as a flotation

device for only $129.’

James Corden