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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2018.The Daily News of TV Sales Tuesday, August 6, 2019

DESPITE DIGITAL’S RISE, TV STILL MAIN MEDIUM Global advertising expenditure by healthcare brands will grow 3.6 percent this year to reach $36 billion, according to Zenith’s newly issued Healthcare Advertising Expenditure Forecasts. The Publicis Groupe-owned media agency is forecasting similar growth in the sector in 2020, MediaPost Agency Daily reports. By country, the leaders in healthcare advertising expenditure are the U.S. and China, which together accounted for 86 percent of spend in 2018. India is the fastest-growing market, growing at an average of 26 percent a year between 2018 and 2021. Brazil ranks second at 9 percent a year. While U.S. ad spend grew at an average annual rate of 6 percent between 2013 and 2018, partly driven by strong growth in television advertising of prescription medicines, pharmaceutical companies are facing particularly intense scrutiny of their prescription prices. Zenith reports it’s likely that new regulations will be imposed on TV drug ads requiring price disclosures, effectively driving greater competition in the sector. Television is the most important medium for healthcare advertising, accounting for 54.7 percent of spend in 2018, far higher than TV’s 30.8 percent share of the advertising market as a whole. However, continued media inflation and declining ratings in key markets are pushing healthcare brands to build awareness in other media. Healthcare adspend on TV fell 3.1 percent in 2018 and is forecast to decline 4.6 percent in 2019 and 5.2 percent in both 2020 and 2021. This is faster than the decline in TV adspend across the market as a whole, which is shrinking at about 1 percent a year. Television’s main competition — internet advertising — accounted for 34 percent of healthcare ad spend in 2018, thanks to its ability to allow healthcare brands to reach potential customers with discretion, often when they are actively searching for information about their health problems. “The rapid expansion of e-commerce in the OTC space will continue to shift spending into direct selling channels — search, social and display — as traditional distribution models are further disrupted by Amazon and other retailers,” says Andrea Palmer, president, Publicis Health Media. Healthcare brands are also exploring other media channels as a result of continued media inflation and declining ratings in key markets. OOH is under-used by healthcare advertisers, accounting for 4 percent of healthcare ad spend this year, compared to 6.4 percent across the whole market. But that’s changing rapidly as OOH healthcare ad spend grew 11 percent in 2018 and is forecast to jump 15 percent in 2019. That’s bolstered by the spread of digital display, making this channel a more effective substitute for television in awareness campaigns. This is the agency’s inaugural healthcare ad expenditure report. It compiles spending data from 13 markets.

ZENITH: HEALTHCARE AD SPENDING POISED TO GROWADVERTISER NEWS Target has selected eight Gen Z entrepreneurs from a pool of 400 applicants for its Target Incubator program, one of the retailer’s four accelerator programs that have worked with more than 100 startups over the past six years. The Minneapolis Star Tribune says those chosen for the Target Incubator received $10,000 and coaching from

Target executives on branding, negotiating and other business skills... Giant Eagle has leased space for a 23,000-square-foot technology hub in Lawrenceville, Pa. The center is expected to open early next year and will support the grocer’s digital initiatives, including its click-and-collect program, scan-and-pay in-store shopping system

and mobile app, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports... Francesca’s Holdings has gone on the defensive, Chain Store Age reports. The struggling women’s accessories and apparel retailer says it has adopted a stockholder rights plan, often called a “poison pill.” The move is designed to keep a person or group from taking control of the company. Francesca’s has been challenged with steadily sliding sales. In January, the retailer announced it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company and a financing or refinancing. As of Thursday, Francesca’s operated approximately 718 stores in 47 states throughout the U.S. and the District of Columbia... As more sneaker manufacturers create their products with a variety of recycled and renewable materials, Adidas is looking to continue “closing the loop.” One idea is to charge customers a deposit that would be refunded upon returning unwanted sneakers to Adidas for recycling, Business Insider reports... CVS will expand its subscription-based membership program CarePass nationwide after testing it in Boston, Philadelphia and Tampa, Fla., CNBC reports. Shoppers with CarePass, which resembles Amazon’s Prime program, gain access to discounts on CVS-branded products, a monthly $10 coupon, and free home delivery for a yearly membership cost of $48 or a $5 monthly fee... Amazon will disable all of its physical Dash buttons at the end of this month, following the decision in February to stop making new versions of the buttons used for reordering household goods, CNN reports. The branded buttons launched in 2015 and were designed to be installed near where products were stored and work with the user’s wifi to place a reorder each time the button was pushed... Subaru posted a 48 percent increase in Q1 operating profit as global sales grew, led by demand for the Ascent and Forester crossovers in the U.S., Automotive News reports. The Japanese automaker reported operating income of $869 million versus $585 million a year earlier. The maker of Legacy sedans maintained its forecast for operating income at $2.4 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2020, up 45 percent from a year earlier. Subaru also reiterated its annual forecast for global sales of 1.06 million vehicles. In July, Subaru extended its streak of year-over-year monthly sales gains in the U.S. to 92 with a 7.9 percent rise in volume.

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

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AS ‘LION KING’ DELIVERS, AD SPEND GROWS With Disney roaring out another wide-screen release from The Lion King, the previously troubled 2019 theatrical U.S. box-office revenue looks in far better shape, with higher national TV media spend on advertising summer movies, Television News Daily reports. Eight months into the year, the U.S. box office is at $6.9 billion, down 7 percent year-to-date, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Until recently, year-to-date box office revenue was down by around 15 percent. Last year’s total U.S. box office revenue was $11.9 billion. Two weeks after its release, The Lion King is now at $385.1 million in U.S. revenue, after a $191.8 million opening weekend two weeks ago. Disney now has five of the top six U.S. movies with the largest box-office take. Over the last three months (through Aug. 1), the bulk of the big summer selling season, Walt Disney Pictures has been estimated to have spent $48.5 million on national/regional TV media, with its Disney Pixar brand spending $30.9 million, according to iSpot.tv. Twentieth Century Fox, now also part of Disney, is at $65 million. Universal Pictures spent $124.5 million during the recent three-month period; Sony’s Columbia Pictures, $75.7 million; Warner Bros., $58 million; and Paramount Pictures, $43.6 million.

ACCOUNT ACTION Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has awarded global business in the animal health category to OMD. The shop will look after cross-media/channel planning and buying for leading brands including Frontline and NexGard as part of scope worth between $100 million and $110 million, Campaign reports. OMD’s assignment encompasses U.S., EMEA and APAC.

NETWORK NEWS ABC is bringing back Live in Front of a Studio Audience for two more outings. The broadcaster is to air a live holiday special this winter as well as another special in spring 2020. This comes after Jimmy Kimmel’s live staging on Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons scored more than 22 million viewers when it aired in May. The network hasn’t revealed which classic shows are set for either special, but there are plenty to choose from in Lear’s library, including Maude, Good Times and Sanford and Son... Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan are returning for the new season of American Idol, but one name is still missing from ABC’s lineup: Ryan Seacrest. Network president of entertainment Karey Burke says the host is still in talks to return to the show, but that his deal has not yet been closed. The show will premiere in spring 2020 after ABC renewed the musical talent competition in May for a third season on its network and the show’s 18th season overall... Gray Television will debut the documentary Measure of Hate this month on all its television stations. Produced by Gray’s InvestigateTV team, the half-hour special reveals the vast undercounting of hate crimes throughout the U.S. and how laws related to tracking and punishing hate crimes aren’t working. Measure of Hate uncovers how dozens of high-profile hate crimes investigated and prosecuted by the FBI and DOJ weren’t counted in the FBI federal database... ABC says its summer staples The Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise have been renewed for new seasons to premiere in 2020. Season 6 of Bachelor In Paradise premiered last night. The Bachelorette, renewed for Season 16, just wrapped its most recent season last week. The finale featuring the conclusion (or not) of Hannah Brown’s quest for love was the show’s highest-rated telecast in two years. Last summer, Bachelor in Paradise led its Monday time slot and and was No. 1 in the key demos on the night; its Tuesday edition was No. 1 in women 18-34. ABC already said that Season 24 of The Bachelor will also return in 2020. All three shows are hosted by Chris Harrison.

DONE DEALS TEGNA says Dispatch Broadcast Group president Larry Delia will be named senior vice president, media operations. Delia’s appointment is effective upon the closing of TEGNA’s previously announced acquisition from Dispatch Broadcast Group of TV stations WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis; WBNS, the CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio; and WBNS Radio (1460 AM and 97.1 FM). Delia has served as president of Dispatch Broadcast Group since 2016... TEGNA has also announced that Michael Brouder, director of marketing and creative services at WTHR, will be named president and general manager of WTHR. Brouder has more than 25 years of experience in on-air promotion, brand development and off-channel marketing for television. Brouder has held leadership positions at cable superstation WGN America, Fox Sports South, and several local Tribune Broadcasting stations including WGN Chicago, WBZL Miami (currently WSFL) and KWGN Denver.

8/6/2019

Conan O’Brien

I got off the plane a week ago and no one

told me I’m still wearing my neck pillow.

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

RETAIL WORKER PAY HITS 15-YEAR HIGH Despite an industry shakeout that’s been dubbed the retail apocalypse, store workers who have hung in there are seeing better pay than a generation ago, even with inflation, Bloomberg reports. Minimum wage increases by states and across major chains, like Walmart and Target, coupled with a tight labor market, have jump-started the income gains. Average hourly earnings for 13.4 million non-supervisory retail workers surged 5.1 percent last year for the biggest advance since 1981, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And

they’ve kept rising, hitting $16.65 an hour in July. When adjusted for inflation, that’s the highest level since December 2003. But while retail workers are getting paid more, there are fewer of them. The industry’s payrolls peaked in January 2017, with department stores and clothing chains hit especially hard since then. A mix of online competition, too much debt and mismanagement have recently wiped out chains such as Toys R Us, Bon-Ton, Payless and Gymboree.

Meanwhile, operating chains like Sears, J.C. Penney and Gap continue to shutter underperforming stores and cut jobs.

THIS AND THAT Newspaper giants Gannett and GateHouse Media are merging in a deal that create a consolidated company with the largest print circulation in the U.S., at 8.7 million, USA Today reports. The two companies will own 265 daily newspapers, as well as thousands of weekly newspapers... Wardrobing — the return of used, non-defective merchandise — accounted for 32 percent of U.S. retail return fraud in 2017, a loss of $7.6 billion, the NRF says. Retailers have begun combating return fraud using both low-tech solutions like one-time-use tags that stop people from returning expensive items if removed and high-tech computer algorithms that identify serial returners.

8/6/2019

Bob Dylan

Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to

take it where you find it.

SUNDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

CTV ENTERS KROGER’S MEDIA PLANNING CART Kroger is spending more on connected TV and it’s just a “natural evolution,” says Kendra Clune, associate media director at the grocery retailer. “Ratings are dwindling on traditional television, and where are those viewers going?” she said. “We saw that our buys were skewing older and older, and we knew we needed to capture more of that audience we were missing.” Although Kroger was ostensibly hitting its target audience of adults 25-54, on closer inspection it became clear that the 25- to 34-year-old set was largely missing on traditional TV, AdExchanger reports. Kroger first started flirting with OTT in 2011-2012 and partnered with Hulu to extend its TV reach on digital. But Kroger paused its Hulu spend for a couple of years because getting to scale was a challenge. Now, the scale is finally there and Kroger has restarted the relationship, Clune said. But rather than using CTV as an extension vehicle for television, Kroger is tapping it as a source of incremental reach. Kroger’s TV buying approach is a hybrid affair. Its planners use traditional TV to reach older audiences, and OTT for the younger end of its target. When advertisers run ads on both linear TV and OTT, 53 percent of viewers exposed to that campaign on Hulu never actually see its counterpart on regular TV, according to internal research from Hulu. But Kroger’s goal isn’t to replace linear TV buys with OTT just for the sake of doing so. It’s about efficiency. Now that Kroger knows where to reach different segments of its audience, it can use that information to rethink its overall planning, including its daypart mix and approach to forecasting. OTT also helps Kroger experiment with national TV buying.

SURVEY: U.S. CONSUMERS BRACE FOR TARIFFS Retailers aren’t the only ones concerned about the tariffs being placed on Chinese goods by the U.S., Chain Store Age reports. In a survey of more than 30,000 consumers by shopping rewards app Shopkick, 60 percent of respondents said they will adjust the retailers at which they shop if the impending tariffs go into effect, and 44 percent plan to cut down on shopping. (Last week, the U.S. said it would impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, effective Sept. 1.) Of the 60 percent of consumers aware of the impending tariffs, nearly 40 percent report having already seen prices increasing on shelves. Thirty-eight percent expect a household cost increase of up to $500, and 30 percent anticipate an increase of more than $1,000. Twenty-nine percent are stocking up on goods now, and 25 percent said they will make the switch to American-made goods. “If the tariffs announced by the current administration are implemented, annualized consumer cost is likely to double,” stated Shopkick. “While the arrival and scope of the tariffs remain uncertain, it’s clear that consumers are thinking ahead and plan to adjust their shopping habits and destinations, ushering in a new age of consumer shopping habits that American retailers will be forced to adapt to.”