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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2018.The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, February 2, 2018

BROADBAND-ONLY HHs WILL DOUBLE BY 2022.BUT CABLE/SATELLITE WILL BE IN MAJORITY Local TV sales reps may have little choice but to embrace the over-the-top or OTT digital services if a new forecast proves accurate. Kagan estimates the number of broadband-only households will nearly double from 19 million today to a projected 37.2 million by 2022. And as more video moves to OTT distribution a lot of Americans will likely conclude they don’t need to pay for both. Kagan expects that within the next five years 38.4% of the households that have high-speed internet will drop cable and satellite and rely on a combination of broadband and over-the-air broadcast signals for home video entertainment. Kagan analyst Tony Lenoir says faster growth of broadband-only homes than originally anticipated by the firm promoted the “significant upward” revision to its forecast. What’s behind that bump? “A perfect storm of long-term trends including increases in streaming content suppliers, widespread utility-like status of broadband, and a demographic shift attributable to shrinking Baby Boomers and rising Millennials,” Lenoir says. Kagan now expects broadband-only homes—those without a traditional cable or satellite TV service but having a subscription to high-speed broadband— to make up nearly a third (29.2%) of U.S. households by 2022. But even as those numbers grow, analysts also predict that traditional cable and satellite services will remain in a majority of homes. Even with cord-cutters, Kagan forecasts the number of homes with cable or satellite will be in the “low 60% range” in 2022. And the switch to OTT services isn’t entirely gloomy for the cable and satellite providers since a lot of Americans count on those same companies for their high-speed internet. Kagan predicts that by 2020 cable TV companies will count more than 70 million broadband customers. That compares to the peak of 67.1 million reached in 2001 when people subscribed for just traditional television video content.

SUPER BOWL RATINGS - UP OR DOWN? Whether it’s too many games on too many channels or not enough/too much kneeling turning off viewers, it’s been a year of declining ratings for the NFL. On the eve of the Super Bowl, one Wall Street analyst expects Sunday’s game will be seen by fewer Americans that last year’s game. Michael Nathanson bases that on data showing regular season ratings were down 13% and playoff ratings slid 12% to 20%. That’s in addition to 2016’s drop-off. “Until the past two seasons, NFL ratings trends had been fairly benign. However it is evident that the tide has turned. Last year’s declines no longer look like anomalies,” Nathanson says in a report to clients, concluding, “The NFL is experience a structural decline in viewership.”

(Continued on page 3)

ADVERTISER NEWS U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 1.2 percent in January with higher incentives and light-truck demand luring consumers. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for January came in at 17.18 million, on par with the average estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, but down from 17.43 million in January 2017 and December’s 17.86 million rate. Toyota sales were up 17%. General Motors, with a boost from fleet sales, chalked up its fourth-straight monthly gain (+1.3%) while Nissan Motor volume climbed 10 percent. Ford Motor Co. ended a four-month winning streak with a 6.3 percent decline. FCA US sales fell 13 percent.

Sales edged up at Kia and rose 1.1 percent at Subaru, 15 percent at Mazda, 5.2 percent at the Volkswagen brand and 31 percent at Mitsubishi last month. Volume at the Hyundai brand dropped 11 percent, says AutoNews.com.... Meanwhile, U.S. auto industry sales fell 2 percent in 2017 to 17.23 million vehicles after hitting a record high in 2016. Sales are expected to drop further in 2018 despite a solid economy. Interest rates are rising

and more late-model used cars are returning to dealer lots to compete with new ones, says Reuters...Chipotle Mexican Grill can’t seem to put its food-safety woes behind it, says CNBC. Shares of the burrito chain fell more than 4 percent on Thursday to below $311 after UBS analyst Dennis Geiger said the brand’s food-safety reputation was still tarnished. According to Geiger, 37 percent of the more than 1,600 customers polled online by UBS said they ate Chipotle less frequently because of food safety concerns....Shares of Mattel fell 8.6 percent after the closing bell on Thursday as sales during the crucial holiday period failed to meet Wall Street expectations. The company reported weak demand for key brands, including Fisher-Price and American Girl, as well as residual effects from the collapse of Toys R Us. Mattel reported a net loss of $281.3 million or 82 cents per share, hurt by a one-time, $457 million charge related to new U.S. tax laws. In the year-earlier quarter, Mattel had a profit of $173.8 million or 50 cents per share....Google parent Alphabet Inc missed quarterly profit forecasts as steady ad sales growth was offset by increased spending to promote its consumer gadgets, YouTube video app and cloud computing services, the U.S. technology company said on Thursday. Fourth-quarter sales increased 24 percent to $32.3 billion, above the average analysts’ estimate of $31.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Adjusted quarterly profit of $6.8 billion, or $9.70 per share, missed estimates of $7 billion, or $10 per share. Reuters says the growing use of smartphones worldwide has been a bonanza for social media company Facebook and Google, which research firm EMarketer estimates together account for nearly 60 percent of mobile ad sales.

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

NETWORK NEWS Music executive Charlie Walk has been removed from the judge’s panel of the Fox singing competition series The Four: Battle for Stardom. The move follows Walk being placed on leave Wednesday by the Universal Music Group where he serves as chief of Republic Records. The suspension came as the company investigates allegations after Walk was accused of sexual misconduct by a former employee at Sony Music, and another woman that accused Walk of inappropriate behavior. Walk was a judge on The Four with Sean “Diddy” Combs, DJ Khaled and singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. The Four: Battle for Stardom premiered on the Fox network on Thursday, January 4th and is in the last stage taping of the first season……In an exclusive, Variety is reporting that Shalita Grant, who plays Sonja Percy on NCIS: New Orleans is leaving the CBS primetime show. Sources say the departure is amicable and mutually agreed upon between the actress and the producers of the procedural. Grant’s character, a former ATF agent recruited by the NCIS unit as a recurring character in the show’s first season, was elevated to a series regular in the second, third and fourth season. Grant’s final episode will air on Tuesday, April 3rd……. NBC will take the new drama The Gilded Age to series. The program is set in New York City in the 1880’s during a period of immense social upheaval, of huge fortunes made and lost, and of palaces that spanned the length of Fifth Avenue. The series will revolve around a wide-eyed young scion of a conservative family who will try to infiltrate a wealthy neighboring family dominated by a ruthless railroad tycoon. Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes will write, and executive produce The Gilded Age along with Gareth Neame. The series picked up a 10-episode order from NBC and is expected to debut in 2019. It was first put into development by the network in 2012……Dan the Weatherman, a single-camera comedy project from two former executive producers of ABC’s Last Man Standing, has picked up a pilot order from the Fox network. The pilot will follow a white man that loses his cushy job as a weatherman at a local TV station and finds it’s not enough just being charming in the world. He reluctantly ends up at the neighboring Spanish TV station. Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements executive produced Last Man Standing as well as Aquarius, Prison Break, Snowpiercer and Cristela. Steve Dildarian (The Life & Times of Tim) will write the script for the pilot and will also serve as executive producer. Dan the Weatherman is one of a very few single-camera comedy pilots ordered by the broadcast networks for the 2018-2019 season. Fox has ordered Our People, a single-camera comedy form Vali Chandrasekaran and Lee Daniels……CBS has issued a pilot order for another multi-camera comedy from The Late Late Show with James Corden and Drop the Mic executive producer Ben Winston and CBS TV Studios. The untitled project centers on a young married couple whose comfortable routine is upended when a young up-and-coming rock star moves into their spare bedroom. The pilot will be written by Tim McAuliffe and Austin Earl.

AVAILS KIRO-TV in Seattle is seeking an Account Executive. The successful candidate will be an excellent negotiator of transactional and direct business with a track record of growing share, developing new accounts, an understanding of ratings and estimates and a strong ability to forecast revenue goals. Must have the ability to develop relationships and bring relevant opportunities to all levels at agencies from the account group to the media buyer!

CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE. Got the bureaucracy blues brought on by endless conference calls, multiple reports and territorial corporate lieutenants? Like to make some decisions again? SagamoreHill Broadcasting is looking for a General Manager to take the helm at WLTZ-TV (NBC) in Columbus, GA. The right candidate must have a solid background in sales and marketing

and be highly motivated; a self-starter with leadership skills, organized, a person who likes to create a great work environment, creative and passionate for winning. Email resume with references and contact numbers to: Drew@SHBtv.com. EOE. WAFF, Raycom Media’s NBC affiliate in the Huntsville, AL market has a rare opportunity for a dynamic General Sales Manager. The successful candidate will be an organized, motivational leader with a clear focus on New Business and Digital development, helping ensure our sales force exceeds client expectations on any advertising platform. We need an expert at pricing/inventory control, strategic planning, managing multiple sales projects, motivating and leading Local AE’s and sales managers and developing new business. CLICK HERE to apply. No calls please. EOE. Are you interested in working in the “It City” of Nashville, TN? WKRN, Nashville’s fastest growing television station and #1 News website, is actively searching for an account executive to implement marketing strategies, develop new business and grow market share on existing accounts. WKRN is home of the CMA Awards on ABC, the Tennessee Titans Pre-Season, as well as the Nashville Christmas Parade, the local 4th of July and New Year’s Eve celebrations. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE. Account Executive: ABC6 in Providence, Rhode Island is looking for an experienced media sales professional with a minimum of 2 years’ experience. We need an enthusiastic, accountable individual to work with local and regional clients– at the agency and local levels to develop marketing plans utilizing all station products. This position is a great opportunity for someone looking for a move into a top 60 market. Send resume to: cantonio@abc6.com. No phone calls please. WLNE-TV / ABC6 is an EOE.

2/2/2018

Jimmy Fallon

A glitch kept sending iPhones the same CNN news alert

repeatedly. If I wanted to be annoyed by the same CNN news over and over, I’d just watch CNN for five minutes.

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

PEOPLE ARE SPENDING LESS TIME ON FACEBOOK Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said time spent on the site is likely due to the types of content it has decided to show, which is why they have announced to show fewer posts from publishers and brands, and more from family and friends. “2017 was a strong year for Facebook, but it was also a hard one,” Zuckerberg said. “In 2018, we’re focused on making sure Facebook isn’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being and for society.” Facebook had 1.4 billion daily active users and 2.13 billion monthly users in Dec. 2017, both up 14 percent from the year before. However, time spent on page was down significantly each day. “We’re... encouraging meaningful connections between people rather than passive consumption of content. Already last quarter, we made changes to show fewer viral videos to make sure people’s time is well spent,” Zuckerberg added. “In total, we made changes that reduced time spent on Facebook by roughly 50 million hours every day. By focusing on meaningful connections, our community and business will be stronger over the long term.” Facebook still makes a large amount of money on advertising, which has businesses questioning whether they should stick with a platform that will soon be removing them from user’s feeds. The company reported revenue of $12.97 billion in Q4, up 47 percent from 2016, and profits of $4.3 billion in Q4.

THIS AND THAT Telemundo has completed its acquisition of nine television stations, serving six markets, from ZGS Communications. The transaction includes a full power station in El Paso and Class A and low power stations serving five other markets. With this purchase, Telemundo Station Group will expand its market footprint from 18 markets to 24 markets in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico....Time Warner’s fourth quarter revenues rose 9% amid strong performance from Turner and HBO. In fact, HBO Now reports it hit 5 Million subscribers. Total revenues hit $8.6 billion and operating income increased 13% to $1.9 billion....FierceCable says that after more than four months, seven American Spirit Media network affiliates have been restored to AT&T’s DirecTV and U-verse platforms. Stations in Richmond, VA, Jackson, MS, Columbus, GA, Wichita Falls, TX, Lake Charles, LA and Toledo, OH were affected. The blackout started Sept 21.... Nielsen and Sinclair Broadcast Group have inked a multi-year renewal agreement for Nielsen TV ratings. The agreement includes a range of services across Sinclair’s local stations, digital broadcast networks and national unwired network....Raycom Sports says LendingTree has joined the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Official Corporate Partner program. The agreement gives LendingTree extensive marketing rights across multiple platforms. Raycom Sports manages the ACC Official Corporate Partner program.... AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing unveiled to its members that it is rebranding itself under a new name: Culture Marketing Council: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing (CMC).

SUPER BOWL RATINGS (Continued from page 1) Yet NFL games still attract a sizable audience. Nathanson says even with the drop in ratings football is still the “best source of reach on broadcast” with NFL games making up 66 of the top 100 most-viewed shows in 2017. That’s why Fox this week agreed to pay $3.3 billion to air Thursday Night Football for the next five seasons. That equates to $660 million per season—a “substantial” increase over the $460 million that CBS and NBC paid this year. Fox will get one extra game and also secured the mobile and tablet streaming rights. And critical for local

sales reps, Fox’s deal give the company permission to air in-market games on its local stations that would otherwise be an exclusive NFL Network matchup. Nathanson calls it both an “offensive and defense” move since it will help Fox stations that have struggled to attract viewers to non-sports programming. “TNF should re-energize what has become a ‘dead night’ on Fox,” he says. “Devoting Thursday nights in the fall to football means one less night of

original programming to worry about.” And Nathanson says despite the NFL’s decline ratings, it could make Fox “strong competition” against ABC, CBS and NBC. There’s also plenty of money to be made. Nathanson estimates Fox’s O&O station group alone could pick up an additional $55-80 million in local ad sales in the first season on top of the $330 million the network gets from advertisers. And he thinks Fox could leverage the games to grow the retransmission revenue it gets from cable and satellite companies for carrying its local TV stations.

CBS/VIACOM MERGER A STEP CLOSER The prospect of a CBS-Viacom reunion moved a step closer to reality Thursday as both companies announced that their respective boards of directors have formed special committees to evaluate a potential merger.

2/2/2018

FunnyTweeter.com

Auto correct changed “mingle” to “mangle,” and

now I’ve been uninvited to a Superbowl party.

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