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‘THE TRUMP EFFECT’ AND SHIFTING MAP Hot on the heels of Sinclair Broadcast Group lowering its Q3 expectations for Q3 political ad revenues, Gray Television completely withdrew its guidance for the second half of 2016. To be sure, part of the shortfall is “The Trump Effect,” with Republican nominee Donald Trump’s unusual campaign spending much less than anticipated on the presidential race. But Wells Fargo Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker says there are other factors as well. There have been shifts in the map of states where Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are locked in a competitive battle. Also, says Ryvicker, some big Senate races are no longer seen as competitive—which may impact some TV groups even more than the presidential ad spending shortfall. “While it feels IMPOSSIBLE to forecast this election cycle, we had to do something,” Ryvicker said in a research report for clients. She is now going with an estimate that total political spending this cycle will be $5 billion. That’s not only a billion dollar drop from her previous forecast, but also a 4% drop from the 2012 election. The biggest slice by far will still go to television, but the pie is going to be significantly smaller. The analyst is now predicting that $2.65 billion will be spent on Local TV, down from her previous expectation of $3.30 billion. She has dropped Network TV political advertising by $8 million to $100 million. And Cable TV is put at $475 million, rather than $570 million. All are down from 2012 levels except Cable, which is only seen gaining 2%. So total TV is seen as $3.225 billion, rather than the earlier forecast $3.978 billion. “We have been talking about ‘The Trump Effect’ for quite a while, but while there is still hope, the placement of Trump dollars is impossible to predict—we don’t know when, IF, or where,” Ryvicker said. On the Senate side, she now sees incumbents comfortably ahead in Arizona, Ohio and Colorado, and the challenger (a former Senator) winning in Wisconsin—reducing spending expectations unless those races heat up again. Back to “The Trump Effect,” tracking by NBC News partner Advertising Analytics shows that Clinton has outspent Trump five-to-one on TV—$96.4 million compared to $17.3 million. And the disparity remains when you ad in Super PAC spending: $156.6 million for the Clinton side and $33.6 million for Trump.

ADVERTISER NEWS Ascena Retail Group operates a slew of apparel banners totaling about 4,900 stores in North America, and results from the company weren’t good with a blended same-store sales decrease of 4% for its fiscal fourth quarter. The company, which operates Ann Taylor, Loft, Lou & Grey, Lane Bryant, Maurices, Dressbarn, Catherines and Justice said it sees good customer demand in peak periods but “off-peak demand has been inconsistent”……CarMax total sales were up 2.9% in the fiscal quarter that ended on

8/31, with comparable store used unit sales up 3.1% and total used units sales up 7.0%. Extended Protection Plan sales revenue was up 17.1% reflecting growth in unit sales and pricing changes, but CarMax Auto Finance profit was down 2.4%. During the quarter the company entered two new markets (El Paso and Bristol, TN) and also entered the Boise market this month……The Detroit Free Press notes the Dodge Dart will end production this month less than 4-1/2 years after being introduced, calling the model “a failure that never came close to meeting Fiat Chrysler’s expectations.” Built to compete with models

like the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla that sell 200-300,000 units a year, the Dart sold just 87,392 in its best year, 2015……While many retailers have been closing stores recently, Bloomberg reports Toys ‘R Us is looking to go in the opposite direction and open new stores while simultaneously working to improve its online business. The strategy calls for smaller stores in many locations, as small as about a quarter the size of a typical 40,000 square foot unit……Baskin-Robbins is testing delivery at some units in the Los Angeles and Chicago markets according to Nation’s Restaurant News which says parent Dunkin’ Brands Group believes same-store sales can be improved Continued on Page 3

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The Daily News of TV Sales Thursday, September 22, 2016

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NETWORK NEWS Hairspray Live! has added comedian Billy Eichner to the cast of the December special. Eichner’s role is Rob Barker, a local TV newscaster reporting on Tracy Turnblad’s escape and attempt to integrate the Corny Collins show. Hairspray Live! will air on NBC Wednesday, December 7th at 8 PM (ET)……ABC will partner with Facebook to live stream the upcoming presidential debates. The arrangement will also allow viewers, as well as commentators to contribute content. Colby Smith, VP of digital at ABC News, said “as we move further into the election cycle, there continues to be a voracious appetite for live content and we know many users turn to Facebook to engage and participate in the conversation.” The first debate is set for Monday, September 26th at 9 PM (ET)……In a similar move, NBC will once again turn Rockefeller Plaza into an election news hub called Democracy Plaza with a new twist this year, viewer participation. The Peacock Network has partnered with Altspace VR to roll out a new virtual reality platform called Virtual Democracy Plaza. Programming has been specifically created for Virtual Democracy Plaza and users can “visit” the plaza this election season from their home and come face-to-face with other users......Telemundo pulled away from rival Univision in the Nielsen numbers from the week of September 12th. The NBCUniversal-owned Hispanic network averaged 1.77 million total viewers for the week, up from 1.74 million for the week before. Univision slipped to 1.51 million from the previous week’s 1.63 million. Univision sibling UniMás placed third with 480,000 total viewers while Estrella TV clocked in with 190,000......CBS has given a series order of 13 episodes to Superior Donuts, a new half hour multi-camera comedy from CBS Television Studios. Starring Judd Hirsch and Jermaine Fowler, the series follows the relationship between the gruff owner (Hirsch) of a small donut shop, his enterprising new young employee (Fowler) and their loyal patrons, in a quickly gentrifying Chicago neighborhood.

TUESDAY RATINGS Both CBS and NBC had strong new series premieres Tuesday night with both posting impressive Nielsen 18-49 ratings. The number one new show of the season, with a 2.8 rating in the demo is This Is Us on NBC. The show benefited from a strong lead-in from The Voice, which posted a 3.4 demo rating. That was up from the 3.1 delivered by last spring’s Tuesday night premiere. CBS’s new drama, Bull, pulled a 2.2 in the demo, ahead of lead-in NCIS by a tenth of a point. The new series delivered an impressive 3.4 in A25-54, also up a tenth from the stalwart, NCIS. The move to 10 PM for NCIS: New Orleans was less impressive with a 1.4 A18-49 rating. Dancing with the Stars on ABC came in with a 1.5 demo rating and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. posted a 1.2 in its new time slot. All three FOX programs had double-digit losses from last year’s premieres. New Girl averaged a 1.2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine did a 1.0 and Scream Queens did a 1.0, off 40% from last year’s premiere. The Flash on The CW got a 0.3 while MADtv posted a 0.2.

AVAILS Do you have a passion for digital? WAVE3 News, a Raycom Media owned NBC Affiliate in exciting Louisville, KY has a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Digital Sales Specialist to work strategically with the AE’s to create effective digital solutions for clients to significantly grow our digital revenue. Must have expert knowledge of digital advertising solutions and at least 3 years of proven digital sales experience. Must demonstrate a successful track record of being analytical, well organized, solution minded, consultative, and customer-centric. If qualified,

CLICK HERE to submit your resume. Equal Opportunity Employer. WZDX in Huntsville, AL seeks a Local Sales Manager. The LSM is responsible for leading the day to day operations of the sales department, including development of new business and achievement of revenue goals. The LSM provides leadership for the broadcast/web sales teams, to include performance evaluations, makes decisions regarding hiring, evaluation,

promotion and termination of employees, and develops and executes sales strategies which result in exceeding revenue targets in local, national, eMedia and new product revenue. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply. Equal Opportunity Employer. KELO-TV, Sioux Falls, SD is searching for a Local Sales Manager to lead a strong local sales team at the #1 station in the market. The LSM must train, coach, motivate and supervise while creating a positive culture focused on maintaining and building strong client relationships that translate to positive revenue growth across multiple platforms. We’re searching for an experienced leader with a track record of building strong teams and growing market share. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE/M/F/D/V. Background check/drug screen required. Spectrum Reach in Bakersfield, CA is seeking a Digital Account Planner. This person is responsible for the design of advertising and marketing solutions for Spectrum Reach customers, proactively pursuing transactional

b u s i n e s s from new and existing clients, and p r o v i d i n g s u p p o r t a r o u n d the sale

of Spectrum Reach advertising opportunities such as placements on cable television networks, the Spectrum Reach network of online sites and other advanced media advertising solutions. Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising or related field required. More details HERE. If qualified, please CLICK HERE to apply. Equal Opportunity Employer.

9/22/2016

At the Emmys, The People v. O.J. Simpson took home nine

awards. Actor, supporting actor, writing, even the Ford Bronco won best mid-sized

sport utility vehicle.

Jimmy Kimmel

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

OLYMPICS BOOSTED TOTAL VIEWING The monthly analysis of TV viewing and commercial share trends by Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser finds that total use of television was up 2.5% for Adults 18-49 during August. As you would expect, the Rio Olympics were a big reason for the boost. But Wieser also cites a significant gain in viewing due to content access via Internet-connected devices (Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc.). Led by Olympic programming, Comcast’s NBCUniversal produced the largest share of commercial impressions, with a 20.8% share among national media owners during August vs. 14.2% in the year-ago period. Commercial ad loads were slightly lighter year-over-year, to an average of 11.0 minutes per hour vs. 11.3 minutes per hour in the year-ago period, Wieser noted. The analyst has been a frequent critic of increased spot loads. All other network groups lost viewing share, with declines most pronounced in absolute terms at Viacom (which fell from 18.1% share to 16.1% share) followed by A+E Networks (which fell from 6.7% to 5.7%). In percentage terms, declines were most pronounced at AMC (whose commercial share fell from 3.8% to 3.0%, a 21% decline) followed by A+E (whose share declined by 14%). Declines were mildest at each of CBS, FOX Networks and Time Warner, which each lost around 6% of commercial share.

ANOTHER CEO DEPARTING VIACOM Tom Dooley’s tenure as head of Viacom will be brief—about three months. After being named interim CEO in August when Philippe Dauman agreed to leave and settle litigation with the controlling Redstone family, Dooley plans to also leave the company November 15. The surprise move came as the restructured board of directors—with members recently added by Redstone nominations—announced moves to cut the dividend in half, access the debt capital markets and abandon the process of seeking to sell a minority stake in Paramount Pictures—“in order to consider all options available to the Company.” The dividend cut will free up more than $300 million in cash annually for Viacom, but also reduce annual payouts to the Redstones, who also control CBS Corp., which was split off from Viacom in 2006. Just last week CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves said there are no active discussions to reunite the two media companies—a move favored by Viacom’s second-largest shareholder, the investment funds managed by Mario Gabelli.

CHEVROLET ANNOUNCES BOLT PRICING Car buyers will be able to get the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt for just under $30,000—after subtracting the $7,500 federal tax credit from the $37,495 sticker price. General Motors has achieved its goal of being the first to bring an electric vehicle to market under $40,000 and able to go more than 200 miles on a single charge. The Detroit News says the price and 238-mile range will be competitive with the Tesla Model 3, but which is not expected to hit the market for another year.

AVAILS WWCP-TV/FOX 8 and WATM-TV/ABC 23 is looking for a strong General Sales Manager to help guide their local and national sales efforts for two network affiliated stations in the Johnstown/Altoona/State College, PA market. This position requires an individual who possesses strong leadership skills and can direct a local sales team in selling new business and creating revenue streams. Must have a successful track record in

sales management, staff recruitment and developmental skills. Cover letter/resume to Frank Quitoni: fquitoni@fox8tv.com No phone calls please. EOE.

MORE AVAILS ARE ONLINE @ SPOTSNDOTS.COMTo place a classified, please email: ads@spotsndots.com

ACCOUNT ACTIONS Quaker City Mercantile, Philadelphia, has replaced Leo Burnett as creative agency of record for Miller High Life, Ad Age confirmed after hearing rumors that the change had already taken place. MillerCoors also assigned Mekanism, a roster agency, to its Keystone Light brand.

THIS AND THAT Raymond Johns, former president and CEO of the Seltel rep firm and then Catamount Broadcast Group, which he founded, has died after battling a rare blood cancer. He was 68……Charter Communications has dropped use of the Time Warner Cable brand in Southern California, where it has more than three million customers. The Spectrum brand was introduced to the market this week. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that Charter won’t be discounting SportsNet LA to try to get other MVPDs to carry the regional sports channel……Dentsu Aegis Network has expanded its U.S. out-of-home offering with the acquisition of C2C Outdoor, which will become part of Posterscope US.

ADVERTISER NEWSContinued from Page 1by offering convenience to its customers. Dunkin’s CEO also told NRN he envisions 17,000 Dunkin’ Donuts as a conservative estimate of an eventual store count (there are about 8,600 now) and California alone could have 1,000 compared to just 35 operating in the Golden State at the moment……This Week In Consumer Electronics says a report from BFads suggests more retailers will open earlier on Thanksgiving this year with some in-store doorbuster sales beginning that afternoon. One of the hottest tech items expected to be featured will be over 50 offers for 50-inch 4K TVs for $500 or less and it’s also expected there will be lots of deals for the iPhone7. BFads also predicts retailers will advertise over 52,000 Black Friday promotions this year, up from 49,000 last year, with about 7,000 doorbuster offers.

9/22/2016

The upcoming movie about President Barack

Obama’s college years shows a young Obama shirtless, smoking cigarettes and

weed. Or as the president calls him: 2017 Obama.

Jimmy Fallon