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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2020.The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, April 10, 2020

ANNUAL SPEND DOWN 13% THIS SPRING TO $2,300 Today’s teens are worried about the economy and the coronavirus pandemic, though the sustainability-minded generation still puts the environment first among their top concerns, a new survey finds. While Gen Z’s total spending is down sharply, when they do go shopping, brands like Nike, Lululemon and Amazon are top on the list. Often, that’s after they’ve stopped at Chik-fil-A or Starbucks to fuel up. While the guys are splurging on footwear, teen girls are spending less on handbags, cosmetics and apparel. Under Armour, Ralph Lauren and L Brands’ Victoria’s Secret are among the brands falling out of favor. Piper Sandler conducted its biannual Taking Stock with Teens survey between Feb. 17 and March 27, polling 5,200 teens in 41 states. The last three weeks of the survey covered an unprecedented time for America, with schools shut down to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and teens figuring out how to learn from home. When teens were asked for their top social or political concern, coronavirus was named as the No. 2 worry, garnering 11% of unaided responses. The environment remained No. 1 with 16% of responses, the same as in the fall. Teens reported their annual spending was down 13% this spring to $2,300 compared with the same period last year, and down 4% from the fall. That amount is the lowest spending level reported by teens since fall 2011. Overall spending may be down for teens, but food accounts for the largest share of males’ budgets, and is in a very close second for females, behind apparel. Teens report a quarter of their spending goes to food. Chik-fil-A is still teens’ favorite restaurant brand, followed by Starbucks for at least the fourth-straight survey. Chipotle Mexican Grill takes No. 3 for the higher-income teens, McDonald’s is third for the average income teens. Female teens may be spending more on clothing than other categories, but spending on apparel has fallen 14% from last spring. Footwear spending is down 5% over the same period. Still, athletic brands reign supreme for teens, as the once-popular preppy trend wanes. Females are increasingly interested in athletic brands, according to the survey. Thirty-seven percent of teens named athletic brands as their most preferred, fairly steady from the last two surveys, but down from the category’s 41% peak in spring 2017. Females preference for athletic brands grew by 600 basis points over last spring. Nike remains the most preferred brand among teens — for nine-and-a-half years running. In apparel, one in four Gen Z’ers named Nike as the favorite brand.

(Continued on Page 3)

SURVEY: TEEN SPENDING TAKES A DIVE AMID PANDEMICADVERTISER NEWS A survey conducted by the California New Car Dealers Association at the end of March found about 40% of dealers responding said that under current conditions, their business was sustainable for only one to three more months. About the same number of dealers reported March sales were down at least 80% compared to March 2019. Seventy percent of responding dealers said they are doing more to try to improve

online sales… Of course Costco was the store of choice for millions of Americans when customers felt the need to stock up, and the warehouse chain reported that for

the five weeks that ended on April 5, same-store sales were up 12.1%. The food/sundry category grew in the mid-30s range. Costco also had a 49.8% increase in e-commerce sales in those weeks… In a securities filing, Nordstrom admitted that if the current shutdown of its stores lasts much longer “our financial situation could become distressed.” Along with executives and board directors taking pay cuts, Nordstrom has furloughed store workers, providing benefits through the end of May. Analysts see several retail chains as being particularly vulnerable from store closures, including Neiman Marcus and JCPenney… Furniture Today reports the marketing division of the AVB BrandSource buying group, which has furniture, electronics and appliance stores as its membership, says it has a program available now for members that can develop transactional websites within seven days for stores that don’t currently have sites as robust as needed… McDonald’s expects to save $1 billion by scaling back store remodels and new store construction. The Experience of the Future remodeling program ranges in cost from about $160,000 to as much as $700,000 per store and about 4,000 of Mickey D’s U.S. locations have yet to have the remodeling done… BJ’s Restaurants has laid off about 16,000 employees but is keeping all its 209 units open for take-out and delivery. It noted it is not paying its landlords rent for April, and is engaging in discussions with them for possible restructuring of rent payments.

(Continued on Page 3)

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

AVAILS WCNC, TEGNA’s Charlotte, N.C.-based NBC affiliate has a unique opportunity for a visionary Director of Sales. We are looking for a leader who is an inspiring, positive, results-oriented and confident executive, with a track record of recruiting and retaining highly successful sales teams resulting in building an outstanding and highly performing sales culture. Five or more years of proven successful sales management, with knowledge of all facets of TV broadcast and digital sales

and marketing. CLICK HERE to apply now. Action News Now (KHSL / KNVN), the CBS/NBC duopoly in beautiful Chico, Calif., is looking for a passionate, experienced and accomplished Evening Meteorologist. If you are passionate about news and weather reporting, we would love to talk to you. If you love the great outdoors, biking, hiking, skiing, boating and more, then you’ll want to talk to us. This position is responsible

for preparing and delivering accurate weather reports for newscasts using all the top tools of the trade, including augmented reality. Resume/reel to Aaron Vogel, News Director at Avogel@actionnewsnow.com. A strong NBC news station in Southern Arizona is looking for a talented, organized and aggressive Multimedia Journalist. Duties include a broad range of accountabilities including but not limited to on-air reporting, video journalism, video editing, writing and producing on a variety of deadlines. The products will appear on regularly scheduled news shows with both live and video content. Products will be published on the company website and mobile devices. A Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or a related field is preferred. Resumes to: cbatbie@kvoa.com. No calls, please. KVOA is an EOE.

FREE CLASSIFIED ADS TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS This is a difficult time for the TV industry. But in the very near future, it’s likely that things will begin to return to normal and every station will need a full staff to recover and gain share. If you’re a Spots n Dots subscriber, we’re offering to promote your job openings at no charge through the end of April. Send jobs to ads@spotsndots.com. Please send in a word doc, or send a link to the job opening online — no PDFs, please. We’ll post all the jobs on our website for 30 days and will run them in this newsletter as often as possible, depending on response. Spots n Dots has been researching news in retail, auto, healthcare, insurance, competitive media and many other industries, reading industry-specific publications so you can spend your time generating revenue, not reading dozens of newsletters. Our goal is to keep you informed so sales managers and your sales team can talk to prospects about their business — not just about TV ratings. Keep your recruiting expenses to a minimum until revenue recovers with the help of Spots n Dots.

TV USAGE HITS PLATEAU IN WEEK OF MARCH 30 Total TV usage, driven higher as people stayed home from work and school to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, dipped 2% in the week of March 30, according to new figures from Nielsen. The week’s usage was still up 26% from the first full week of March and the second highest over the last five weeks, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Live TV was down 2% from the previous week and the use of internet-connected devices was down 2%. Looking at local markets, TV usage in Austin, Texas, was up 24.9% in the week of March 30, compared to the week of March 9, the largest increase of any market in the country. Other markets showing jumps of more than 20% were Salt Lake City, Baltimore, New York, Boston and Miami. Streaming minutes also declined to 161.4 million minutes from 168.7 million the week before, according to Nielsen. They were up from the first week of March when 127.6 million minutes were streamed and 69.8 million minutes a year ago. Netflix’s share grew to 33% from 32% the previous week, with YouTube’s share slipping to 19% from 21%. Hulu was steady at 12% and Amazon Prime fell to 7% from 8%.

NPD GROUP FINDS POCKETS OF RETAIL POSITIVITY The NPD Group’s weekly read on U.S. consumption indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic-induced hoarding culture is starting to ease, with dollar sales falling 16% in the third week of March. There are, however, a number of key retail industries that are showing growth — helping to stave off an even greater drop in the process. With millions of U.S. schoolchildren now spending their days at home, it’s no surprise that the toy category — including games, puzzles, building sets, and arts and crafts — is among those showing growth. “Consumers have prepared for their family’s survival over an extended period by stocking up on the basic necessities, but as schools and workplaces closed, phase two of the big scramble began,” Juli Lennett, NPD’s toys industry advisor, says in a news release. “U.S. parents loaded up on things to keep their kids occupied at home, help them navigate their new homeschooling situation, and to also be a source of entertainment for the whole family as we spend more time at home.” In the week ending March 21, total toy sales in the U.S. grew by 26%, NPD says. The fastest-growing categories included games/puzzles (+228%), building sets (+76%); and arts and crafts (+70%). Small appliances also saw growth thanks to sales of water filtration systems, kitchen appliances, air purifiers and heaters. The office supplies segment, meanwhile, was bolstered by sales of janitorial supplies (like toilet paper and cleaners), hand cleaners, and coloring and art supplies. And unsurprisingly, with millions of Americans now working from their homes, technology saw growth on sales of computers and other related items.

4/10/2020

Conan O’Brien

My boredom has reached “Memorize the Vice Presidents” level.

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

ADVERTISER NEWS(Continued from Page 1) El Pollo Loco, with about 480 units mostly in the southwest, reported a 1.5% same-store sales decline for the full first quarter, with March’s negative numbers pulling down positive results for January and February. Upcoming marketing will feature family meal options and delivery via Postmates… Sheetz, with about 600 convenience stores in the east and midwest, has started a SHcan & Go! initative, which allows customers to pay for purchases avoiding checkout lines… Here’s an interesting idea in the supermarket business.

Buehler’s, a small chain in Ohio, is posting data on its website for each store reporting how busy the store is each hour. The idea is for customers to then plan their next shopping trip to the less-busy, less-crowded days and hours… Admitting that its 800+ stores aren’t likely to reopen soon, Dick’s Sporting Goods furloughed almost 40,000 of its employees. The store was hurt badly, of course, by the cessation of sports and most physical activity during the current

situation.

STUDY: TV NEWS CONSUMPTION ON THE RISE Although news media consumption due to COVID-19 is sharply higher, perceptions of news media have not changed, according to a recent poll from the Knight Foundation/Gallup Poll. “Like the 2018 and 2019 results, 34% of Americans currently hold a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of the media, an opinion strongly shaped by partisan affiliation,” according to the study’s authors. “Despite the spike in news attention, general attitudes toward the media remain unchanged.” Compared to mid-December, local, national and international news has spiked for the second half of March when respondents were asked: “How much attention are you paying to each of the following?” Attention to local, national and international news is up an average 13 percentage points, according to the study, with national news 56% higher (from 43%); local news higher to 44% (to 22%); and international news higher to 32% (from 15%).

4/10/2020

FunnyTweeter.com

I’ve finally completed all my New Year’s

resolutions from 1997.

WEDNESDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

SEEKING HAPPINESS? TURN ON THE TELEVISION As the world navigates a time of extreme chaos, uncertainty and grief in light of the spread of COVID-19, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the barrage of news and information. In an effort to get through the day, 92% of U.S. adults are doing something to stay uplifted during these challenging times. CivicScience asked more than 2,500 respondents about what activities they have turned to in order to lift their spirits. Of those results, the top three were watching TV (63%), quietly relaxing (49%) and staying physically active (45%). Across the board, watching television is the most popular way for Americans to feel uplifted during this time. This is especially true for those who already rely on the TV to get their coronavirus news. This suggests that there may be a loyal demographic of TV watchers who are happy to go from news to entertainment channels throughout the day. Those who turn to the TV to be uplifted are also largely low- to middle-income earners. This could speak to a certain intersection of time and resources that supports this group in taking the lead on this particular activity.

JOBLESS CLAIMS SOAR FOR 3RD STRAIGHT WEEK The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits continued to surge at unprecedented levels, bringing the total number of applications to nearly 17 million since the coronavirus pandemic shut down swaths of the U.S. economy, The Wall Street Journal. The Labor Department reported yesterday that another 6.6 million people submitted new applications for unemployment insurance in the week ended April 4. That is on top of a revised 6.9 million in the prior week, a record, and 3.3 million the week before. States overwhelmed by the volume are still processing backlogs, suggesting the number of initial claims for benefits could keep getting bigger. “You should still expect to see staggeringly large numbers of individuals file for first-time claims,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for RSM.

TEEN SPENDING TAKES A DIVE AMID PANDEMIC(Continued from Page 1) American Eagle Outfitters and Adidas again take second and third place, respectively. Teen footwear spending has also contracted, down 5% over last year to $284. However, spending is markedly different by gender. Females reported a mid-teens decline in footwear spending, while males spent 4% more, and outspent female counterparts by around $100 annually. Same as with apparel, Nike remains the top brand, with 47% naming it as the favorite footwear brand. Vans holds steady at No. 2 with 20% share. Personal care spending follows clothing and food for females for share of wallet, but within that, cosmetic spending fell 26%, marking a 10-year survey low. Experts point to the VSCO girl trend, which favors a more natural look, to partly explain the decline in cosmetics spending for Gen Z. When beauty spending is occurring, Ulta Beauty again takes the top spot at 39%, followed by Sephora at 24%.