www.spotsndots.com Subscriptions: $350 per year. This publication cannot be distributed beyond the office of the actual subscriber. Need us? 888-884-2630 or [email protected] The Daily News of TV Sales Thursday, July 15, 2021 Copyright 2021. PROCTER & GAMBLE: TELEVISION’S NO. 1 ADVERTISER AD AGE: TOP MARKETERS TO SPEND $66.8B ON TV ADVERTISER NEWS It’s so no secret that advertising dollars are increasingly digital. General Motors is telling owners of 2017-2019 Bolt EVs According to Ad Age’s Leading National Advertisers 2021 that were part of a recent recall not to park their vehicles report, GroupM estimates that internet-centric marketers will inside or charge them unattended overnight after two of the account for about 65% of U.S. media advertising this year, up vehicles caught fire. The two Bolt EVs were part of a recall from 15% in 2010. of nearly 69,000 of the electric vehicles globally due to fire But linear television isn’t going away anytime soon. risks. The recall was initially announced in November by According to GroupM, television will see a total of $63.1 GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra- billion in 2021 advertising revenue, a 10.5% increase over tion, followed by the automaker announcing a believed fix the $57.1 billion recorded for 2020 — but still shy of 2019’s for the vehicles earlier this year… Lowe’s has partnered $63.8 billion. (Those numbers exclude political ad spend.) with Daymond John of Shark Tank on the newest round of In terms of measured media spending by medium, TV is its “Making It... With Lowe’s” pitch program that will reward expected a total of $66.8 billion in 2021, with 60% of that small businesses with grants and the chance to sell their spending — or $40.2 billion — coming from Ad Age’s 200 products at Lowe’s. Applications are open to small busi- LNA ranking. nesses through July 30, and the program is designed to fo- Procter & Gamble remains TV’s best friend in terms cus on businesses led by women, veterans, members of the of ad spend. It tops the list of broadcast network TV LGBTQ87555559 community and people with disabilities… spenders with $904 million, nearly double that of No. 2 In 2020, big-box retailers like Costco Wholesale and BJ’s AbbVie ($460 million). The rest of the top 10 includes Wholesale Club benefited from their ability to deliver one- Amazon ($455 million); Deutsche stop shopping. With families at home Telekom (T-Mobile U.S.), $435 over the last year, pet adoptions million; Berkshire Hathaway ($412 drove an increase in pet store visits million); Verizon Communications to retailers like Petco and PetSmart. ($335 million); Apple ($333 million); PetSmart sales were up 11.1% over Progressive Corp. ($327 million); 2019, while Petco sales increased AT&T ($305 million); and Johnson & 10.4%... Kohl’s is offering a 20% dis- Johnson ($264 million). count on in-store purchases to teach- The measured spending across ers with valid school identification this cable looks rather similar. P&G ($972 million) again tops Friday through Sunday. The retailer said it is looking to give the list, followed by Berkshire Hathaway ($665 million); back to educational professionals who have continued to AbbVie ($469 million); PepsiCo ($460 million); Amazon work with the nation’s children despite all the challenges ($446 million); AT&T ($419 million); Progressive Corp. ($384 created by the pandemic... Dollar General is going on a million); Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile U.S.), $374 million; hiring blitz. The discounter is looking to hire up to 50,000 Yum Brands ($340 million); and GlaxoSmithKline ($325 employees between now and Labor Day. Dollar General million). is looking fill positions in its more than 17,400 stores, 27 Measured-media spending fell in 13 of the top 15 categories. distribution centers, private fleet and store support center. Only home supplies and cleaning products (+7%) and Earlier this year, the retailer announced a spring hiring blitz insurance (+1.2%) saw spending increases. to hire more than 20,000 employees. The new effort builds Retail fell 20% to $12.4 billion in 2020. Telecom/internet on the success of that program, aiming to support Dollar services was down 16.1% to $10.4 billion; medicine and General’s planned 1,050 new store openings in its current remedies fell 0.4% to $10.1 billion; general services fell 21.4% fiscal year. to $9.6 billion; automotive declined a whopping 27.3% to $8.5 billion; financial services fell 20.6% to $6.6 billion; food, beverages and candy lost 14.5% to $5.7 billion; and restaurants dropped 20.4% to $5.1 billion. Media declined 16.7% to $4.4 billion; personal care fell 21.3% to $4 billion; airlines, hotels, car rental and travel suffered the biggest drop of them all, down a staggering 52.6% to $3.3 billion; computers and software dropped 5.2% to $3 billion; and education fell 22.9% to $2.2 billion. NETWORK NEWS STATION GROUPS SEEING MORE OTT REVENUE Fox’s broadcast of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Over-the-top advertising has become a surprisingly Game posted a small increase in viewers compared to its important business for companies that have been stockpiling last installment two years ago, avoiding a third straight all- local television stations, Next TV reports. time audience low. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Early in his remarks during Tegna’s first-quarter earnings Tuesday’s telecast delivered 8.24 million viewers, about call about its success as a “pure-play broadcasting company,” 100,000 more than the 2019 game’s 8.14 million. (Last CEO Dave Lougee gushed about the growth of Premion. year’s All-Star Game was canceled due to the pandemic.) “Premion, our first-to-market over-the-top advertising It’s also worth noting that the Nielsen figures for Tuesday platform, has continued to evolve and expand to best serve include OOH viewing and 2019’s do not. Still, the audience the needs of regional and local advertisers,” Lougee said. for the All-Star Game is in keeping with both improved ratings He said Tegna was increasing its 2021 outlook for Premion, for baseball this season — including forecasting a 45% to 50% increase in Monday’s Home Run Derby on ESPN — revenue over 2020. and a general uptick for sports following I requested better work OTT advertising is more than a growing last year’s pandemic-snarled calendar... conditions but my boss source of revenue for station groups Cedric the Entertainer, star of the hit screamed and threw his following a COVID-caused recession CBS comedy series The Neighborhood, toy at me. Now we’re both from which the local ad market is still has been tapped by the network and sitting in the playpen crying. recovering. Streaming revenue is letting the Television Academy to host the broadcasters, including Cox Media 73rd Emmy Awards on Sept. 19. The Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and live ceremony will be held in-person at FunnyTweeter.com the NBC- and Fox-owned and operated the Microsoft Theater in downtown stations, claim a foothold in technology Los Angeles with a limited audience and create advanced advertising of nominees and their guests. The ceremony will air on products for clients enamored with digital and social media. CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand Locally targeted OTT ad spending will total $1.13 billion in on Paramount+... CBS’ daytime show The Talk says 2021, per BIA Advisory Services estimates, up 19%. For frequent guest host Jerry O’Connell is joining the show 2022, BIA has forecasted another 49% jump to $1.64 billion. as a permanent co-host. O’Connell will be the first male to Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall in May noted serve as a permanent co-host on the previously all-female that Premion “supercharges” Tegna’s ad revenue growth. program, which is modeled on ABC’s The View. O’Connell He estimated Premion would have sales of $215 million for is joined by co-hosts Sheryl Underwood, Amanda Kloots 2021, including more than $50 million in Q2. and Elaine Welteroth... The CW has tapped Cristela Alonzo to host its upcoming fall competition series Legends STORE-ONLY CREDIT CARDS STAGE A COMEBACK of the Hidden Temple, a reimagining of the popular ’90s Payments with private-label credit cards picked up after show of the same name. Alonzo will make her debut on dropping sharply during the pandemic. the one-hour series on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 8 PM (ET/PT). Transactions and dollar volume for private-label (store-only) Alonzo became the first Latina to create, produce and star credit cards dropped sharply with the onset of COVID-19, in her own network sitcom, ABC’s Cristela, in 2014... And but experienced recovery in the second half of 2020, with Julian Castro has joined NBC News and MSNBC as a receivables estimated at $142 billion for that year, according political analyst. Castro is the former secretary of Housing to Packaged Facts’ Private Label Credit Cards in the U.S. and Urban Development who ran for president in the 2020 Through much of the 20th century, credit cards offered by cycle. retailers were the most widely used form of credit. The cards were issued by, managed by, and negotiable only at the ALLEN MEDIA GROUP ACQUIRING GRAY’S WJRT specific retailer. In recent decades, however, private-label Allen Media Group is continuing its run of local TV station card use has been stagnating, buffeted in part by competition acquisitions, paying $70 million to Gray Television for from general use retailer credit cards that are co-branded by WJRT, an ABC affiliate in Flint-Saginaw, Mich. Visa, MasterCard or American Express. The deal for Byron Allen’s company follows a $380 million The setback to malls and brick-and-mortar retailers inflicted pact announced in April for a batch of other stations in a by the pandemic further damaged the performance of leading separate arrangement with Gray related to the purchase private-label credit card issuers. The bankruptcies and large- of Quincy Media. Allen said he intends for his company to scale store closings of some of malls’ leading retailers hurt soon become the largest station owner in the U.S., taking the portfolios of card program managers. that crown from Nexstar Media Group. Also factoring in are the changing payment preferences After the close of the transaction, Allen Media will have of Millennials and Gen Z. “Younger adult shoppers are 24 local TV stations in 20 markets, as well as 12 networks, demanding access to point-of-sale (POS), buy-now, pay-later including the Weather Channel and streaming service (BNPL) offers that let them pay for purchases in four equal Local Now. installments, interest-free, while receiving their purchased Gray’s divestiture of WJRT should ease the regulatory item as soon as the first payment is made,” said Elizabeth review of the company’s pending acquisition of Meredith Rowe, analyst for the Packaged Facts report. “Large retailers Corp.’s local TV business. The expected close of the WJRT and their store card/loyalty programs are therefore pivoting deal later this year would eliminate the only market overlap and partnering with BNPL digital solutions for their online between the station portfolios of Gray and Meredith. customer dollars.” 7/15/2021

The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com PAGE 2 ABC SEES NBA FINALS RATINGS CLIMB VS. 2020 NEXSTAR SUES COMCAST OVER RETRANS FEES Viewership for ABC’s coverage of the first three games of Nexstar Media has filed a suit against Comcast Cable the 2021 NBA Finals was 32% higher than 2020’s record Communications charging that the cable company was low but still 33.8% less than the 2019 Finals, which faced breaching its retransmission contract by failing to pay fees less sports competition and was played at the traditional time. for carrying WPIX New York, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The first three games of the series between theMilwaukee In the lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, Bucks and Phoenix Suns averaged 8.986 million viewers Nexstar is seeking unspecified damages, interest and other last week, according to live-plus-same-day figures released costs, including attorney’s fees. by Nielsen. In 2019, Nexstar acquired Tribune Broadcasting, The first three games of last year’s finals between the Los which owned WPIX, but sold the New York stations and Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat averaged 6.807 million other stations to the E.W. Scripps to fit under the FCC’s viewers, with each game watched by ownership caps. As part of the sale of fewer viewers than any Finals game on stations to Scripps, Nexstar retained an record before 2020. Records are available Viewership for the first three option to buy back WPIX. Nexstar sold dating back to 1988. games of the 2021 NBA Finals that option to Mission Broadcasting in The first three games of the 2019 finals on ABC was 32% higher than July 2020 for $75 million. between the Golden State Warriors and 2020’s record low but still Nexstar has a management agreement Toronto Raptors averaged 13.575 million 33.8% less than 2019. with Mission and says in its lawsuit that its viewers. All three series were carried by contract with Comcast covers additional ABC. stations managed by Nexstar. Nexstar In Thursday’s Game 2, Phoenix’s 118-108 Nielsen said it notified Comcast that WPIX was victory averaged 9.381 million viewers, one of the stations it manages, including the most for a primetime program since negotiating retransmission fees. the May 4 episode of the CBS action drama NCIS averaged Last week, Comcast asked the FCC to rule that Nexstar 9.679 million. has control over WPIX, putting it in violation of the 39% Milwaukee’s 120-100 victory in Game 3 on Sunday was the ownership cap. only other primetime program since May 5 to average more than 9 million viewers, averaging 9.019 million. The Suns’ THIS AND THAT 118-105 victory in Game 1 on July 6 averaged 8.558 million Sinclair Broadcast Group says Meagan O’Halloran and viewers. Eugene Ramirez will be the anchors of the evening edition The three NBA games enabled ABC to average 4.56 million of its The National Desk newscast, which will launch Sept. viewers for its primetime programming between July 5 and 27. The newscast will appear weeknights from 10 PM until Sunday, the most for any network since CBS averaged 4.57 midnight (ET) and from 7 PM to 9 PM (PT). The show is million viewers the final full week of the official television broadcast on 64 Sinclair stations in 60 markets, including all season, May 17-23. of its CW and My Network TV affiliates... Prime Video and IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service, have H-E-B, PUBLIX EARN KUDOS FOR PICKUP SERVICE closed a licensing deal with Sony Pictures Television for U.S. consumers rank regional chains H-E-B and Publix a suite of classic television series from legendary producer Super Markets at the top in online grocery pickup service, Norman Lear. The series, including All in the Family, according to a study by global research firm Ipsos. Good Times, Maude, One Day at a Time, 227, Diff’rent Among 14 retailers examined, Texas grocer H-E-B led all Strokes, The Jeffersons and Sanford & Son, represent players in fulfilling online orders through pickup, the latest the largest collection of Lear series and the highest number Ipsos E-Commerce Experience Report found. The study of episodes ever available to stream at one time, according reflects results from a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, an analysis to the companies. of the most important pickup attributes to consumers and TUESDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY 100 “mystery shops” per brand to gauge key performance indicators. H-E-B, based in San Antonio, came in first among grocery stores primarily due to in-stock availability, its ability to schedule pickup times and good instructions on pickup orders, Ipsos said. Flawless order accuracy, no fees or order minimums, and strong communication with customers also drove H-E-B’s high marks in pickup service. Meanwhile, ease of ordering and “superb” communication lifted Jacksonville, Fla.-based Publix to a close second in pickup service excellence, Ipsos said, noting that the southeastern grocer also earned praise from customers for order accuracy and contactless fulfillment. Coming in third for pickup service was hard discount grocer Aldi, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide. Ipsos said Aldi performs strongly in pickup scheduling flexibility, in- stock availability, order accuracy and overall satisfaction. 7/15/2021

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