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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2020.The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, February 14, 2020

CEO: WE’RE LIVING IN THE ‘STREAMING DECADE’ Roku just reported a strong holiday quarter, and the company ended 2019 with 36.9 million active accounts, with customers streaming 11.7 billion hours of content in the fourth quarter, The Verge reports. “We have now entered the streaming decade when we believe consumers around the world will choose streaming as their primary way of viewing TV,” Roku CEO Anthony Wood wrote in his letter to investors. Roku believes that by 2024, half of all U.S. households with a TV will have either cut the cord or never had cable to begin with. But the real story continues to be Roku’s thriving ad business. “Throughout 2019, our growth in monetizable video ad impressions significantly outpaced streaming hour growth,” Wood wrote, saying Roku aims to “shape the future of OTT advertising.” Roku has multiple ad strategies in play. You can’t miss the large ads on Roku’s home screen. That’s prime placement, and Roku noted in its latest earnings release that Disney took advantage to promote the launch of Disney+. The company’s free-to-watch Roku Channel is also an important vehicle for ad revenue. But there’s a third pillar that’s just as important: Roku also sells ads for third-party streaming apps. “It also sells some of the ad space on other companies’ apps,” The Information reports. “It does that by buying a portion of those apps’ ad inventory from the companies at a reduced rate, pooling the inventory with other inventory it has and re-selling it to advertisers.” Roku’s advertising business earns the company much more money than hardware sales of low-cost streaming players. But its ambitions to keep building upon that business have caused Roku to butt heads with some content providers. Smaller channels don’t really have much in the way of bargaining power; they can’t afford to lose Roku’s massive user base. But larger players can push back. According to The Information, Fox resisted Roku’s requests to provide programming for The Roku Channel when coming to its last-minute carriage renewal, and advertising terms fell short of what Roku had hoped for. Despite the strained negotiations, Roku still positions itself as “a neutral partner at the center of the streaming ecosystem,” per the investor letter. In total, Roku customers streamed 40.3 billion hours of content in 2019. “While 2019 was a tipping point in commitments to streaming, the full force of change is still to come,” Wood wrote in the investor letter. “Roku is well positioned for the new streaming decade as we continue to differentiate our platform, deliver strong growth, execute our strategic plans and bring together even more consumers, TV brands, content providers and advertisers.”

ROKU: HALF OF U.S. HOMES WITH TV TO CUT CORD BY ’24 ADVERTISER NEWS Nissan will boost its marketing outlays by nearly 60 percent from last year and more than double the dealer sales-volume bonuses to help drive foot traffic at stores and lift dealer profitability, Automotive News reports. The financially embattled automaker is facing rebellion from dealers, some of whom are walking away from the sales incentive program after Nissan decoupled some bonus money from hitting

volume-based targets. The incentive program changes, announced to Nissan’s U.S. dealers yesterday, came on the same day Nissan cut its full-year operating profit forecast by 43 percent... Kohl’s will streamline parts of its workforce in a

restructuring that will eliminate 250 positions without closing stores or offices, the company says. CNBC reports the retailer will reorganize teams in its merchant division and eliminate a layer of regional store-leadership positions... The Body Shop will start “open hiring,” a recruiting process that does not require applicants to submit to background checks or drug screens and hires them on a first-come, first-served basis. The model, pioneered by a bakery in New York, aims to eliminate barriers to employment and reduce turnover, Fast Company online reports... Target and Best Buy are among the 19 U.S. retailers likely to see merchandise shortages this spring as the coronavirus outbreak keeps factories in China closed or understaffed, Wells Fargo analysts note. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods are also on the list of retailers likely to experience shortages by about mid-April... eBay is officially out of the online ticket resale business, to the tune of $4 billion, Chain Store Age reports. The e-commerce company has completed the $4.05 billion sale of its StubHub subsidiary to Swiss online ticket marketplace Viagogo. The companies entered a definitive sale agreement in November 2019... Whether it’s more women working at home, a trend toward more natural looks or just the general casualization of America, sales of cosmetics continue to decline. The NPD Group recently released its annual report on the prestige beauty industry. And while there are healthy gains in skin-pampering products, makeup sales continue to fall. In 2019, total sales reached $18.8 billion, more or less flat compared to the previous year, according to the market research company. While sales of skincare products climbed 5 percent, fragrance rose 2 percent and hair jumped 16 percent, makeup — the largest category, at $7.6 billion — fell 7 percent... Kellogg’s is taking a bite out of the alternative meat market, competing with the likes of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, Fox Business reports. The food giant debuted Incogmeato under its vegetarian product line, Morningstar Farms, last year with burgers and chicken made to mimic the flavor and texture of real meat. The company announced this week that meatless Italian sausage and bratwurst would join the product line a month after competitor Impossible Foods announced its imitation pork products.

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

AVAILS Hearst Television’s KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, has an opening for an experienced National Sales Manager. This is an important leadership role that encompasses national revenue management for our top-rated TV station, digital platforms and two multicast platforms. Ideal candidate must be able to build client relationships and be excellent in broadcast sales negotiation. Click HERE for details or to apply now! EOE.

Account Executive: WSIL, serving Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri, is looking for an experienced marketing sales professional with market-leading knowledge and a passion for broadcast and digital marketing for our Paducah – Cape Girardeau – Harrisburg office to fill an Account Executive position. We’re a family-owned television station focused on providing news, weather and sports to its viewing communities. Owned by Quincy Media, Inc., a nimble

and forward-thinking powerhouse committed to our markets and our teams. We would love to see your cover letter and resume. Please send resume and related materials to jobs@wsiltv.com. Tegna-owned KHOU-TV, CBS 11 in Houston is seeking a rock star Local Sales Manager to join an elite leadership team managing day-to-day responsibilities of key accounts with team members. The LSM will ensure that each member of the local sales team functions exactly as their role is intended, so advertisers benefit and company revenue goals are met. Four years of media or related sales leadership in television preferred, and digital sales leadership experience is a plus. CLICK HERE for more details or to apply. EOE.

See your ad here Monday! CLICK HERE for details.

BLOOMBERG 2020: $1M DAILY ON FACEBOOK ADS Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg has recently outpaced President Trump on social media advertising in the 2020 campaign cycle by averaging more than $1 million a day on Facebook ads, The Hill reports. As of Monday, the former New York City mayor had spent $31 million on Facebook and Instagram ads since Jan. 1, according to Facebook ad data. Trump spent $5.64 million during that same period. Bloomberg’s average of more than $1 million day on Facebook ads over the past two weeks was five times the amount the Trump campaign spent. Bloomberg also spent nearly $4 million on Facebook ads targeting California over the past 30 days. The state is among those voting on Super Tuesday, March 3, along with Texas, North Carolina and Virginia, where Bloomberg has also spent big on Facebook ads. Bloomberg has also spent $3 million on ads for Texas, another Super Tuesday state, in the past month. Bloomberg’s net worth is estimated at $61 billion, according to Forbes. Over the past few weeks, Bloomberg has directed most of his resources to Super Tuesday states, hiring 800 campaign staffers in California alone.

U.S. BROADBAND CONSUMPTION SURGED IN 2019 The average amount of internet usage by U.S. broadband homes surged 27.3 percent in 2019, reaching 344 gigabytes, according to a new report published by telecom industry consultancy OpenVault that was reported by Multichannel News. The latest surge in broadband usage correlates with an aggregate increase in provisioned internet speed, which jumped from an average of 103.1 Mbps in 2018 to 128.3 Mbps last year. And as OpenVault noted in a report last year, it’s also driven by cord cutters who ditched traditional pay-TV and averaged 520 GB of data usage a month. Meanwhile, OpenVault is predicting that median U.S. internet usage will surge past 250 GB for the first time this year, a 25 percent uptick over 2019. And so-called “power users” — those who consume 1 terabyte or more of data each month — grew by 60 percent last year and now account for 12 percent of all wireline broadband users. Those who consume 2 TB or more now account for 1.4 percent of the market.

ALLEN COMPLETES STATION ACQUISITION DEAL Allen Media Broadcasting, a unit of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, said it has completed its purchase of 11 TV stations from USA Television for $305 million. The deal was first announced in October. The stations include affiliates of the four major broadcast networks and are located in Alabama, Indiana, Oregon, California, Mississippi, Minnesota and Iowa and increases Allen Media’s broadcast holdings to about 15 stations, Multichannel News reports. Allen and Entertainment Studios have been an aggressive buyer of media properties over the past two years. In 2018 he purchased The Weather Channel for about $300 million, followed by Bayou City Broadcasting, a station group with four TV properties in Indiana and Louisiana for $165 million in July 2019. In August 2019, Allen personally partnered with Sinclair Broadcast Group in the latter’s purchase of 21 regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co.

FALLING ENERGY PRICES SLOW JAN. INFLATION A sharp drop in energy prices slowed U.S. consumer inflation at the start of this year, The Wall Street Journal reports. The consumer-price index — which measures changes in how much Americans are paying for everyday items ranging from clothes to grocery items — rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in January, the Labor Department said yesterday. That was a smaller increase than in December, when the index added 0.2 percent. Energy prices fell 0.7 percent from the previous month, with gasoline down by 1.6 percent as global fuel demand ebbed amid China’s coronavirus outbreak. The trend is likely to continue in 2020, with the International Energy Agency forecasting global oil demand will fall in the first quarter because of an expected economic slowdown in China.

2/14/2020

Jimmy Kimmel

He had less than 1% and he’s dropping out. Michael Bennet

saying he’s dropped out of the race is like me saying I’ve decided not to run the Kentucky Derby this year.

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

2020 LEADERSHIP AWARDS RECIPIENTS NAMED The Broadcasters Foundation of America has named the recipients of the 2020 Leadership Awards, which are given annually in recognition of career contributions to the broadcast industry and the community. This year’s honorees, according to a news release, include Marci Burdick, senior advisor to Schurz Communications (retired); Kim Guthrie, president and CEO of Cox Media Group; Kraig Kitchin, partner, Sound Mind; Weezie Kramer, COO, Entercom Communications; Barbara Kreisman, chief, Video Division, FCC; and Leo MacCourtney,

president, Katz Television Group. The Broadcasters Foundation of America, a charity devoted to helping broadcasters in need, will present the awards at its annual breakfast, which is slated for 7 AM on Wednesday, April 22 at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas, during the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show. Pre-registration is required for the complimentary breakfast event. This year’s sponsors are AccuRadio,

National Association of Broadcasters, National Association of Media Brokers (NAMB), Nielsen, Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), USTrust and vCreative. For more information, call the Broadcasters Foundation at (212) 373-8250 or email at info@thebfoa.org.

THIS AND THAT Netflix has 45 percent fewer movies and a whopping 400 percent more TV shows than it did in 2010. That’s according to data from Reelgood, which says in 2010 the streaming service had a total of 530 TV shows and 6,755 movies. In 2020, it’s 2,108 TV shows and 3,730 movies. Netflix has a total of 1,097 Netflix original shows and movies this year... Nearly 4 in 5 homeowners surveyed are open to sharing smart home device data with their insurers, and 57 percent of those who already own such devices would be willing to buy and install additional ones in exchange for an insurance discount, a report by LexisNexis Risk Solutions finds.

2/14/2020

Jay Leno

Today is Valentine’s Day, or, as men like to call it,

Extortion Day!

WEDNESDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

STREAMERS’ NATIONAL AD SPEND STILL RISING Video streaming platforms — digital pay-TV providers and individual OTT video platforms — continue to sharply ramp up marketing, Television News Daily reports. Over the three-month period from Nov. 12 through Feb. 12, total national/regional TV advertising spending came to $550.5 million, with 81,829 TV commercial airings. That yielded 26.3 billion impressions, according to iSpot.tv. This is a sharp increase compared to the same period a year ago, with an estimated $250.9 million in TV advertising spending, 53,962 airings and 13.9 billion impressions. The introduction of Disney+ and Apple TV+ in November 2019 is a primary reason for the bump — as well as increased spending from Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Hulu. This year, Amazon Prime Video had 7,639 airings with an estimated TV spend of $118.5 million during that period — about double its effort in the previous-year period ($59.3 million in spending and 3,181 spending). Apple TV+ came in at 3,908 airings and $96.3 million this year, with Amazon Fire TV at 6,610 airings/$69.1 million; Netflix, 1,386 airings/$65.5 million; Hulu, 13,767 airings/$50.9 million; and Disney+, 6,788 airings/$48.7 million. A year ago, Netflix came in at $37.5 million in national TV spending, 1,211 airings, while Hulu had $21.3 million and 7,940 airings.

CONSUMERS ENTICED BY CLICK AND COLLECT Click and collect is rapidly growing in popularity, even among consumers who haven’t tried it yet, eMarketer reports. Nearly nine in 10 U.S. internet users said they were interested in picking up their online order at the register, according to an October 2019 survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) conducted by Toluna Analytics. That was also the most popular choice among respondents who had tried the service, followed by curbside pickup. Fewer respondents had tried methods like trunk delivery or using a locker code, but there was a lot of interest. Nearly three-quarters (74%) said they were interested in getting their orders delivered to the trunks of their cars, and 63% wanted to try a locker. Similarly, a September 2019 survey from Field Agent indicated that 51 percent of U.S. online shoppers considered themselves very or completely likely to use click and collect this past holiday season. Most click-and-collect activity happening now is coming from big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s, all of which have advanced click-and-collect operations. The share of online sales coming from click-and-collect orders at the top 10 multichannel retailers rose from 19.1 percent in Q4 2017 to 22.5 percent in Q3 2019, per data from Rakuten Intelligence. According to eMarketer, the number of U.S. click-and-collect buyers will reach 137.7 million by the end of 2020, accounting for half of the population. That figure will grow to 147.1 million by 2023.