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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2017.The Daily News of TV Sales Friday, July 21, 2017

VACATION SPENDING TO TOP $100 BILLIONBIG SPENDERS: GENERATION X For the second straight year Americans are planning to spend more on vacations. In fact, the 8th annual survey by Allianz Travel Insurance projects travels spending to top $100 billion for the first time ever. Spending is expected to rise 12.5% to $1.01.1 billion from $89.9 billion in 2016. According to the survey, on average, Americans will spend $1,978 on summer vacations, a 10% increase from 2016 ($1,798), which was an 11% rise from 2015 ($1,621). “Americans are feeling better about the econ-omy and have loosened their purse strings for summer 2017,” said Allianz spokesman Daniel Durazo. By age group, vacationing Millennials (ages 18-34) will spend the least ($1,373) this summer, followed by Baby Boomers (ages 55+) ($1,865). The big spenders are people from Generation Xers (ages 35-54), who are expected to average $2,628 on their summer vacation. The survey, which tracks Americans’ confidence that they will be able to take a summer vacation, revealed that more than four in ten (44%, up one point since last year) are confident they’ll take a summer vacation, and half (51%, up a point) are confident about the prospect of a vacation at some point in 2017. 40% aren’t confident about taking a vacation, while 9% have already taken one. While Americans are slightly more confident they’ll take a vacation this year, some are questioning its overall impor-tance. Down a significant six points since last year, the sur-vey found that 59% of Americans say that taking an annual vacation is important to them, and one in four (23%) say that annual vacations are not at all important to them. The survey found no significant change in the “Vacation Defi-cit,” or percentage of Americans who think that a vacation is important but are not confident they’ll be able to take one. In 2017, two in ten (21%) of Americans who say an annual vacation is important to them are not confident that they’ll take a vacation, down one point from 2016 but still higher than the 2015 Vacation Deficit of 19%. The Vacation Confidence Index has been conducted each summer since 2010 by national polling firm Ipsos Pub-lic Affairs on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance USA. This year’s survey in early June got responses from a na-tionally representative sample of 1,009 randomly-selected adults residing in the U.S. The data are weighted for re-gional and age/gender composition. For purposes of the survey, a vacation is defined as a leisure trip of at least a week to a place that is 100 miles or more from home.

ADVERTISER NEWS Sears will start to sell Kenmore products on Amazon.com and will integrate the full line of Kenmore smart appliances with Amazon’s Alexa. Sears says moving Kenmore onto Amazon represents the biggest distribution of that brand outside of Sears branded stores and related online platforms……After a strong second quarter, T-Mobile execs downplayed speculation there could be consolidation on wireless in the near future. The company

added 1.3 million subscribers in the second quarter (to get to 69.6 million) with 786,000 net additions of postpaid subscribers, the most profitable in the industry. “We’re interested in potential partnerships with other companies but we don’t need them,” Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert said……Automotive leasing was down in the first half of the year for the first time

since 2012 according to new data from Edmunds. Leasing made up 31.1% of “sales” in the year’s first six months, down from 31.9% last year. The total number of leased vehicles was down 4.4%, double the rate of decline in the total market……Buick dealers will have a hatchback to sell this fall with the Regal Sportback, starting at just under $26,000. The base price has been cut by about $2000, aimed at attracting customers that had previously bought the Verano sedan which has been discontinued……Not all of the consolidation in the convenience store segment is as large and spectacular is the big deals Couche-Tard has been making lately—some smaller regional deals are also taking place. Kwik Trip has just announced a deal to take over PDQ Food Stores and its 34 units with a deal expected to close in October, and GPM Investments is continuing its Midwest expansion by buying Jiffy Stop Food Mart……Furniture Today reports June sales for the furniture and home furnishings sector were up 2.5% from June, 2016, slightly ahead of the broader retail sector. For the full second quarter, home furnishings store sales were up 3.5%.....(Continued on Page 3)

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

NETWORK NEWS ABC has confirmed that Ryan Seacrest will return to host the network’s resurrected American Idol. The announcement was made on the Thursday episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan. The announcement came as no surprise since Seacrest’s involvement with the new Idol has been rumored for months. In addition to Seacrest, ABC’s American Idol will include Katy Perry, who’s signed on as a judge. ABC says that Seacrest will continue to host Live with Kelly and Ryan from New York and he will continue to host and executive produce On Air with Ryan Seacrest, his nationally syndicated Los Angeles based morning drive-time radio show on KIIS-FM. Seacrest hosted America Idol on Fox from its inception in 2002 to its final episode in 2016……NBC has launched a contest on Crowdwise inviting fans of Will & Grace to enter $10 for a chance to sit in the audience during the season premiere taping of the Emmy-winning comedy. The winner will also receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the iconic set and take photos with the cast. Proceeds from the contest will be donated to the Human Rights Campaign to support LGBTQ rights. Will & Grace will premiere on NBC Thursday, September 28th at 9 PM (ET)……Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker is set to guest-star in a multi-episode arc on the Fox drama Empire in the upcoming fall season. Whitaker will play Uncle Eddie, described as a charismatic music icon and hitmaker who gave Lucious, played by Terrance Howard, his first radio airplay. Years later, Eddie steps up for Lucious during a critical point of his rehabilitation. Whitaker won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the film The Last King of Scotland. Empire returns to Fox on Wednesday, September 27th at 8 PM (ET)……Cast changes at Hawaii Five-O have been announced for the upcoming eighth season of the CBS drama. Ian Anthony Dale has been promoted to a series regular and Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale will be series regulars opposite Alex O’Loughlin. The changes follow the departure of series veterans Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, who were not able to agree on new deals to return to the series. Hawaii Five-O is produced by CBS Television Studios……NBC’s Chicago Fire has added Eloise Mumford (Fifty Shades of Grey) to the cast for the upcoming season. Mumford will have a recurring role as Hope Jacquinot, an old friend of paramedic Sylvie Brett, played by Kara Killmer. Meanwhile, Wendell Pierce (The Wire) has signed on to guest-star on the season premiere of Chicago P.D. as a city alderman. Chicago P.D. starts its new season on Wednesday, September 27th, and Chicago Fire’s season premiere is Thursday, September 28th.

ECONOMIC NEWS The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators index rose a more-than-expected 0.6% in June to 127.8, led by a surge in housing permits. It was the sixth consecutive month in which the index has risen, indicating more growth ahead in the economy and a likely improvement of Gross Domestic Product growth in upcoming quarters.

AVAILS If you’ve ever wanted to work in one of America’s best places to live, here is your opportunity! WKOW, the ABC affiliate in Madison, WI has an immediate opening for an account executive. A motivated salesperson committed to winning will love working for family-owned Quincy Media. The AE will help an established client list grow its bottom line with Green Bay Packers Football, Big 10 Football, local sports and news from the 2016 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Station of the Year. CLICK HERE for more details or to apply. EOE.

Comcast, Portland, OR seeks an Interconnect Sales Manager. This person is responsible for identifying client business challenges and identifying solutions that drive strategic initiatives. Develops objectives and procedures that are consistent with the overall direction of all sales activities within the regional market area. Accountable for the management of an ad sales team in a major regional market. Bachelor’s Degree or

equivalent marketing required, along with 7+ years related experience CLICK HERE for full details or to apply now. EOE. Account Executive: WRAL-FM (MIX 101.5) in Raleigh, NC seeks a sales professional to identify, develop and grow new business accounts on our radio, digital and event platforms. This position will focus on developing new business and growing existing radio and digital accounts. In addition to a leading radio station in the RDU market, you’ll also sell the entire suite of Capitol Broadcasting Company’s digital products and services. CLICK HERE for more info. All CBC properties are tobacco free. EOE M/F FOX13-WTVT in Tampa, FL seeks an experienced Account Executive. The AE at the top rated station in Tampa requires the servicing of existing transactional accounts along with the development of new broadcast and digital business. Must be highly motivated and possess strong presentation and prospecting skills. Must have prior broadcast sales experience, preferably in an LPM market. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. Or visit our readily accessible station located at 3213 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33609. EOE. Content & SEO Manager: New Media, Raleigh, NC. Capitol broadcasting Company seeks a sales professional to oversee all products and processes related to search engine optimization, social media management and content generation for our clients. The ideal candidate has experience in content production and distribution, including an in depth understanding for how to best utilize social media for marketing businesses. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply. EOE M/F. All Capitol Broadcasting Company properties are tobacco free. CBC participates in E-Verify.

CLICK HERE to place a job in Spots n Dots!

7/21/2017

Jim Gaffigan

Everyone is overreacting to the Trump & Putin

private meeting. Relax. It might have been Trump’s

performance review.

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

IS UNIVISION NEXT? With consolidation in the media business dominant in many people’s minds right now, The Wall Street Journal reports Univision Communications may be the next target. The company’s owners (mostly private equity firms) had been planning an Initial Public Offering of its stock, but that has been delayed and the paper is reporting Liberty Media’s John Malone could be one of the interested parties after having met with major Univision shareholders earlier this month at the annual Sun Valley media conference. Another possible buyer could be Televisa, which currently owns 10% of Univision stock and produces much of the network’s programming for something north of $300 million annually. Univision currently owns 59 broadcast stations, 64 radio stations, and some cable networks including Galavision. BUSINESS BYTES The Consumer Technology Assn. says the U.S. consumer electronics industry will produce 3.2% growth this year, reaching an estimated $321 billion in retail revenue. Drones, OLED (organic light emitting diode) televisions, and virtual-reality technology are each expected to pass the $1 billion revenue threshold for the first time as part of the overall revenue totals. Sales of smart-home devices should reach about 27 million units, up 50%, and 4K UHD TVs, one of the industry’s fastest-growing segments, should grow to 16.7 million units worth $14.6 billion. Among mature tech segments, smartphone units will grow by only 3%, LCD TVs are expected to show a slight decline, and tablet sales are projected to be down about 5%. We’ve been reporting a lot about traffic problems at restaurants and malls lately, but the supermarket business appears to be suffering from a similar problem also. Supermarket News is reporting on a new study from the Food Marketing Institute that says shopping frequency at traditional full-service supermarkets went down by 2% in the past year as growth in digital-only and specialty retailers has had an impact and is cutting away at traditional stores’ leadership as primary food destinations. “E-commerce is substantially gaining users,” FMI VP David Fikes said as part of his presentation of the study, which notes that online-only food stores have gone up 6% in frequency of visits in the past year, with almost half of millennials having visited digital stores. Good news about that generation, however, is that they prefer to buy fresh bakery items, meats, seafood, produce, and refrigerated dairy foods at traditional food stores, as well as picking up non-prescription drugs there.

THIS AND THAT Here’s something different: A supermarket chain is essentially becoming a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee. Price Chopper (the Midwest chain, not the company headquartered in New York state with the same name), will own and operate three locations in Kansas serving Dunkin’s full menu with units opening at 6AM daily. The first will debut next week, with two more to open later in the year.

AUTO ADV: STABLE THIS YEAR Good news for local TV ad sellers. Auto advertising should remain relatively stable at $13 billion per year, as long as the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate remains at or above 16 million units, which is likely for the next several years, according to Wells Fargo analyst Marcia Ryvicker. Ryvicker notes that while digital (really search and mobile rather than display) will continue to gain auto ad dollars, market share will likely come at the expense of other media – probably print - rather than television. And here’s some interesting news. According to Ryvicker,

digital advertising comprises only 5% regional dealer associations auto advertising. The remaining 95% still goes to the stations. Ryvicker notes that the auto industry is in “the best condition ever.” Car companies are more efficient and are able to build to consumer demand. In fact, as they introduce new cars with more technology and innovation, ad spend could actually increase. And Ryvicker suggests that even if

there’s a downturn, TV will get cut last. Newspapers, direct mail, yellow pages, perhaps even radio and outdoor, will suffer rather than TV.

SIX SECOND ADS GETTING ATTENTION As we mentioned last week, Fox Networks Group says it will start supporting the six-second unskippable ads following YouTube’s example. The company has gotten a positive response from advertisers, with some starting to create ads of that length. Mediapost notes that Facebook began inserting short ads in the middle of publishers’ videos earlier this year. That followed news from Google that it would get rid of its 30-second, unskippable pre-roll ads on YouTube, and push its six-second unskippable ads.

7/21/2017

Larry The Cable Guy

Well, ...I’ve come to that strange place in life where I’m to fat for Kohls and to

thin for Wal-Mart.

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