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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2018.The Daily News of TV Sales Tuesday, April 30, 2019

FLOORPLAN COSTS, VEHICLE PRICES SURGING Automakers and their dealers have millions of reasons to be concerned about weakening U.S. new-vehicle sales — nearly 4.2 million reasons, in fact. That’s how many unsold cars and trucks the industry had on hand going into this month, an unwieldy pool of vehicles that has spilled into vast overflow lots popping up wherever enough wide-open space is available. The estimated 4,188,200 unsold vehicles on April 1 was the highest inventory number for any month since that reported for July 1, 2017, and just 114,300 vehicles less than the modern-day record set in May 2004, according to the Automotive News Data Center. It’s over half a million vehicles more than automakers and dealers were grappling with in the spring of 2007, when the Great Recession was just around the corner. The figures do not include the estimated 18,000 electric vehicles that Tesla had in inventory this month. Bulging inventories, combined with rising floorplan interest rates, are sapping whatever was left of dealers’ new-vehicle margins and threaten to unravel the industry’s hard-fought pricing discipline if demand erodes further. Dealers can take comfort that U.S. sales are still relatively strong. But there are also clear signs that the industry, after rising in eight of the last nine years, has passed its peak for this cycle. Sales were down 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019, which analysts say is likely to be the first year since 2014 that falls short of 17 million vehicles. The situation is admittedly less dire than in the run-up to the last recession, with consumer confidence remaining healthy, automakers generating solid profits and more flexible union contracts affording the Detroit 3 greater control over production today. But the problem has caught some dealers off guard because of how quickly the cost to carry today’s inventory — largely high-priced pickups, SUVs and crossovers — has risen, as floorplan interest rates surged from a comfortable 1.5 percent only a few years ago to more than 5 percent now. And if a downturn comes, dealers sitting on big inventories could find themselves in a great deal of trouble. “Right now, there’s excessive inventory out there, and there’s a tremendous amount of pressure from almost all the brands to take additional cars,” David Hult, CEO of Asbury Automotive Group, recently told Automotive News. Asbury, the seventh-largest U.S. dealership group, said its floorplan expense vaulted 55 percent, to $10.2 million from $6.6 million in the first quarter of 2018. Expenses from bloated inventory account for two-thirds of the additional cost, Hult said, and the Duluth, Ga., company saw its new-vehicle supply skyrocket to 87 days’ worth, 20 more days than a year ago. The other third of the added cost came from higher floorplan interest rates.

AUTO DEALERS PINCHED BY NEAR-RECORD INVENTORIESADVERTISER NEWS Burger King’s test of a vegetarian version of its signature Whopper was such a success, the chain is planning to roll the Impossible Whopper out nationally this year, CNN Business reports. On April 1, Burger King started testing

the vegetarian burger, using a plant-based patty from Impossible Foods. The test took place in St. Louis and “went exceedingly well,” said a spokesperson for Restaurant Brands International, Burger King’s parent company. Unlike veggie burgers, Impossible burger patties are designed to mimic the look and texture of meat when cooked. The company

plans to expand to more markets “in the very near future” before making the sandwich available nationally by the end of the year. Burger King had about 7,300 U.S. locations at the close of last year... The Wall Street Journal reports that fashion houses are hurrying to ditch plastic in favor of cardboard hangers and eco-friendly packaging, in response to consumer concerns over sustainability. Brands ranging from H&M to Hermes are trying to cut down on plastic or eliminate it altogether... Chewy.com, the online pet product retailer owned by PetSmart, filed documents with regulators yesterday to prepare for an initial public offering. Chewy reported $3.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2018, up from $2.1 billion in 2017. For the same period, it reported a net loss of $268 million, narrowing from a net loss of $338 million. Chewy did not state how much it expects to raise in the offering. Previous estimates have pegged its valuation at between $4.15 billion and $4.75 billion, according S&P Global Ratings... Wall Street’s self-proclaimed biggest bear on Target upgraded the stock yesterday, saying he sees a buying opportunity from its recent weakness, which was fueled by concerns about Amazon competition. Barclays’ Matthew McClintock upgraded Target to overweight from equal weight and raised his 12-month price projection to $115 a share from $85. The new target represents a 49 percent surge from Friday’s close of $77.12... Domino’s Pizza is creating transparency in the store-to-consumer supply chain, Chain Store Age reports. The pizza chain is piloting a test of GPS-enabled delivery driver tracking in 27 corporate stores in Phoenix. Customers who order from one of these stores can track the location of their order and driver via a map from the order confirmation page on the Domino’s site or the Domino’s app. Customers receive an estimated delivery time and can opt into SMS text notifications that let them know when their order is about two minutes away... Airbnb may soon have a competitor on its hands: Marriott International. The hotel giant is planning to launch its own home-rental business in May, according to reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. The program would allow guests at Marriott home rentals to earn and redeem loyalty points as they would if they were staying in a hotel, reports The Journal. Bloomberg reports Marriott already operates a similar business in several European cities, including London and Paris.

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

AVAILS WSMV, a Meredith Corporation TV station in Nashville, Tenn., has opportunities for Account Executives. Our AEs solicit new advertisers and increase the share of business for existing advertisers. This position assesses the market potential of prospective accounts and meets with local businesses to learn about their marketing needs. Full understanding of current TV ratings and a minimum two years of media sales (TV, radio, cable) background preferred. This position serves as an important station representative within the local business community! APPLY ONLINE. EOE.

KMBC-TV/Hearst Television’s ABC affiliate in Kansas City has an opening for an experienced Account Executive. We are looking for an AE who is highly motivated, can grow revenue on existing accounts and secure new advertisers to the station. Ideal candidate will have strong business development experience as well as the ability to effectively negotiate. If you have a proven track record of producing revenue on multiple platforms, click HERE to apply. EOE.

WPHL Philadelphia (Tribune) seeks NSM / LSM: Tribune will soon combine with Nexstar to become the world’s largest television ownership group. Here’s an opportunity to join this industry-leading company in the No. 4 market. WPHL is known as the best place to work in Philadelphia media. Position can be Philadelphia or NYC based. Client/Agency relationships and a strong digital background a plus. CLICK HERE to apply. Search for Job ID: 2019-49332 for complete details. Telemundo 47, New Jersey, seeks a Local Sales Manager. The ideal candidate has a minimum of 10 years of broadcast sales management experience, with a proven track record of successful revenue generation as well as growing station shares. Candidates must understand how to communicate effectively and build strong internal and external relationships. Strong computer skills with particular proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint, as well as knowledge of traffic systems, required. Please follow THIS LINK for more info or to apply now.

See your ad here tomorrow! CLICK HERE for details.

HEARST TELEVISION HONORED WITH NAB AWARD Hearst Television has received the National Association of Broadcasters’ 2019 Service to America Award for Television, in the Ownership Group category. The NAB Leadership Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Broadcasters, annually presents the Celebration of Service to America Awards honoring the outstanding public service commitment of local television and radio broadcasters. Hearst Television was honored for its in-depth political and public affairs programming. This included its stations’ 2018 election coverage effort, under the “Commitment 2018” banner, resulting in more than 200 hours of aggregate coverage of political discourse throughout the season, as well as the discourse advanced by Hearst Television’s syndicated weekly talk program Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien.

NETWORK NEWS ABC generated its highest-rated NBA Conference Semifinals broadcast since 2011 on Sunday for the Golden State Warriors Game 1 victory over the Houston Rockets. The broadcast delivered a 5.9 metered market rating, up 34 percent from last year’s comparable game. It peaked with an 8.1 rating in the final quarter hour, according to Nielsen. The ABC broadcast delivered a 17.4 in the San Francisco-Oakland market and a 13.0 in the Houston market. Additionally, ABC’s coverage of Sunday’s NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1, in which the Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, generated a 3.7 metered market rating. It was up 16 percent from the last comparable Game 1, in 2017. The broadcast drew a 14.3 rating in the Milwaukee market and a 9.3 rating in the Boston market... CBS All Access has ordered a second season of The Twilight Zone anthology series. The series is a modern reimagining of Rod Serling’s original, which aired from 1959 to 1964 on CBS. The series revival features Jordan Peele as host and narrator... The new half-hour multicultural entertainment news magazine show Central Ave is set to launch Nov. 4 on select Fox Television Stations for a five-week preview. The series, which will air live from Atlanta, looks to deliver entertainment and pop culture news through a provocative, socially conscious and diverse lens. Julissa Bermudez (106 & Park) will co-host the series with former Olympic track star and five-time gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross... Fox is putting a new twist on the after-show phenomenon. The network has greenlighted What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage, an actual after-show to a fake TV show, co-created and hosted by former The Grinder star Savage. Teased on Fox’s social pages, The Flare is a fictional sci-fi thriller drama with a very-real after-show. What Just Happened??! is a half-hour hybrid comedy/talk show dedicated to exploring the fandom surrounding the “show.” It’s set to premiere Sunday, June 30 at 9:30 PM on Fox.

NFL DRAFT PULLS RECORD RATINGS ONCE AGAIN The 2019 NFL Draft was the most-watched ever — both on TV and in person, the league says. Coverage of the three days of the draft on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network (plus ESPN and NFL digital properties) averaged 6.1 million viewers. That’s up about 11 percent from an average of 5.5 million for the 2018 draft, which was the previous high. ABC aired all three days of the draft, the first time a single broadcast network has aired the entire selection process (Fox aired the first two nights in 2018 and ABC the final rounds on Day 3). The network averaged 4.54 million viewers on Thursday and about 2.6 million Friday (pending updates), up about 25 percent over Fox’s numbers in 2018. The NFL also says 600,000 people attended the draft in Nashville, Tenn., across all three days, including a main stage in the downtown area where the draft was held and a “Draft Experience” in the stadium where the Tennessee Titans play. That’s more than twice as many people as the 250,000 who attended the 2018 draft in Philadelphia.

4/30/2019

Ron White

Told someone I would take the day off from drinking.

Then I figured, “Why wouldn’t I drink on my day off?”

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

ANTENNA USAGE IS GROWING, REPORT FINDS TV antennas continue to make a comeback, according to a report from Horowitz Research. The study found that 34 percent of TV viewers use antennas to watch content over the air. What’s more, antenna owners skew younger, with 40 percent in the 18-34 age range vs. 31 percent of all TV viewers. They also tend to be male: 59 percent for antenna users vs. 49 percent of all viewers. More than half of cord-cutters and 30 percent of cable/satellite/telco subscribers have an antenna, the study said. Antenna owners were also found more likely to subscribe

to one of the three major streamers – Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. “With today’s stronger signals and advances in technology, along with improved design aesthetics, antennas are re-emerging as an inexpensive and practical way of accessing TV content,” said Stephanie Wong, Horowitz’s director of insights and strategy. “Viewers are finding that they can piece together their ‘cable service’ using SVOD services and over-the-air broadcasts at what they

perceive to be a dramatically reduced cost.” Horowitz Research’s findings point to the continuation of a trend reported by Parks Associates in 2017. That firm’s research revealed that the number of households with antenna-only access had risen to 15 percent in 2016.

THIS AND THAT An estimated 20 million game players could switch from PCs to consoles by 2022, consulting firm Jon Peddie Research forecasts. “The PC market continues to decline because the innovation that took place in the past providing speed ups and clever new things has all but stopped,” said firm President Jon Peddie... Meanwhile: VentureBeat reports that sales of the PlayStation 4, which was launched in 2013, have reached 96.8 million, closing in on the 102.49 million sales of the original PlayStation.

4/30/2019

Funny Tweeter

Don’t stay together for the kids. Stay together because neither of you

wants to raise those monsters alone.

SUNDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

TV UPFRONT REVENUE PROJECTIONS UP 2.5% TV upfront revenues are forecast to climb 2.5 percent, with digital video upfront deals growing 20 percent, according to eMarketer. The upfront will kick off in a few weeks. Upfront advertising deals are expected to rise from $20.76 billion last year to $21.25 billion in 2019. The traditional TV networks’ upfront deal-making includes placements on broadcast and cable networks, as well as national syndication programming that runs on TV stations. Total yearly network TV revenue is forecast to be around $45 billion to $50 billion, according to industry projections. “TV companies on both the broadcast and cable side have been able to consistently raise prices on inventory sold at the upfronts,” eMarketer says. “This is expected to continue into the future, as desirable inventory becomes more scarce given viewership declines, particularly in younger demographics.” The upfront market for digital video platforms is set to climb nearly 20 percent to $4.39 billion. Upfront digital video ad spending accounts for only 12.2 percent of total digital video ad spending in 2019, according to eMarketer.

SMARTPHONES DRIVING SOCIAL REFERRALS Social networks represent only a small portion of e-commerce referrals, but their role in the path to purchase is growing fast. As a last-touch channel, social networks have doubled in visit share to U.S. retail sites in the past two years. And the overwhelming majority of social referrals come from smartphones, according to Q1 2019 data from Adobe Digital Insights. Two trends explain why 70.5 percent of U.S. social referrals come from smartphones: Consumers have increased their mobile shopping habits, and social network users have become predominately mobile-centric. eMarketer estimates that more than 115 million people in the U.S. will make at least one purchase with a smartphone in 2019, amounting to 58.9 percent of all U.S. digital buyers. And even more people — 193.3 million — will use a smartphone to browse, research or compare products without making a purchase. Facebook drives the most e-commerce referrals (80.4%) by far, according to Adobe Digital Insights. Instagram (10.7%) was a distant second, followed by Pinterest (8.2%).

CONSUMER SPENDING RISES IN FEB., MARCH U.S. consumers picked up spending in February and March, a sign that households were feeling confident about their economic prospects. Personal-consumption expenditures, a measure of household spending on everything from cars to cocktails increased a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in February and 0.9 percent in March over the prior months, the Commerce Department said yesterday. The department released two months of data to catch up from delays caused by the government shutdown. Personal income, which includes Americans’ pretax earnings from wages, salaries and investments, grew more slowly, up 0.1 percent in March on the month after rising 0.2 percent in February