www.spotsndots.comSubscriptions: $350 per year.

This publication cannot bedistributed beyond the office

of the actual subscriber. Need us? 888-884-2630 or

sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2017.The Daily News of TV Sales Monday, August 14, 2017

DEALER PROFITS WERE DOWN AT MIDYEARDATA FROM N.A.D.A. The average U.S. automotive dealership has seen a 4.1% drop in net profit before tax for the year’s first six months, according to data released by the National Automobile Dealers Association. For the average dealership, total sales are virtually flat ($29.429 million vs. $29.459 million last year) and gross profit is up slightly ($3.458 million vs. $3.427 million), but expenses are up ($3.341 million vs. $3.217 million) by 3.8%. (Gross profit includes cost of goods sold, but not Selling, General and Administrative expenses, or advertising investments). Total operating profit has fallen by 44.4% to $117,349, but net profit before tax has fallen less from $767,767 to $736,508. SG&A expenses have grown to an average of $3.026 million, 10.3% of the dealership’s total sales and amounting to a full 87.5% of the gross profit earned. And in a metric that’s especially important to parties currently involved in buying and selling dealerships, the return on equity for the average dealership (defined as the annualized net profit as a percentage of net worth) has dropped from 14.8% last year to 12.4% this year. New vehicle department sales (which includes Finance and Insurance income that has been growing for many dealers) is down 1.0%, and the new vehicle department’s percentage of total sales has slipped slightly from 57.0% to 56.5%. The department’s percentage of contribution to the store’s gross is also slipping from 26.8% to 26.3%. Used vehicle department sales have also slipped slightly ($9.173 million compared to $9.279 million last year) with the average selling price up very moderately from $19,879 last year to $19,973 this year. The growth area for many dealerships continues to be the Fixed Operations (Service, Parts and Body Shop Department). At the average dealership those activities have produced a 2.4% increase in sales to $3.575 million. Fixed ops sales have grown to 12.1% of total sales, but those operations are producing almost half of the dealership’s total gross profit (48.5% of total gross profit versus 46.8% last year). Warranty work growth has helped push the increases—warranty work amounts to 18.8% of the store’s fixed-ops sales so far this year. (Continued on Page 3)

ADVERTISER NEWS J.C. Penney had a similar result to those reported by Macy’s and Kohl’s—second quarter comps were down but by less than the first quarter. In Penney’s case however the 1.3% decline was exacerbated by liquidation sales at 127 stores, producing a quarterly loss of $62 million……Upscale competitor Nordstrom did better than most mid-market retailers—comp store sales at the full line stores rose by 1.4% and the Nordstrom Rack banner including the website was up 3.1% in comps……Payless ShoeSource, which had filed for bankruptcy protection in

April, has now emerged after having closed about 700 stores……Applebee’s will close as many as 135 locations after a quarter in which same-store sales fell by 6.2%. Applebee’s brand president said “These restaurants need to close and perhaps should have closed long ago” calling them “perhaps brand damaging.” And sibling IHOP also produced negatives for

parent DineEquity, comps down 2.6%. Up to 25 locations of that banner may be shuttered……Jack in the Box saw improved comps from both its brands, although a possible selloff of the Qdoba chain is still being evaluated. At the namesake chain, comps were down 1/1% (compared to minus 2.4% in the first quarter), while Qdobas were down 1.1% compared to minus 5.9 in the prior quarter. JITB says business improved when it started to focus more of its advertising on a value message. Corporately, it refranchised 58 locations in the quarter, now up to 118 such deals year-to-date……Kraft Heinz is teaming with Oprah to launch a new line of products that will be called O. That’s Good. The line will start with four varieties of soups and four side dishes, including mashed potatoes and pasta……Convenience Store News reports Sunoco is on pace to get out of the c-store business by the end of this year, having made three deals that will close in Q4. The biggest of those transactions is the $3.3 billion sale of more than 1,100 company-operated c-stores to 7-Eleven. Sunoco’s APlus franchisee-operated stores are not part of that deal……Murphy USA reports merchandise sales up 2.8% in the quarter while being in a period of “favorable retail fuel margins.” The chain remains on track to open 40-50 new stores a year, although only ten were actually opened during the first half of the year. (Continued on Page 3)

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

NETWORK NEWS A reboot of the 1960’s comedy series The Munsters is in development at NBC. The series about a family of lovable monsters will come from Odd Mom Out creator Jill Kargman and Seth Meyers. The half-hour single camera comedy follows the offbeat family determined to stay true to themselves but struggles to fit into hipster Brooklyn. Kargman will write the script and will executive produce along with Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, Meyers and Mike Shoemaker’s production company. Universal TV is the studio…….Variety is reporting that a new drama series is under development at NBC from the Maze Runner franchise team. Mosaic is set in a near-future metropolis and follows the interconnected lives of a diverse set of characters struggling to navigate their relationships in the face of emerging technologies. Wes Ball, who directed all three Maze Runner films is serving as executive producer on the project along with his producing partner Joe Hartwick Jr. Ball will also direct and Christine Lavaf (Fringe, Falling Skies) will write the script and executive produce……. The Television Academy is beginning talks with the Big Four networks to hammer out a new licensing deal for the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast. The current contract will expire in 2018 and it’s expected that ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox will continue to share the awards show under the rotating format that’s been the Emmy standard for more than 25 years.

THIS AND THAT Over-the-top video keeps growing, according to a story at Mediapost.com. eMarketer estimates there will be 193.3 million OTT users in 2017, with 168.1 million U.S. connected TV users. By way of comparison, Nielsen says there were 292.4 million users of live and time-shifted TV viewing in the first quarter of this year. OTT viewing/subscriptions are having an effect on lower traditional pay TV subscribers. The proportion of U.S. adults with a pay-TV subscription will fall from 77.6% in 2017 to 69.2% by the end of 2021....Macy’s hopes to revive sales with a new marketing plan and with a customer loyalty program. AdAge says Macy’s is simplifying its promotions in an effort to make sales more targeted and compelling. And its new approach to ads calls for a focus on regional, 15-second TV spots rather than national, 30-second spots -- the brainchild of Chief Marketing Officer Richard Lennox, who joined last year from Toys R Us. The new loyalty program will launch in the fall. Macy’s reported its 10th straight quarterly sales decline last week, recording a 2.8% drop in same-store sales.... Consumer prices posted a slight gain in July, with higher costs for medical care and clothing offsetting declines for hotel stays and consumer cellphone plans. The Labor Department says that its consumer price index edged up 0.1% last month after no gain in June and a 0.1% fall in May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food changes, was also up a slight 0.1% in July.... MoffettNathanson Research says there was a 9.1% decline in total day 18-49 viewers in Nielsen C3 ratings -- the average commercial minute ratings plus three days of time-shifted viewing -- for cable networks in Q2.

AVAILS WLKY, the Hearst-owned CBS affiliate in Louisville, KY has an outstanding opportunity for a multi-platform sales professional with a proven track record of success in both agency negotiations and new business development. The ideal candidate is self-motivated, coachable, thrives in a goal-oriented team environment and has strong interpersonal skills. If you have a strong desire to take your career to the next level we want to hear from you! Candidates interested in joining the WLKY Sales Team should please CLICK HERE to apply. EOE.

Entravision Boston, the leader in Spanish Language media, seeks an experienced and aggressive sales executive to join our Integrated Marketing Solutions, team. This career opportunity offers a new customer-focused approach toward media sales. You will have tremendous broadcast television, digital, and mobile sales platforms to drive creative and significant advertising revenues. Spanish Language media is the fastest

growing segment in advertising today, and Entravision Boston is a major shareholder in the space. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply. EOE. WESH 2, the Hearst Television NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida has an immediate opening for an experienced Sales Professional. If you are motivated by an excellent product, great compensation, and resources to be successful, while working in one of the fastest growing and most desirable markets in the country, look no further. We provide the tools for powerful marketing solutions, you provide client focus and desire to win. CLICK HERE for more information or to apply now. EOE. WPBF 25, the Hearst owned ABC Affiliate in the beautiful West Palm Beach market, has an incredible opportunity for you! WPBF 25 is looking for a dynamic sales superstar

to join our phenomenal sales team. The ideal candidate will bring both Broadcast and Digital sales experience and will possess the drive and ability to thrive in a fast paced, highly competitive market. Your creativity,

originality, and passion for developing New Business will be encouraged and rewarded! CLICK HERE to apply. EOE. BURGERS ARE SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES The New York Post notes for the first time in five quarters, the big three burger chains, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, all produced same-store increases greater than 3%. Combo deals may have played a big part in the resurgence, coming while much of the rest of the restau-rant business is still struggling. Deals during the quarter included Mickey D’s McPick 2 for $5 menu and Wendy’s 4 for $4 meals. An exec at consulting firm Pacific Manage-ment Consulting Group remarked, “Usually when one of the big three gets stronger, the other two get a little weaker, but what’s unusual now is that they all grew together and they all had positive foot traffic.”

8/14/2017

Conan O’Brien

Wal-Mart is testing out an app that would allow

shoppers to skip the checkout line. Currently

that service is known as shoplifting.

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

STORES’ HOT RETAILERS We reported last week about the hottest retailers in the country as shown in Stores’ magazine annual report of growing companies. While online retailers show plenty of strength, many predominately bricks-and-mortar chains are also showing strong growth in year-to-year comparisons. We’ve already noted diversity of segments in our earlier reports on the top 25 fastest-growing companies, but those in the next 25 also show diversity and a strong presence with physical stores. Convenience stores rank 26th and 28th (Kwik Trip and Murphy USA), with Academy Sports in between them. CVS is 29th and Sprouts rounds out the top 30. Other food stores in the top 50 include Smart & Final, Aldi, and Grocery Outlet. Two liquor sellers made the list, Lee’s Discount Liquor and Bevmo. Rural King and Tractor Supply are both in the top 50, and despite so much bad news from many apparel chains earlier this year several are still doing well including Boot Barn, Francesca’s, Lululemon, Skechers, Michael Kors, Burlington Stores, and Oxford Industries. Overstock.com was the only pure-play e-commerce retailer in the 25-50 ranking, while varied segments were highlighted by chains such as Guitar Center, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Sherwin-Williams.

YES—PRICE STILL MATTERS New research from IRI confirms what might seem to be evident: when it comes to food shopping, the price is still the biggest single factor in choosing a favorite store. 95% of consumers say they select a store based on its ability to fulfill their needs at the lowest possible price. And private labels play a huge part in determining if a store meets their needs: 82% say a good selection of private label products is a significant factor in picking a favorite store, even more than the 74% seeking a strong loyalty or discount program. Brand name marketers have already been facing challenges to higher prices, and that’s not going to get any easier.

DEALER PROFITS (Continued from Page One) ...As we have been tracking during the year, most stores have been increasing their advertising investments, although moderately. The average dealership has put $289,637 into advertising in this year’s first six months, up 3.1% from January-June, 2016. That represents 8.4% of the dealership’s total gross (8.2% last year) and an average of $645 per new vehicle retailed, up from $628 last year.We’ll have much more from this important data during the rest of the week.

ADVERTISER NEWS (Continued from Page One) Blue Apron may be the early leader in the growing food kit business, but it’s nowhere near making a profit. Although the company grew its customer base 23% over last year at this point, after cutting back on marketing during the last quarter, the counr was actually below the prior quarter by 9%. Marketing will stay down for a while as the company builds up its infrastructure.

AVAILS: WMBF-TV, the NBC affiliate in sunny Myrtle Beach, seeks a Digital Sales Manager. The DSM will lead the station’s efforts in developing new and incremental digital business while reducing digital churn and managing the station’s digital and local sales staff. The ideal candidate should have 4+ years of digital sales experience. We are looking for a leader that will work in tandem with our LSMs to develop digital revenues in the Myrtle Beach DMA. Qualified applicants, CLICK

HERE and attach your cover letter and resume. No calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V. KHON2, the FOX and CW affiliate in Honolulu, is looking for a General Sales Manager. We are seeking a “game changer” and proven leader who can communicate a vision, while devel-oping a management and sales team to generate extraordinary growth. The GSM should be proficient in inventory analysis, control and pricing; revenue forecasting, and budgeting; account

strategy; product training; and energetic, candid and fo-cused team development. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply. KHON2 (Nexstar Media Group) is an EOE.

COURT: SAFEWAY OVERCHARGED ONLINE Here’s a drawback to supermarket delivery of food that Safeway didn’t see coming: A judge in California has upheld a ruling that will cost the chain $42 million for “pricing discrepancies” on delivery. A class action lawsuit had been filed saying that Safeway had increased pricing by about 10% for items that had been delivered, even though the company had said it would offer “price parity between online and physical stores.” The chain claimed it had published details saying “The prices quoted on our web site at the time of your order are estimated prices only. You will be charged the prices quoted for products you have selected for purchase at the time your order in processed at checkout.” The judge, however, decided Safeway did not have the authority to hold the customer to a new total without notice. Safeway has appealed the judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the appeal could take several years.

8/14/2017

Seth Meyers

A truck carrying 22,000 pounds of ravioli and

jalapenos caught on fire while on a highway in

Indiana — and immediately became Guy Fieri’s latest restaurant.

SATURDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY