CMO Today: The Uncertain TV Ad Outlook
June 16 2016 - 07:58AM
Dow Jones News
By Steven Perlberg
UPPING THE UPFRONT: The "upfront" negotiating period, when ad
buyers and networks haggle over ad time for the upcoming fall
season, has begun, Variety reports. While talks are still in the
early stages (and will likely extend through the summer), Variety
notes that CBS and NBCUniversal are beginning to secure
commitments. Despite the challenges in the industry, TV executives
are bullish this year. Pricing in the year-round "scatter" market
has been strong, a result of a scarcity of ad inventory brought by
diminished ratings and the fact that many advertisers held back
their dollars last upfront. That may put networks in a position to
drive a harder bargain this year, but as Variety notes, ad buyers
are resisting double-digit percentage price hikes. As Matthew Ball
writes at Redef, even a strong upfront would distract from the
"impending fall of TV ad spend" due to eroding TV audiences. Yes,
even as other media have lost ad dollars to digital, TV's relative
resilience has been "impressive," he writes, "but it can't go on
forever" based on trends in how people are consuming content.
INFLUENCER TECH: By now your Instagram and Twitter feeds are
full of "influencers" hawking various products (with varying
degrees of disclosure about who is paying). For years those deals
were brokered the old-fashioned way: people picking up the phone
and negotiating. But as CMO Today reports, a boatload of influencer
marketing firms are offering marketers fancy dashboards and
software where they can flip through influencers and select who
they want in a more automated fashion. In theory, that's easier for
marketers, but some in the space liken it to the early days of ad
tech. "Few of these startups have anything real under the hood,"
said Ted Murphy, CEO of social influencer firm IZEA. Indeed, ad
buyers say that sometimes the tactic can result in poor targeting,
or that marketers who have a bad experience end up irked at the
social media network instead.
CEASEFIRE: Hulk Hogan will have to go to his corner while Gawker
Media sorts out its bankruptcy situation. As The Wall Street
Journal reports, a Manhattan bankruptcy judge announced that both
sides had agreed to a "complete standstill" until next month, when
Gawker will return to bankruptcy court. Lawyers for Terry Bollea,
the wrestler's real name, had planned to seek sanctions against
Gawker CEO Nick Denton, who is fighting a Florida jury's $140
million invasion-of-privacy ruling levied against him and his
company. Meanwhile, with doubts swirling about whether potential
acquirer Ziff Davis would shutter Gawker Media's namesake site, Mr.
Denton posted a memo calling Gawker.com "as indestructable as a New
York cockroach." He said he would make sure Gawker.com finds "an
investor with a tolerance for controversy." Mr. Denton also
acknowledged that the company's legal woes had "undoubtedly
depressed" the company's valuation. Ziff Davis kicked off the
auction for the company at about $90 million.
NETFLIX AND BILL: In December, at the premiere of Netflix's "A
Very Murray Christmas," Bill Murray grabbed Netflix content chief
Ted Sarandos by the lapels and yelled to him, "You are the future,"
according to a New York Times report on the streaming giant. Mr.
Murray is far from the only person in the entertainment business to
recognize how vastly Netflix has changed the ecosystem. But the
company that added "binge-watching" and "Netflix and chill" into
the American vernacular still has its doubters on Wall Street, who
question its tiny profit (only $28 million on $2 billion in revenue
for the first quarter). The question now is whether the company's
global ambitions and huge $5 billion content budget can set it on a
path to dominate the future of internet TV as companies like Hulu
nip at its heels.
Elsewhere
Ahead of Cannes, Snapchat is striking another deal to boost its
measurement capabilities, this time with Oracle. The company says
the deal will help show marketers that advertising on Snapchat can
boost in-store sales. [ Bloomberg]
After Viacom's lead independent director expressed frustration
at being unable to meet controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone,
the mogul responded in a statement issued through a spokesman,
saying he no longer trusts Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman "or those who
support him." [ WSJ]
TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, who announced in March that
his leukemia is no longer in remission, will cover Game 6 of the
NBA Finals on rival network ESPN, the first time in his career he
has covered a final. [ SB Nation]
CBS has extended its rights deal with the Grammy Awards through
at least 2026. The network has broadcast the event since 1973. [
NYT]
Tumblr was Marissa Mayer's biggest acquisition, but top
executives at Yahoo clashed with employees at Tumblr, leading many
to flee and destroying morale at the company, writes Mashable's
Seth Fiegerman. Yahoo said Tumblr remains an "integral part" of the
business. [ Mashable]
As Disney promoted the launch of its new Shanghai theme park,
tragedy struck at Disney World in Florida when a 2-year-old was
killed in an alligator attack. [ WSJ]
The Boston Globe became the latest newspaper to use its front
page for an anti-gun editorial, showing a picture of an AR-15 and
the words "make it stop." [ CNN]
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 16, 2016 07:43 ET (11:43 GMT)
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