In its just released latest edition of The Nielsen Total Audience Report, Nielsen dives into the world of working from home—how consumers feel about their productivity, engagement, challenges and the impact this new lifestyle is having on media and device usage.
More time at home for consumers means more exposure to the wide array of content and ads available in an exceedingly more digital world. And the longer Americans work from home—regardless of whether by choice or not—the greater the likelihood that their recently developed media habits will stick around, ultimately changing the playing field for how publishers and advertisers are able to engage with audiences. Nielsen wonders could daytime become the new primetime? A future where consumers spend more time at home has implications beyond longer time spent with media in general; it means more opportunities for local businesses and communities to grow as well as more of a focus that marketers should be placing on them.
According to Nielsen’s Total Audience Report: Work from Home Edition, two-thirds (66%) of U.S. remote workers reported to have started working from home since the outbreak, an incredibly massive migration of people into an alternate work setting. Despite being thrust into the work from home experience as a restrictive safety measure with little prep time, respondents not only adapted but quickly became comfortable with this new way to live and work (or work and live). Some even seem like they’re thriving in this new environment.
Pre-pandemic, peak media hours were typically limited to before employees clocked in and after they clocked out, depending on the medium. With the elimination of a commute and the full array of their preferred platforms available, working from home provides consumers two elements vital to increasing consumption: time and choice. Whether its streaming video content, listening to podcasts or browsing social media, a majority of consumers have reported partaking in these behaviors during work hours. That means more windows of opportunity for content creators and advertisers alike to reach audiences outside of the traditional primetime, as well as potential new, creative ways to engage with consumers.
According to The Nielsen Remote Workers Consumer Survey, 52% of consumers would like to be able to work from home going forward, while 25% would like to work from home exclusively. The possibility of permanent, widespread remote work could further cement the media habits that have been adopted during quarantine. Not only that, but more discretionary spending as a result of cutting the cost of traditional office life could arise as well, making effective advertising for the remote work life all the more important.
An overwhelming amount of respondents also say they would like to be allowed to work remotely from a location of their choosing, as well as maintain their current salary. Should they be allowed both, 69% of respondents said they would spend more money on discretionary items. That bodes well for local businesses and regional brands in particular when we recall that remote work consumers reported being more inclined to spend their money within their community. Moreover, areas that are seen as more affordable, attractive, and under-the-radar would potentially face an influx of new residents.
Educators and parents across the U.S. are struggling to find a way to start the school year safely in the midst of a pandemic, The New York Times reports. In New York, the teachers’ union has asked the city to delay the start of in-school instruction for several weeks to make sure that the proper safety measures are in place. In Tampa, school officials are planning to keep remote learning in place for at least a month, in defiance of state orders to get kids back in the schools. In Cherokee County, Georgia, nearly 1,200 students and school personnel tested positive for the virus after schools reopened. Two of the district’s high schools have returned to at-home learning until at least the end of August.
Florida sheriff orders deputies not to don masks
"We can debate and argue all day of why and why not. The fact is, the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn’t" https://t.co/VevD9tPpSj
Crackdown on Mask Haters: Many cities and states across the U.S. were reluctant to impose a mandate on their citizens to wear masks while in public. But the pandemic is continuing to rage through the population. And, most scientists are now convinced that wearing a mask is a deterrent to getting or spreading the virus. Now, many local and state governments are cracking down on people who refuse to comply with local laws on wearing masks, The New York Times reports. And they also are responding to scattered reports of actual violent attacks on store workers and others who confront people not wearing masks.
A 17-year-old worker at a Pennsylvania theme park suffered a displaced jaw and will require surgery after he was assaulted by a couple he asked to wear masks, police say. https://t.co/DueEBI1tc5
Tracking the Pandemic: As of yesterday, 46,808 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in the U.S., with 1,074 fatalities, according to statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins. Since the pandemic began, 5,193,266 have been infected. A total 165,923 American lives have been lost.
Orlando Sentinel 8/13/20
➤SHE’S ‘READY TO DO THE JOB’: Former Vice President Joe Biden introduced U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate yesterday at an event in Wilmington, Delaware. Harris is a former prosecutor and two-time attorney general of California. She is the first Black woman and the first person of Asian descent to be nominated to the top of a ticket in the U.S.
Mike Pence tells Sean Hannity he “can't wait” to debate Kamala Harris, says voters' choice “could not be clearer” pic.twitter.com/ADz1WYd8kU
➤BIG 12 STEAMS AHEAD: The leadership of the Big 12 has decided to go ahead with the 2020 college football season, with games scheduled to begin on September 26th. Both the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have decided to postpone play until at least early 2021 out of concern for the health of their student players during the coronavirus pandemic. The Atlantic Coast Conference has said that it will start play the weekend of September 12th while the Southeastern Conference says it will start September 26th.
➤THE BUBBLE IS GETTING BIGGER: The NBA is expanding the bubble enclosing its teams playing at Disney World. Families and a few “long-time, close personal friends” will be allowed to stay. There are only 17 hotel rooms available, so this does not involve a big crowd of people. But the players will have a tiny cheering section in the stands for the first time in a long time.
➤COACH MUDD DIES AT AGE 78: Howard Mudd, the long-time offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts, died yesterday of complications from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident. Colts owner Jim Irsay called him “one of the game’s all-time greatest offensive line coaches.” He had a seven-year playing career with the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears.
➤SEAN McDERMOTT STAYS WITH THE BILLS: The Buffalo Bills have signed head coach Sean McDermott to an extension that will keep him with the team through the 2025 season. In just three seasons, McDermott has coached the Bills to a 25-23 record and two playoff appearances.
➤ZACH JOHNSON WINS PAYNE STEWART AWARD: Zach Johnson has been honored with the 2020 Payne Stewart Award. The honor is given to a player who upholds Stewart’s respect for the traditions of the game and commitment to charitable causes. Johnson is a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour and is known for his gracious demeanor and good sportsmanship.
Radio Advertising Bureau announced Wednesday the planned acquisition of the National Radio Talent System to offer a unified and integrated system of radio talent institutes across the United States, which will continue to discover and prepare the next generation of broadcasters.
The national system will continue to operate under its brand name and network of Radio Talent Institutes across the country with the oversight of the RAB, thus enabling it to operate as a feeder to radio broadcasters. RAB plans to continue the important work started by National Radio Talent System founder and president, Dan Vallie, who will advise the RAB as it integrates the institute into the organization.
“An integral part of the RAB’s mission is providing the industry with the tools and resources to help broadcasters attract new sales talent to the medium and enhance radio’s professionalism through training and support,” said RAB’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Erica Farber, “The integration of the National Radio Talent System into the RAB delivers on the mission in so many ways, and we are just delighted to continue to grow Dan Vallie’s vision and take it to the next phase.”
“The future of our companies is dependent on the next generation of committed, prepared, and talented radio professionals,” said Susan Larkin, Entercom Communications’ Chief Operating Officer and RAB Board Chair, “The National Radio Talent System is unique in that it provides a radio talent farm for the industry, an incubator of well-rounded, well-educated college talent with a passion for radio; that’s why investing in this program is good for the RAB and the industry.”
Dan Vallie
RAB’s curriculum has been an essential component of the institutes’ curriculum with RAB’s Professional Development training. College students, recent graduates and radio interns have to apply to be accepted into the intensive 10-day Institutes. Sessions include almost every aspect of radio including on-air, programming, sales, writing, news, sports, promotions, videography, podcasting, social media, engineering and management. Each student participates in RAB training and takes the exam to earn their Radio Marketing Professional Certification.
“The National Radio Talent System began as a labor of love because of the need the industry has had, and today more than ever, to discover, and prepare the next generation of broadcasters, who can be hired today and be leaders in our industry tomorrow”, said Vallie. “Today’s visionary broadcasters, universities and sponsors working together have made it a reality, and RAB has been there with us from the very first Radio Talent Institute. With Erica and the RAB’s passion, vision and infrastructure, I’m confident the National Radio Talent System will continue to grow and maximize it’s potential; assuring the industry of young talent on through this 21st century. I truly believe over the next 100 years radio will be the keystone of a golden age of audio, even more so by attracting these young talent to the industry. It’s people that make the difference, always has been and always will be”.
As previously announced, all 2020 programs were re-scheduled for 2021 due to COVID-19.
Tribune Publishing Company, which owns some of the most storied newspapers in American journalism, said Wednesday that it is closing the newsrooms at five of them, including New York’s Daily News and The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Chicago Tribune reports the company said the newspapers — including the Orlando Sentinel in central Florida, The Morning Call in Allentown, PA, and the Carroll County Times in Maryland — will continue to be published with employees working from home as they have been during the coronavirus pandemic.
Employees were told they would be working at home until at least January 2021.
The Tribune Publishing Company also publishes the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Virginia’s Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot, and the Hartford Courant.
The Daily News, once the newspaper with the largest circulation in the country, has been in financial trouble for years and was sold to The Tribune Publishing Company for $1 in 2017 by New York real estate developer and media mogul Mortimer B. Zuckerman. The new owner cut the newsroom staff in half.
Its offices at 4 New York Plaza in Manhattan will be formally closed as of Wednesday and staff will be given until Oct. 30 to retrieve personal items, a human resources executive at The Daily News said in a letter to employees obtained by The Associated Press.
“With no clear path forward in terms of returning to work, and as the company evaluates its real estate needs in light of health and economic conditions brought about by the pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the office,” said Reinsdorf, referring to The Daily News in a statement about the newsroom closures.
The Capital Gazette in Maryland’s capital moved to its current newsroom about a year after the June 2018 mass shooting in which a gunman who had a history of harassing the newspaper’s journalists killed five employees. Before that, for nearly a year, the newspaper’s staff worked in a temporary newsroom at the University of Maryland’s Capital News Service bureau in Annapolis.
In a June 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tribune Publishing said it had withheld three months of rent payments for “a majority of its facilities and requested rent relief from the lessors in various forms,” including lease terminations, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.
The postponement of much of the college football season could disrupt the flow of more than $1 billion from advertisers to the television networks that count on a slate of game broadcasts every fall, reports The NYTimes.
The return of the college game — a reliable ratings draw — might have helped the TV industry salvage a year of declining revenues resulting from pandemic-related cancellations and production delays. Now that the Big Ten and the Pacific-12 conferences, two of college football’s five powerhouse leagues, have pushed back their seasons amid concerns about the coronavirus, media companies are preparing for more pain.
Many players and school administrators, and even President Trump, had lobbied against the postponement, which could have financial ramifications for teams, campuses and local communities. The punting of the season will also affect the networks that have spent billions to secure broadcast rights, as well as the companies that had planned to spend millions to advertise their products.
“The implications are huge economically,” said Kevin Krim, the chief executive of EDO, a TV ad measurement platform that works with the networks and advertisers. “The cable and broadcast television ecosystem, with advertisers and rights fees and subscriber fees, are heavily anchored to live sports, and the most valuable franchises there are football.”
Last season, college football brought in nearly $1.7 billion in spending on television advertising, according to the research firm Kantar. Companies like Allstate, Chick-fil-A and State Farm each spent more than $30 million to advertise during games, while AT&T spent more than $70 million, Kantar found.
The Walt Disney Company and Fox are among the conglomerates likely to take a hit. More than 27.3 million people watched Louisiana State triumph over Clemson to win the national championship on Jan. 13, a game broadcast by the Disney-owned ESPN. It drew an estimated $91 million in advertising, according to EDO.
Cox Communications has moved to trim $243 million off the $1 billion copyright infringement ruling levied against it late last year, reports Digital Music News.
The Atlanta-headquartered internet service giant and television provider recently submitted the request to a Virginia federal court, and Digital Music News obtained an exclusive copy of the corresponding filing. For additional background, the long-running legal battle initiated in August 2018, when the Big Three record labels and several other plaintiffs, corralled by the RIAA, targeted Cox Communications in a $1.5 billion copyright infringement complaint.
Essentially, the plaintiff entities alleged that Cox failed to adequately respond to and address its users copyright infringements – and, in turn, “obtained a direct financial benefit” at their expense.
A courtroom confrontation as it raged on through the remainder of 2018 and the vast majority of 2019, until a jury determined on December 19th that the record labels’ qualms carried weight. Besides finding the ISP guilty of both vicarious and contributory copyright infringement, the jury opted to award the plaintiffs $99,830.29 for each of the 10,017 infringed works, bringing the grand damages total to an even $1 billion.
Cox Communications promptly fought back against the “shockingly excessive” ruling, though U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady dismissed the majority of the 58-year-old company’s challenges in June. However, the federal judge also indicated that the 10,017-work infringement list may have been “premature,” before granting the defendants 60 days to provide an updated tally (accounting for overlapping sound recordings and underlying compositions, as well as songs that the plaintiffs don’t in fact own).
Women To Watch Media® LLC (W2W), a multi-media network that features women leading across all industries from around the world, makes it New York debut on Talkradio 77WABC Saturday, August 15 at 8:30 pm.
Launching on 77 WABC as a 30-minute show initially, W2W will expand to one hour at a soon-to-be-announced time, beginning Saturday, September 5. W2W is also heard in Philadelphia on WPHT 1210, where the show originated. In addition, W2W has expanded to a national podcast and digital platform.
"Women To Watch has showcased accomplished women for years in Philadelphia,” commented Dave LaBrozzi, Senior Vice President of Programming for 77WABC and its parent company Red Apple Media. “77 WABC is proud to support strong women by bringing this lively and inspiring weekly show to the NYC market."
Hosted by founder Susan Rocco, the first guest featured on 77WABC will be Heather Cohen, Executive Vice President of The Weiss Agency, a broadcast talent agency that represents and develops the careers of many of the industry’s most successful local and syndicated personalities. In 2013 Talkers Magazine awarded Heather with the prestigious “Judy Jarvis Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Talk Radio by a Woman,” also known as “Woman of the Year”. Radio Ink Magazine has selected Heather as one of the Most Influential Women in Radio every year since 2014.
"Women To Watch® is the place to go to hear inspiring stories by inspiring women,” commented Cohen. “Susan is the consummate professional, and her interviews are spot on. I am honored to be the first guest in the NY market."
Women to Watch® currently airs on 1210 WPHT Talk Radio in Philadelphia on Sundays at 7pm and available for download on podcast platforms Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Radio.com and iHeartRadio. The show is sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, United Way, Publicis Health, Jefferson Health Systems, Ballard Spahr, Pathways Consulting and Fortis Wealth.
Stations looking to add Women to Watch® to their line-up can contact Laura Scotti, General Manager of Women to Watch Media® at laura@women2watch.net.
➦In 1919...Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard born (Died at age 88 – September 21, 2007). He was a pioneering radio and TV evangelist whose Cathedral of Tomorrow show was aired on over 600 stations at the peak of its popularity.
➦In 1952...the original version of Hound Dog was recorded by Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton. It was the first hit for songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who also wrote Kansas City for Wilbert Harrison, On Broadway for The Drifters, and Stand By Me for Ben E. King. Four years later, Hound Dog got the attention of the world when it was recorded by Elvis Presley.
➦In 1966…The controversy over John Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" comments had been growing since late July. A public bonfire was on this day organised by the radio station KLUE in Longview, Texas.
The following day, the KLUE broadcast tower was struck by lightning, damaging much of their equipment and sending the news director to the hospital.
➦In 1959...Daniel Bonaduce born. The son of veteran TV writer/producer Joseph Bonaduce (The Dick Van Dyke Show, One Day at a Time, and others), he became famous as a child actor of the 1970s on the TV sitcom The Partridge Family. He co-starred as Danny Partridge, the wisecracking, redheaded middle son of the singing family band (headed by Shirley Jones), and he was the fictional pop group's bass guitar player.
Bonaduce 2007
Since then, Bonaduce has starred in several other TV series, including the VH1 reality show Breaking Bonaduce in 2005, radio shows in Los Angeles and Philadelphia and has been hosting a morning talk/music show at Seattle radio station KZOK-FM since November 14, 2011.
In the late 1980s, Bonaduce had become an on-air radio personality. He worked an overnight shift at Philadelphia's WEGX-FM. From 1994 to 1996, Bonaduce hosted his own radio show, The Danny Bonaduce Show on The Loop WLUP in Chicago. Between 1996 and 1998, Bonaduce hosted a morning radio show in Detroit on WKQI with comedian and Last Comic Standing winner John Heffron.
Bonaduce was part of The Adam Carolla Show in 2007. In 2008 he was given a daily one-hour solo spot known as Broadcasting Bonaduce, which was broadcast locally on the L.A.-based KLSX station. In February 2009, it was announced that the station had changed its format from talk to Top 40, and the removal of Broadcasting Bonaduce from the KLSX schedule was confirmed.
On October 31, 2011, it was announced by Seattle radio station 102.5 KZOK that Bonaduce would be co-hosting their morning-drive show beginning on November 14, 2011. Bonaduce came to Seattle from a radio stint at 94 WYSP in Philadelphia, following a format change from classic rock to all sports radio in September 2011.
Bonaduce is an ordained minister; he was ordained online in order to perform a wedding ceremony as part of a 94WYSP radio promotion in early 2011.
➦In 1986...KRE-AM in Berkeley CA changes call letters to KBLX (now KVTO). The station began in Berkeley in 1922 as KRE, the former call-sign of a marine radio station aboard a World War I merchant marine steamship, Florence H., destroyed in an April 17, 1918, explosion at Quiberon Bay, France. Later programming was simulcast on KRE-FM and there were occasional AM/FM stereo broadcasts, including some classical music programming. KRE's call letters changed to KPAT in 1963, then back to KRE in 1972. The call letters KBLX were adopted in 1986, then changed to KBFN in 1989 and back to KBLX in 1990. The current call letters, KVTO, were adopted in 1994.
The station is currently owned by Phuong Pham, through licensee Pham Radio Communication LLC and air a Chinese fromat.
➦In 1986...NYC TV Personality (Officer) Joe Bolton died. He started his broadcast career in 1927 as a staff announcer for WOR in Newark, NJ. He was the announcer for DuMont Television Network's talent show Doorway to Fame in 1947, but he left DuMont for WPIX on May 15, 1948 to be a news announcer and weatherman.
Joe Bolton
On January 17, 1955, he appeared as "Officer Joe" and hosted The Clubhouse Gang, which featured the Little Rascals and the theme song "The Whistler and his Dog". WPIX lost the rights to The Little Rascals, and in September 1958, he switched to hosting The Three Stooges Funhouse, a showcase of The Three Stooges shorts which aired on WPIX weekdays until May 7, 1970, mostly weekdays at 5:30 pm. At one time, he was host of WPIX's The Dick Tracy Show as "Police Chief Joe".
Bolton also had cameos in two Three Stooges films: Stop! Look! and Laugh (1960), as a customer in a cafe; and in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965), the last feature film by The Three Stooges, which featured him and eight other local children television show hosts, all cast as villains.
Bolton appeared at many New York area venues, including Freedomland U.S.A. in The Bronx, to meet and entertain children. At Freedomland, he hosted appearances by The Three Stooges at the park's Moon Bowl entertainment venue. Bolton and The Three Stooges are featured in the book Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History (Theme Park Press, 2019).
Bolton retired in 1975 to Santa Monica, California, and died in 1986 at Santa Monica Hospital of a heart attack.
Terry Steele
➦In 1993...Radio personality Terry Steele died after a fall in his bathtub. He was 46. One of the smoothest-sounding of all the CHUM jocks, Steele was born James Stromberg on July 19, 1947 in Chester, PA. His first radio job was in Carlisle at $60 a week. Steele jocked at WINX Rockville, Maryland, and WNOR Norfolk, Virginia, before arriving at CHUM in 1972. He spent 15 years at CHUM, establishing himself as one of Toronto's top jocks while voicing many of the station's specials.
Steele was part of one of CHUM's most memorable promotions when he wrestled Sweet Daddy Siki in 1974. He had the honor of signing off CHUM's Top 40 era on June 6, 1986 and continued at the station during the short-lived "Favorites of Yesterday and Today" format. After leaving CHUM in 1987, Steele jocked at CKEY, CKFM and CJEZ in Toronto. For CKEY aircheck: Click Here.
➦In 2007...In 2007..Phil Rizzuto, NY Yankees player and announcer died in his sleep, three days short of the 51st anniversary of his last game as a Yankee, exactly twelve years after the death of Mickey Mantle, and just over one month shy of his 90th birthday. He had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, New Jersey for the last months of his life. At the time of his death, at age 89, Rizzuto was the oldest living member of Baseball's Hall of Fame.
Phil Rizzuto
After a long Hall of Fame career as a player, Rizzuto broadcast Yankee games on radio and television for the 40 years. His popular catchphrase was "Holy Cow." Rizzuto also became known for saying "Unbelievable!" or "Did you see that?" to describe a great play, and would call somebody a "huckleberry" if he did something Rizzuto did not like.
He would frequently wish listeners a happy birthday or anniversary, send get-well wishes to fans in hospitals, and speak well of restaurants he liked, or of the cannoli he ate between innings. He also joked about leaving the game early, saying to his wife, "I'll be home soon, Cora!" and "I gotta get over that bridge", referring to the nearby George Washington Bridge, which he would use to get back to his home in Hillside. In later years, Rizzuto would announce the first six innings of Yankee games; the TV director would sometimes puckishly show a shot of the bridge (which can be seen from the top of Yankee Stadium) after Rizzuto had departed. Rizzuto was also very phobic about lightning, and sometimes left the booth following violent thunderclaps.
Rizzuto started his broadcasting career working alongside Mel Allen and Red Barber in 1957. Among a number of announcers that Rizzuto worked with over the course of his career, Frank Messer (1968-1985) and Bill White (1971-1988) were the two most memorable. Rizzuto, Messer, and White were the main broadcast trio that presided over an important time period for the Yankees, which spanned from the non-winning CBS years through the championship seasons and other years of struggle during the Steinbrenner era. On television, for example, the Yankees broadcast team went unchanged from 1972-82.
➦In 2010...Edwin Harold Newman died at age 91 (Born - January 25, 1919). He was anewscaster, journalist, and author. After beginning his career with the wire services and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Newman worked in radio for CBS News. He is known for a 23-year career in television news with the National Broadcasting Company, from 1961 to 1984.
Newman - 1975
Newman initially worked for the wire services: first for the International News Service as a copy boy, mostly in the Senate, and then United Press. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he heard the news during a radio concert. When he rang the office asking if he should come in, the reply was "Hell yes!" Newman took dictation for 12 hours as United Press reporters phoned in their stories.
He served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945 as a signal officer, stationed first in Trinidad and then at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Following the war Newman worked as a reporter for United Press (1945–1946, primarily reporting about the State Department), before moving to the CBS News radio division (1947–1949) as assistant to Eric Sevareid.
Between 1949 and 1952 Newman worked as a freelancer, primarily for NBC News. He wrote for a number of publications and, in 1951. In 1952, Newman began to work full-time for NBC. Between 1961 and 1984, Newman participated in a wide variety of NBC programs, primarily for NBC News. He was a regular on the Today show and was its news anchor from July 24 to December 22, 1961, then a contributor and guest host. On Meet the Press, he was a frequent panelist and moderator.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Kathryn Fiore is 41
Actor Kevin Toghe (“Emergency,” ″Murder One”) is 76.
Opera singer Kathleen Battle is 72.
Actor Danny Bonaduce (“The Partridge Family”) is 61.
Actor Dawnn Lewis (“A Different World,” ″Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”) is 59.
Actor John Slattery (“Mad Men,” ″Desperate Housewives”) is 58.
Examining the continuing economic fallout from the coronavirus in recent months, BIA Advisory Services has adjusted its estimate for the total local advertising market for 2020 to $140.4 billion, down from $144.3 billion in April. BIA’s updated forecast estimate represents a 6.1 percent decline from 2019, even with strong political advertising anticipated this year and a few business verticals showing advertising strength.
“To update our post-COVID forecast from April, we analyzed the continuing impact on local advertising by the weakened economy, continuing job loss reports, and the downturn in some key business verticals,” said Mark Fratrik, SVP and Chief Economist, BIA Advisory Services. “Right now, we believe a realistic view of the economy overall and the advertising marketplace is that after a dramatic decrease in the second-quarter and a bumpy start to the third, the remainder of the year will turn positive but end up with an overall decline in local advertising for the year.”
Local political ad spend continues to be one positive area. As campaigns continue to migrate to online rallies and events, both presidential and down ballot candidates are spending significant dollars in local broadcast and digital advertising. Since its April forecast, BIA increased the expected political ad spend from $7.1 billion to $7.3 billion. Of the $209 million increase, the distributed share to different media include $138 million to TV OTA, $40 million to Cable, $26 million to Online/Digital, and $5 million to Radio OTA.
Mark Fratrik
The verticals showing some COVID resilience include healthcare and finance & insurance. While both are down in terms of overall ad revenue spend, these industries have solid areas of steady and even slightly increasing ad spend.
Within healthcare, health and personal care stores are estimated to spend $97.6 million in 2020 and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturers are forecast to spend $658.3 million to promote wellness products and services. In terms of finance & insurance, as people want help rebuilding their savings, college funds and retirement accounts, companies in consumer & lending stores are forecast to spend $1.6 billion while investment & retirement stores are projected to spend $3.0 billion in local advertising this year.
As for overall media ad spend, when comparing ad revenue estimates of both pre- and post-COVID, all media, except over-the-top (OTT), are experiencing a decline in ad revenue, as shown in the chart below.
“The economic situation caused by the pandemic continues to create a difficult local advertising market,” said Tom Buono, CEO and Founder BIA Advisory Services. “It’s critical to examine where the advertising dollars are flowing and what your particular business can go after. As ad budgets shift, an understanding of what is happening in your local market represents a real opportunity to expand your share of wallet.”
BIA will join SalesFuel to present local advertising data and analysis during the webinar, Accelerating 4th Quarter Revenue: Planning for 2021, on Tuesday, August 18 at 11 am eastern. The webinar will help executives organize their sales plans and prepare revenue assessments.
Sumner Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein; May 27, 1923 - August 12, 2020)
Sumner Redstone, who turned his family’s movie-theater company into a global media empire spanning television, movies, radio and books, and who famously proclaimed that “content is king,” has died.
Redstone died Tuesday. He was 97 years old, reports The Wall street Journal.
Redstone achieved fame in the entertainment industry late in life, assembling a sprawling set of assets through a mix of savvy investing, creative litigation and all-around ruthlessness. He was among a now-shrinking group of moguls like John Malone and Rupert Murdoch who have shaped the media landscape through gutsy mergers.
The companies he controlled, CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc., delivered an array of programming into American living rooms and onto the big screen, from CBS prime-time shows like “The Big Bang Theory” and irreverent cable programs on MTV and Comedy Central to film hits from the Paramount Pictures studio such as “Titanic” and “Top Gun.”
The mercurial Mr. Redstone was famously hot tempered in both his business and family dealings. Known to his own grandchildren as “Grumpy,” over the years he sparred with and dismissed several top executives, feuded with nearly all of his closest family members and was so hard on wait staff that he was barred from some restaurants.
Having survived several brushes with death—once by fire and later by cancer—he loved to boast that he would never die. On the rare occasion that he would admit to being mortal, he assured investors in his $27 billion media empire that his meticulous estate planning would ensure that he would control his assets from beyond the grave.
But as his health began to falter in his later years, a series of battles unfolded over who would control his empire. A question at the center of those fights was whether he had the mental capacity to continue as the controlling shareholder.
When the dust settled by the fall of 2018, his once-estranged daughter, Shari Redstone, was calling the shots at both CBS and Viacom, as the de facto leader of National Amusements Inc., the family holding company that owns 80% of the voting shares in each company. The two former chief executives with whom she had sparred, Viacom’s Philippe Dauman and CBS’s Leslie Moonves, had been forced out. On her watch, CBS and Viacom agreed to merge in 2019.
As a student at Harvard University, Mr. Redstone participated in a special intelligence group that worked to break Japanese military and diplomatic codes during World War II. He attended Harvard Law School and, upon graduation, went to work in the government. He was a special assistant to the attorney general when the Justice Department was pursuing U.S. v. Paramount, an antitrust case that broke up the traditional Hollywood studio system.
In 1954, he joined the family’s drive-in theater company, later renamed National Amusements, and over time took control, aggressively expanding around the East Coast and Midwest. Drawing on his Justice Department experience, he successfully sued the major studios in 1958 to force them to give his theaters top movies at the same time they were made available to bigger theater chains.
He pioneered the development of theaters with more than one screen and even trademarked the term “multiplex” for the concept, now commonplace.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen U.S. Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate from an all-female list of frontrunners for the vice presidential slot. In these peculiar times, Biden made his announcement via email and tweet, calling his vice presidential pick “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.”
Harris, who is 55 years old, is a U.S. senator from California. She was twice elected the state’s attorney general. She had a reputation for being tough on crime as the state’s attorney general and, earlier, as a prosecutor. A daughter of two immigrants, her father is an emeritus professor at Berkeley who was born in Jamaica and her mother was a scientist who was born in India.
That makes Senator Harris the first Black woman and the first person of Asian descent to be named to a major national party’s ticket.
Saying Kamala Harris was ‘nasty’ to now-Justice Kavanaugh, President Trump said he was surprised that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden picked her as his running mate https://t.co/V5jsWbgVivpic.twitter.com/V0vBYWPsiX
Asked for his reaction to Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, President Donald Trump praised his own vice president, Mike Pence, and dissed Kamala Harris. He said she was “the meanest, the most horrible, the most disrespectful” senator present at the contention hearings into the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanagh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
➤NEW POLL SHOWS BIDEN WITH A 10-POINT LEAD: A Monmouth University poll released yesterday shows Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by 10 points. That shows some slippage from late June, when the former vice president had a 13-point lead in the same poll. The new results show him leading by a margin of 51% to 41%. President Trump’s unfavorable rating stands at 54% in the poll compared with 40% who say they have a favorable opinion of the president.
➤RECORD NUMBERS MAY VOTE BY MAIL THIS FALL: An estimated 76% of all American voters will be eligible to mail in their ballots in this fall’s presidential elections, according to The New York Times. A record number is expected to take advantage of that right, given the coronavirus. In fact, some states are taking step to make voting by mail easier this year because of the pandemic. Those measures include mailing ballots or ballot applications to all voters. President Trump vigorously opposes voting by mail because, he says, it facilitates election fraud.
➤TRUMP ADDS NEW HEALTH ADVISER TO TEAM: President Trump has named another expert to his team of advisers on the coronavirus. Dr. Scott Atlas is a healthcare policy expert at the conservative Hoover Institution, and his views are closer to the president’s than those of Dr. Anthony Fauci. In June, Atlas said that the idea that schools could not reopen this fall was “hysteria” and “ludicrous.” He also advocates the resumption of college football games. Early this week, Dr. Atlas told Fox News that “young people that age without a co-morbidity have virtually a zero risk from this.”
North Georgia Students Stuck in Quarantine: The Cherokee County School District opened its schools only last week but now 826 students have been ordered into quarantine due to possible exposure to the coronavirus. About 40 children have tested positive. The school district north of Atlanta has about 42,000 students in its elementary, middle and high schools. School officials recommended but did not require that students and teachers wear masks at school.
Dubious News from Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that his country has developed the world’s first coronavirus vaccine and, he said, “it works effectively enough.” He said his own daughter had taken it. There is little to no chance that this vaccine will be approved for use outside Russia. It was not tested for safety or effectiveness in large-scale clinical trials, as is required for drugs approved in the U.S. and most other nations.
Some Twitter users poked fun at Smash Mouth, invoking the line "I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed" from their song "All Star" in response to the decision to perform at the large event. https://t.co/fwovqvz0C4
Latest Statistics: Yesterday, there were 49,536 new cases of coronavirus identified in the U.S. and 525 deaths, according to statistics tracked by Johns Hopkins. Globally, only India had more new cases. The total number of cases in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic stands at 5,044,864. More than 163,000 have died.
NY Post 8/12/20
➤BIG 10 MAKES IT OFFICIAL: Football’s Big Ten just made it official: Their 2020 games are postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 14-team league hopes to play the postponed games in the spring. “The Big Ten will always put the mental and physical health and safety and wellness of our student-athletes at the center,” Commissioner Kevin Warren told the Big Ten Network. The move sidelines big names including Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin. It also makes it more likely that few or no college football games will be played this fall.
➤PAC-12 CONFERENCE IS OFF, TOO: Hours after the Big Ten opted out, the Pac-12 Conference announced that it would postpone all sports competitions through the end of 2020. It hopes to return after January 1st. The decision was not unexpected. Half of the Pac-12 teams are in California or Arizona, which are particularly hard hit by the coronavirus. They include UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley and Arizona State.
As of last night, the Big 12 was reported to be “leaning towards trying to play” in the fall as usual. That's Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State, among others.
➤NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BUBBLE: The NBA is sticking with tradition by naming an MVP even while it’s stuck inside a bubble. The league announced it will honor a Player of the Seeding Games. That’s basically an MVP for the eight games played at Walt Disney World. An All-Seeding Games Team also will be named. The winners will be selected by a panel of sports reporters and broadcasters who are on site in Florida. The final seeding games will be played on Friday, with playoffs scheduled to start Monday.
Video shows Astros hitting coach antagonizing A's player Ramón Laureano from the dugout. pic.twitter.com/Hs9yjgrxbd
➤ASTROS COACH SUSPENDED: Houston Astros coach Alex Cintron has been slapped with a 20-game suspension for instigating a brawl between the Astros and the Oakland Athletics at Sunday’s game. Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano was suspended for six games for his role in the melee. Cintron apologized for his role in the incident while continuing to deny that he ever made a reference, profane or otherwise, to Laureano’s mother.
➤DEION SANDERS TO LEAVE NFL NETWORK: Hall of Famer Deion Sanders will leave the NFL Network at the end of his current contract, according to multiple news reports. The immediate cause was a dispute over contract terms, but Sanders is said to be pursuing a new role as a college football coach. He has been with the network since 2006.
Cousin Brucie Morrow revealed Tuesday that he will return to his roots hosting “Cousin Brucie’s Saturday Night Rock & Roll Party” on 770 WABC.
“It’s part of one of the most amazing moves I’ve ever made in my life,” Morrow tells Variety. “I was with SiriusXM for 15 years, and they were good years, but I was getting the feeling that I should make a move. I should do something to finish my career circle. Not that I’m finishing — I’ve got plenty to go.”
The Brooklyn-born Morrow, 84, will launch the next phase of his radio career with his first show on Sept. 5, with a special repeat broadcast two days later on Labor Day, he shared. The show will be heard on 77WABC and sister station WLIR-FM 107.1 in Hampton Bays, New York. Both stations are owned by John Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Media, which will also make the show available to fans through its digital media platforms for streaming on phones, smart speakers and computers.
In an interview with Variety shortly after the news hit, Morrow shared his thoughts:
VARIETY: Making this move from SiriusXM back to 770 WABC where it all began is major… the biggest radio personality news of the summer, for many people.
MORROW: I felt that I should get back into (terrestrial) radio. I missed the audience — the people who couldn’t pay the subscription. If you looked at my Facebook page, you’ll see. I think every other mention was WABC radio. Rock ‘n’ roll music in my career really started at WABC.
How did John Catsimatidis orchestrate your return to AM?
John is the gentleman who purchased WABC. He always listened to me on Saturday nights. He would drive in the car with his wife and listen to me. He used to request songs. So he and I became very friendly on the phone. A very major part of live radio is telephone… that is my connection to the audience. One thing led to the other, and eventually the son of a gun bought the station. And we started talking about “what if?” And then sure enough, one day we signed on the dotted line. So I’m very about this change. I’m going to rebuild my audience, and they’re very excited. It also has a national footprint; the radio station streams all over. So that’ll be a very important part of retaining what I’ve built over 50 years, and this audience in the tri-state area is going to be treated to radio on WABC, which has been all-talk. Now on Saturday night, it becomes music radio.
If this goes well, could that open it up to other music in dayparts on the weekend?
Absolutely. It would be an important decision for them to make, and they are doing pretty well with their talk format. But the music format will bring them a whole new audience. They will keep a lot of their audience, but there could be a crossover, and the idea of opening up the weekend to music would be a brilliant idea.
“With the cancellation of high school sports, events, the closure of small businesses and the struggles of those remaining (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), KRSN can no longer raise the advertising revenues it takes to run your free to you community radio station. We appreciate all our loyal listeners over the years, and we say farewell,” Co-owners David and Gillian Sutton said.
The Suttons have owned and operated the community radio station for the last 15 years, broadcasting local news, weather, sports and a variety of programming for your enjoyment.
David and Gillian both grew up in Los Alamos listening to KRSN, and when the station was in bankruptcy and for sale, they felt it was important to keep the community station broadcasting. Gillian had worked at KRSN when she was in high school, and with David’s skills as an engineer, they took a leap of faith and embarked on a career as radio broadcasters.
KRSN broadcast high school sports, and relatives of local athletes tuned in from all around the country.
KRSN won numerous broadcasting awards through the years, including Radio Station of the Year, National Crystal Radio Award finalist, Broadcaster of the Year and New Mexico Press Women’s Association awards. KRSN show hosts have won awards of excellence, and sportscaster Gene Mortenson is in the New Mexico Broadcasters Hall of Fame. KRSN mentored DJ’s into their careers in broadcasting.
“We are negotiating with other parties to purchase the station in hopes it remains a community radio station. We are still fulfilling all FCC and FAA requirements in maintaining all of KRSN’s assets.” the Suttons said.
“America’s Got Talent” topped the ratings last week, reports The Associated Press citing Nielsen figures, but it faces the absence of Simon Cowell, seriously injured in an electric bicycle accident.
Cowell, the NBC talent contest’s creator and linchpin of its judging panel, underwent surgery for a broken back last Saturday, just before the show kicked off its live episodes this week.
Kelly Clarkson, who came to fame as the first “American Idol” winner when Cowell judged the singing contest, was to step in as his temporary replacement.
Fox News Channel continued its summer ratings romp, with Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity’s shows combining to hold nine of the top 20 prime-time slots among all viewers.
In prime-time for Broadcast networks last week, CBS topped broadcasters with an average of 3.7 million viewers. NBC had 2.7 million viewers, ABC had 2.3 million, Fox and Univision had 1.3 million, ION Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 930,000.
⏩Top 20 Prime-Times Shows (Total viewers):
“America’s Got Talent,” NBC, 6.16 million.
“NCIS,” CBS, 4.91 million.
“America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 4.41 million.
“Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 4.4 million.
“60 Minutes Presents,” CBS, 4.14 million.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Monday), Fox News, 4.08 million.
“FBI,” CBS, 4.06 million.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Friday), Fox News, 4.01 million.
“Hannity” (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.98 million.
“Hannity” (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.97 million.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.96 million.
“Young Sheldon,” CBS, 3.95 million.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.89 million.
“Yellowstone,” Paramount, 3.83 million.
“Hannity” (Thursday), Fox News, 3.81 million.
“World of Dance,” NBC, 3.81 million.
“Hannity” (Monday), Fox News, 3.73 million.
“Great #AtHome Videos,” CBS, 3.71 million.
“Blue Bloods,” CBS, 3.71 million.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Thursday), Fox News, 3.66 million.
“Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 3.66 million
ABC’s “World News Tonight” led the evening newscasts, averaging 8.4 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.5 million, and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.3 million.
Fox News Channel led among cable networks, averaging 3.09 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.97 million, CNN had 1.34 million, HGTV had 1.27 million and TLC had 1.22 million.
