The other shoe seems to have dropped for U.S. media companies in the first quarter, which were already facing declining growth for subscription streaming services, reports nextTV.com.
According to an analysis conducted by Next TV of the top eight pay TV platforms operated by publicly traded companies, cord cutting increased by 31% in the first three months of 2022 vs. the comparable time frame of 2021.
Collectively, Comcast, Charter Communications, Dish Network, Hulu + Live TV, Verizon Fios TV, Altice USA, Sling TV and fuboTV lost just over 1.5 million video customers in the first quarter, vs. just over 1.15 million in Q1 2021.
The biggest cable operators, Comcast and Charter, were largely flat, but Dish Network saw a significant uptick in cord-cutting, losing around 230,000 subscribers each for its satellite TV and vMVPD platforms.
FuboTV also reported a loss of 75,000 users vs. a gain of just over 42,500 in the first quarter of last year.
Notably omitted from our analysis was DirecTV, which had been the U.S. pay TV business' biggest subscriber loser the last several years, but is no longer reported on in quarterly earnings reports following AT&T's spinoff of the operation with private equity interest last year.
DirecTV controls nearly 16 million U.S. pay TV homes across its satellite TV, vMVPD and legacy AT&T U-verse TV brands.
Privately traded cable operator Cox Communications, which serves around 3.6 million pay TV homes, was also not included.
Also left out was YouTube TV. Alphabet rarely discusses specific YouTube TV customer metrics in its quarterly earnings reports, but Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall estimated earlier Thursday that the Alphabet vMVPD lost around 200,000 customers in Q1.
Notably, in his note to investors Thursday, the analyst tied the acceleration of cord cutting to an unfortunate and concurrent slowdown in SVOD subscriber growth, particularly in the U.S.
As The Walt Disney Company reported Wednesday, Disney Plus Hotstar is growing quickly in India, accounting for nearly half of the company's global streaming expansion in its fiscal second quarter. But Disney Plus added only 1.5 million North American customers during the three-month period ending April 2, while Hulu tacked on only 300,000.
This comes three weeks after Netflix's bombshell revelation that it lost 200,000 customers globally in Q1 and will likely lose another 2 million in the second quarter.
Cahall tallied just 29 million subscriber adds for U.S. DTC services in the first quarter vs. 42 million in Q1 2021.
Netflix might truly be the king of TV -- at least in terms of one measure: Total minutes viewed, reports Mediapost..
Looking at the nearly completed TV season -- 33 weeks from September 20, 2021 through May 8, 2022 -- Netflix dominates with total day minutes viewed at 1.33 trillion, according to Nielsen.
The data comes from Nielsen Total Day minutes from persons two years and older, for all programming for all network dayparts.
This includes TV networks' minutes viewed, as well as viewing data from Nielsen Content Ratings for streaming platforms, all covering live program plus 35 days of time shifted viewing.
After Netflix -- way down the list -- comes CBS at 752.8 billion minutes. CBS had the best results for any TV network. Three networks followed: NBC (596.7 billion); ABC (471.9 billion); and Fox (323.1 billion).
CBS says of the 752.8 billion minutes, 255 billion minutes came from its prime-time entertainment, which it says was nearly 90 billion more than its nearest competitor.
The next four top TV national sources are streaming platforms -- Disney+ (245.4 billion); Amazon Prime Video (173.7 billion); Hulu (128.1 billion); and Apple TV+ (21.7 billion).
From September 20 through May 1, CBS has averaged 6.35 million viewers; NBC is at 6.25 million; Fox, 4.68 million; and ABC, 4.19 million.
Another TV season measure, from iSpot.tv, also gives CBS high marks -- this for “targeted impressions” for viewers 18 years and older total day for the almost completed TV season.
CBS had 323.2 billion impressions (September 20, 2021-May 8, 2022), followed by NBC (252.4 billion); ABC (237.4 billion); ION Television (179.9 billion); Hallmark Channel (179.1 billion); Fox News Channel (174.6 billion); Fox (130.3 billion); and ESPN (110.3 billion).
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday railed against Fox News, saying the network refuses to acknowledge "2000 Mules," a film alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
"Fox News is no longer Fox News," Trump said on Gab.com. "They won't even show or discuss the greatest & most impactful documentary of our time, '2000 Mules.' The Radical Left Democrats are thrilled - They don't want the TRUTH to get out."
He said it's "depressing," and called for CNN to take the place of Fox News as the most-watched cable news network in the country.
"CNN should go Conservative and take over the greatest, strongest, and most powerful BASE in U.S. history," he said. "Nobody is watching CNN's Fake News now so, as I say, what the hell have they got to lose? Sadly, they're to [sic] stupid to make the change!"
The documentary was created by conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, who has also complained recently of it receiving what he perceives to be insufficient airtime.
Newsmax "is also blocking coverage of '2000 Mules,'" D'Souza wrote on Twitter. "I was booked on Grant Stinchfield's Newsmax show and then the network cancelled on me. Criticize the move if you like, but why isn't this a legitimate news story? How can so-called news networks pretend it doesn't exist?"
Trump heralded "2000 Mules" and said it exposed "great election fraud," a claim that has been repeatedly debunked since he lost the 2020 presidential election.
After the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Trump campaign has filed dozens of lawsuits alleging voter fraud, most of which have so far been denied, dismissed, or withdrawn.
Independent election watchdog groups have repeatedly said there was no widespread voter fraud. After the results came out, for example, The New York Times contacted election officials in every state, each of which said there is no evidence that fraud influenced the presidential election.
But even since leaving office, Trump has continued to insist that the election was rigged. Republican lawmakers and Trump supporters have also echoed his unsubstantiated claims.
As sports wagering grows, Connected Travel, Radioline and Simplebet have collaborated to launch SmartRadio, a technology which allows sports fans to safely place bets by voice activation when driving, reports Forbes.
For example, drivers and passengers can bet during a live baseball game on every at bat and pitch. In addition, the interactivity allows for users to engage with other fans, earn points and win prizes from game sponsors.
SmartRadio uses Google’s Android Automotive System, the app is available in over 100 million vehicles including; General Motors, Ford, Stellantis Honda, Nissan and Volvo.
A recent study from Edison Research found there are 282 million licensed drivers in the country spending an average of 55 minutes each day driving. Drive time accounts for more than 70% of the total broadcast radio listening time. Buzz Knight, Founder Buzz Knight Media notes, “As drivetime continues to be a crucial beach- head for the radio industry, SmartRadio is an important innovation to maximize audience engagement and create new revenue opportunities.”
The potential of in-vehicle voice interactivity also allows for greater socialization via gamifying and shopping for advertised products. In a statement, Bryan Biniak, CEO of Connected Travel said, “The integration of emerging technologies like voice, payments and ecommerce in vehicles, unlocks drive time empowering drivers to instantly and safely interact with audio programming. Drivers can play with and buy what they hear and engage at the moments they are most inspired. Making radio transactable will inspire a new generation of innovative in-vehicle infotainment and measurably opens the $40 billion global broadcast radio marketplace for growth.”
At present, SmartRadio and in-vehicle sports wagering is in consumer testing and expected to become more widespread this fall.
The introduction of SmartRadio comes as legalized sports wagering shows no signs of slowing down. Last week the NCAA announced that college conferences and individual schools will be allowed to provide statistics and other data points to sports wagering companies, provided it is also available to the general public.
Nielsen Holdings, which agreed to sell itself to a consortium of private equity firms, on Friday said it had been in contact with more than 30 parties during the go-shop period but that no bids to buy the company were submitted, reports Reuters.
The consortium, which includes Elliott Management's private equity unit and Brookfield Asset Management, in March offered to pay $28 a share for the TV rating firm.
Nielsen had until May 12 to solicit a better offer for itself and reported on Friday that only one party had signed a non-disclosure agreement to take a closer look at financials.
"After a thorough effort aimed at exploring whether a higher and better offer for Nielsen could be obtained, the Board has confirmed its view that the transaction with the Consortium represents an attractive outcome for our shareholders," said James Attwood, Nielsen's board chairman.
Nielsen gathers viewership data across TV, radio and digital platforms that are used by advertisers and others to determine prime-time hours, but it has been under pressure as more people moved to streaming entertainment.
Elliott, one of the world's biggest activist investors with $51.1 billion in assets, had pushed Nielsen for a sale in 2018, forcing the market research company to consider splitting into two publicly traded firms a year later.
About two-thirds of the US population ages 12 and older listens to digital audio at least once per week, up 5 percentage points from 2021. Over the past decade, that share has grown by 38 percentage points, making the weekly listenership now 192 million strong.
Beyond the chart: Among these listeners, Spotify is the digital audio platform of choice, with 31% using the service in the week prior to being surveyed. YouTube Music follows in second, with 20%, while Pandora trails in third place, with 13%. That’s a radically different picture from 2013, when the US had 86 million weekly digital audio listeners, Pandora was their top platform by a wide margin, and Spotify attracted a single-digit share of that base.
Ninety-eight radio/audio spots and campaigns made it to the finals of the 2022 Radio Mercury Awards. The submissions were created by advertising agencies, brands, production companies, radio stations and students.
The 2022 finalists range from regional to large advertising agencies and radio stations, as well as national and local advertisers from business categories including automotive, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, healthcare, insurance, nonprofits, quick-serve restaurants, retail, telecommunications, travel and hospitality.
“It’s been amazing to work with the judging panel we put together as they really brought smart perspectives and an appreciation for the submissions,” said Alejandro Ortiz, executive creative director, Campbell Ewald, and chief judge for the Radio Mercury Awards. “I loved the debates, there was a palpable passion for the craft of radio and audio – great energy all around."
“After a two year hiatus, it was wonderful to have the Radio Mercury Awards judging in person,” said Erica Farber, chair, Radio Creative Fund and president & CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau. “It was equally exciting to hear what’s been percolating creatively this last year.”
In addition to Chief Judge Alejandro Ortiz, the final round judging panel included Mitch Bennett, executive creative director, Baldwin&; Erik Fahrenkopf, creative director, Wieden + Kennedy; Josh Grossberg, executive creative director, McCann Health; Bianca Guimaraes, partner and executive creative director, Mischief NY; Donnell “Dojo” Johnson, group creative director, Anomaly; Nicky Lorenzo, senior vice president/group creative director, Taylor Global; Wendy Mayes, creative director/copywriter, Plot Twist Creativity; Sean McBride, chief creative officer, Arnold Worldwide; Joyce King Thomas, creative consultant; King Thomas and Sherman Winfield, executive creative director, VMLY&R.
Event sponsors for this year’s event include iHeartMedia. Dedicated sponsors include CBS News Radio and Hubbard Radio. General sponsors include Skyview Networks and Salem Media Group, along with Friends of the Mercuries sponsors Forcht Broadcasting, Nielsen, Triton Digital and vCreative.
The Radio Mercury Awards winners will be presented on Thursday, June 9 at SONY Hall in New York City. For more information, log onto www.radiomercuryawards.com.
Fewer Americans are moving than ever before, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau data — reports CNBC citing a new report says the people who are taking the plunge are flocking to some familiar cities.
Houston, Las Vegas and Phoenix topped this year’s edition of truck rental company Penske’s annual Top Moving Destinations report, which uses data from its one-way consumer truck rental reservations to compile a list of the country’s 10 most popular cities for movers. More generally speaking, the Sun Belt led the way, with Dallas, Austin and San Antonio also ranking highly.
Eight of the 10 cities made the list in 2020, creating some pandemic-era consistency. The two newcomers this year — Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina — reappeared after a seven-year and four-year hiatus from the list, respectively.
Here are the country’s top 10 moving destinations for 2021, according to Penske’s report:
Houston
Las Vegas
Phoenix
Charlotte, North Carolina (which hasn’t ranked in the top 10 since the 2018 list)
Denver
San Antonio
Dallas
Orlando, Florida
Austin, Texas
Chicago (which hasn’t ranked in the top 10 since the 2015 list)
Penske says it’s been compiling its annual list since 2010. U-Haul also publishes a similar report each year, using data from its own one-way rental customer transactions, most recently identifying the country’s top states for movers as Tennessee, Texas and Florida.
The nation’s drop in mover rate is historic: According to a March report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 8.4% of people changed residences in 2021, down from 9.3% in 2020. That’s the lowest it’s been since the Bureau started collecting this data in 1948, and less than half the rate from that inaugural year.
Interestingly, it’s not a pandemic blip: The rate has either declined or held steady every year over the past five years. During that same time span, most Americans who’ve moved have stayed in their city or state, with relatively few people crossing state lines to establish new residences.
“In 2021, less than one-fifth [of movers] moved from one state to another, while more than half moved within the same county,” the Bureau report noted. “This was also the case in 2017 through 2020.”
The report did identify two trends that could be chalked up to the pandemic: fewer international movers, which “may be related to international travel restrictions,” and fewer people moving for job-related reasons.
➦In 1925...the first live broadcast of the Kentucky Derby was originated by WHAS Louisville and was also carried by WGN in Chicago. The call of the Derby featured an announcer who watched from the windows of one of the famous twin spires of Churchill Downs.
➦In 1929...the anthology crime series True Detective Mysteries began its almost 30 year run, debuting on CBS radio, though its most popular years (1944-58) were on Mutual.
True Detective Mysteries were truly audience participation shows - each show provided descriptions of the true-story criminal and encouraged audiences to provide information leading to their capture. Rewards of $500 and later $1000 were offered in return for helpful clues from listeners.
➦In 1932...the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act was passed in Ottawa, subjecting private stations to the control of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC). Five years later the Commission became the CBC.
➦In 1942...The Whistler, a radio mystery drama, made its debut on the west coast regional CBS Network. It aired on until September 22, 1955.
The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, The Whistler." There were also two short-lived attempts to form east-coast broadcast spurs: July 3 to September 25, 1946, sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company; and March 26, 1947, to September 29, 1948, sponsored by Household Finance.
➦In 1947...Jack Mullin demonstrated the Magnetophon at Institute of Radio Engineers convention. The Magnetophon tape recorder was one of the first recording machines to use magnetic tape in recording voice and music.
Jack Mullin
Mullin gave two public demonstrations, in which he first presented live music performed behind a curtain, followed by a concealed playback of the performance. Mullin's recorder caused a sensation among American audio professionals and many listeners could not tell the difference between the recorded and live performances. By luck, Mullin's second demonstration was at MGM Studios in Hollywood and in the audience that day was Bing Crosby's technical director, Murdo Mackenzie. Mackenzie arranged for Mullin to meet Crosby, and in June 1947 Crosby was given a demonstration of Mullin's magnetic tape recorders.
Crosby was impressed by the amazing sound quality and instantly saw the huge commercial potential of the new machines. Up to this time, most pre-recorded programming such as serials and drama were produced on disc, but live music was the standard for American radio at the time and radio networks tightly restricted the use of music on disc because of the comparatively poor sound quality.
Crosby, who was arguably the biggest star on radio at the time, was very receptive to the idea of pre-recording his radio programs. He disliked the regimentation of live broadcasts, and much preferred the relaxed atmosphere of the recording studio. He had already asked the NBC network to let him pre-record his 1944-1945 series on transcription discs, but the network refused, so Crosby had withdrawn from live radio for a year and returned for the 1946-47 season only reluctantly.
Crosby realized that Mullin's tape recording technology would enable him to pre-record his radio show with a sound quality that equaled live broadcasts, that these tapes could be edited precisely, and replayed many times with no appreciable loss of quality. Mullin was asked to tape one show as a test; it was a complete success and Mullin was immediately hired as Crosby's chief engineer to pre-record the rest of the series.
Crosby became the first major music star to master commercial recordings on tape, and the first to use tape to pre-record radio broadcasts. The shows were painstakingly edited to give them a pace and flow that was wholly unprecedented in radio. Mullin has claimed that he even pioneered the use of the laugh track; at the insistence of Crosby's writer Bill Morrow, he inserted a segment of raucous laughter from an earlier show to follow a joke in a later show that had not worked well.
➦In 2013…Radio programmer Paul Drew died at age 78.
Paul Drew
Drew, a graduate of Wayne State University in his native Detroit, began his professional radio career in 1961 as a DJ with Atlanta station WAKE. He later moved crosstown to WGST and then WQXI, where he was promoted to program director. Leaving WQXI in 1967, Drew moved on to programming gigs at CKLW in Windsor, Ontario-Detroit, WIBG in Philadelphia, KFRC in San Francisco and former Los Angeles powerhouse top 40 KHJ.
In the early ‘70s, he was appointed VP of programming for RKO Radio, a nationwide chain whose roster at one time included KHJ and sister KRTH, KFRC, WOR & WXLO (99X) New York and WHBQ Memphis, among other stations in Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. Their formats ranged from top 40 and adult contemporary to classical, oldies and talk.
During the course of his career, Drew worked with and/or mentored a diverse array of radio personalities, programmers, consultants and industry writers. That list includes consultants Jerry Clifton and Guy Zapoleon, writers Gerry Cagle, Walt “Baby” Love and Jerry Del Colliano, as well as air personalities Rick Dees, Dr. Don Rose, Jay Thomas and Charlie Van Dyke.
When personality Don Rose died in 2005, Paul Drew paid tribute to one of the brightest stars of the local radio business throughout the 60's - 80's. Full of energy and endless wit, he was the number one rated air personality everywhere he went: ie. Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Megan Fox is 36
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Jazz drummer Billy Cobham is 78.
Actor Danny Trejo is 78.
Actor Bill Smitrovich (“Crime Story,” “Life Goes On”) is 75.
Actor Pierce Brosnan is 69.
Actor Debra Winger is 67.
Actor Mare Winningham is 63.
Violinist Boyd Tinsley of The Dave Matthews Band is 58.
Bassist Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) is 57.
Singer Janet Jackson is 56.
Actor-singer Scott Reeves (“Nashville,” ″General Hospital”) is 56.
Actor Brian F. O’Byrne (“Million Dollar Baby”) is 55.
Singer Ralph Tresvant is 54.
Tucker Carlson is 53
Actor David Boreanaz (“Bones,” ″Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is 53.
Political commentator Tucker Carlson is 53.
Actor Tracey Gold (“Growing Pains”) is 53.
TV personality Bill Rancic (“America Now,” ″The Apprentice”) is 51.
Country singer Rick Trevino is 51.
Actor Khary Payton (“The Walking Dead”) is 50.
Rapper Special Ed is 50.
Actor Tori Spelling is 49.
Actor Sean Carrigan (“The Young and the Restless”) is 48.
Rapper B. Slade (A.K.A. Tonex) is 47.
Actor Melanie Lynskey (“Two and a Half Men”) is 45.
Actor Joseph Morgan (“The Originals,” ″Vampire Diaries”) is 41.
DJ Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers is 37.
Actor Megan Fox (“Transformers”) is 36.
Actor Drew Roy (“Falling Skies,” ″Hannah Montana”) is 36.
Actor Jermaine Fowler (“Superior Donuts”) is 34.
Actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster (“Game of Thrones”) is 32.
Actor Marc John Jefferies (“The Tracy Morgan Show”) is 32.
Actor Miles Heizer (“13 Reasons Why,” ″Parenthood”) is 28.
