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Volume 23, Issue 141, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Friday Morning July 21st, 2006
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TV News ®
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 Televisa sues for US Web rights
Televisa has gone to court in California seeking a ruling that it, not Univision, holds the US Internet rights to Televisa programming, including the novelas that are the primetime ratings leaders for Univision. With the two companies already battling in court over the amount of royalty payments owed by Univision to Televisa, the new lawsuit seeks to settle who has the right to distribute Televisa programming on the Internet in the US - Univision, which clearly has the US TV rights under a contract running through 2017, or Televisa, which is desperately looking for a way to expand in the US after losing out in the recent auction of Univision. Televisa claims that once its reduces its stake in Unvision below 13.5 million shares, which it is already negotiating to do, it will be free to transmit its programming via the Internet once a contract expires December 19 that bars both Televisa and Univision from distributing the programming on the Web. "We strongly believe they are wrong and will aggressively defend the litigation and prosecute our side of the case," a Univision spokesperson told TVBR.
TVBR observation: What is a stake here? Perhaps a lot less than Televisa CEO Emilio Azcarraga Jean thinks. As we noted previously (6/29/06 TVBR #127), Televisa's novelas air in Mexico long before Univision broadcasts them in the US, so anyone who wanted to jump ahead could easily get a friend or relative to ship bootleg tapes or DVDs north by mail (or even transmit them over the Internet). No doubt a few people are doing that, but it hasn't hurt Univision's ratings. Internet downloads and video streaming may be a significant audience factor by 2017, but not in the near future, so even if Televisa wins this court case it won't give Azcarraga the immediate entry into the US market that he is hoping for.
 Two hats for Turner
Bob Turner is already the President of Interep's Azteca America Spot Television Sales (AASTS), which reps many of the network's affiliate stations. Now he is adding a second President title as President of Network Sales for Azteca America, overseeing the in-house sales force that sells advertising for the US network owned by Mexico's TV Azteca. Tom Marsillo will continue to oversee day-to-day operations of the rep firm, AASTS, as Turner puts on the second hat. "I am thrilled to take on this new challenge. Network sales and spot television sales are closely intertwined. Both require a similar marketing strategy to effectively penetrate the national advertising community. I look forward to bringing the same level of energy and growth to Azteca America's network sales that we have been able to achieve on the spot level," said Turner. Both employers are happy with the situation. "In December, Bob and his team at Interep began to represent our national spot television sales efforts under the newly formed company, Azteca America Spot Television Sales. In just over six months, Bob has performed beyond our expectations, growing our spot business at an unprecedented rate. His sales and management skills and knowledge of the advertising business are unparalleled. We are delighted that Bob has taken his relationship with Azteca America to the next level. He is a tremendous asset to our team and I look forward to working with him to expand the Azteca America brand within the national ad community," said Adrian Steckel, President and CEO of Azteca America. Ralph Guild, Chairman and CEO, Interep, added, "At Interep, we view ourselves as an extension of our clients' internal sales team. Bob's new hybrid role, which allows him to oversee the sales efforts at both Azteca America and Interep's Hispanic television rep firm, is a natural extension of this partnership. We are delighted to be working with Azteca America on this innovative sales endeavor," said Interep Chairman and CEO Ralph Guild.
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 The heat is on Kevin Martin
"Two years ago the FCC publicly committed itself to increasing minority, women and small business ownership, but they haven't moved an inch. "Further delay won't level the playing field for minority, women and small businesses trying to compete in the media industry. The diverse voices in our country should be in the game, not left on the sidelines." These are the words of John Kerry (D-MA), who has two committee posts pertaining to the subject, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and member of the Commerce Committee. He has previously pushed FCC Chairman Kevin Martin for action on the topic before moving any further on the Third Circuit Court remand of the derailed 6/2/03 ownership rulemaking attempt. He's back again with reinforcements in the person of Barack Obama (D-IL). In a letter to Martin, the duo wrote, "We urge prompt completion of the proceeding and...urge you to complete the proceeding before consideration of broader media consolidation issues begins in earnest. The goals of promoting minority, women, and small business ownership in the communications industry are set forth in the Communications Act of 1934. Ensuring that such directives are accomplished is important to achieving a diverse media, particularly in an era of increased media concentration."
TVBR observation: Democrats on Capitol Hill are certainly letting Martin know that they have their eyes on him. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) has been pushing for completion of Michael Powell's localism proceeding prior to undertaking ownership rules again, and most significantly, was able to insert language into Ted Stevens' telecom update requiring the FCC to inform Congress of any changes to the rules it may consider before officially adopting them.
Redskins owner: It's a good time to buy
And by the same logic, it may not be a great time to be a seller if you have media properties you're thinking about putting on the market. Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder decided to buy radio stations to air his team's games rather than try to negotiate a new contract after a local station declined to renew. Snyder's trio, none of which achieves full market coverage, will be taking over for WJFK-FM. WXTR-AM 730, WWXT-FM 94.3 and WWXX-FM 92.7 will try to bring the NFL games and an ESPN/local Sports format to the city and its extensive suburbs. Snyder's media wing, Red Zebra Broadcasting, also has a deal in the fire for an AM in Richmond and has said its on the lookout for radio and/or television properties. Snyder told the Washington Post that it's a good time to buy because broadcast outlets...and newspapers...are out of favor on Wall Street right now. He even WaPo reporters that they'd be his employees if he had his way. "If the Washington Post were for sale, I'd buy it right now. I don't buy companies at their peak. I sell them at their peak."
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| Coming Next Week |
 Stay tuned for Sales and
Marketing Business Report
We've asked folks from both sides of the desk for advice on what to do before you make that sales appointment with the agency.
"Can you close the deal?"
by Lynne Cowlishaw,
PHD's LMN (Local Media Network) Broadcast Supervisor
"What to bring to the agencies"
By Tom Barnes, Founder of Mediathink
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
 TVBR observation:
There's a sucker born every minute
The suckers we're talking about today are those who have been buying EchoStar and DirecTV shares on rumors that the two may be in line for a merger. Apparently some analysts who are so Wall Street oriented that they don't have a clue what goes on in Washington, DC have actually put out research notes giving credence to this ridiculous notion. Yes, the Kevin Martin FCC is more deregulatory minded than its three predecessors - but that doesn't mean the GOP majority is free to use its 3-2 edge to do anything it wants. Virtually all Democrats and many, if not most, Republicans in both houses of Congress would go ballistic if the FCC were to approve a merger of the only two satellite TV competitors. In other words, go off the deregulatory deep-end by voting for such a move and kiss your future inside the beltway goodbye. We don't believe Chairman Martin, Commissioner Deborah Tate nor Commissioner Robert McDowell are into retirement planning just yet.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Incumbent MMB wins Jiffy Lube
Boston-based advertising agency MMB successfully defended the 25 million Jiffy Lube International account and will continue its relationship as AOR for the leader in the fast lube category. MMB has handled the Jiffy Lube advertising program since 2001 but the account was put up for review earlier this year. MMB beat two other finalists, Dentsu's Colby & Partners and WPP Group's Cole + Weber United to retain the account. MMB's most recent work for Jiffy Lube International featured real Jiffy Lube customers who shared their compelling stories about how Jiffy Lube preventive maintenance services help them keep their busy lives on track. The campaign, which broke in April 2006, included TV, radio and print executions.
 Carl's Jr., Hardee's launch
"Burger Slayers" interactive campaign
Hearty appetites meet their match daily at sister burger chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. The challenge to find the bravest burger eater in the land has been made with the launch of an online portal aptly titled "Burger Slayer." The campaign, live online and accessible at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com, connects laptops to table tops by encouraging participants to snap a photo of themselves devouring - or "slaying" - their favorite Carl's Jr. or Hardee's menu offering and then submit it for posting online. Participants will email or upload their burger-devouring action shot directly to the websites. Daily, the best photos will be selected and posted. Those visiting the sites must cast votes for their favorite and click them on toward victory. The chosen one is then knighted Burger Slayer of the Month. The winner's photo and bio will be posted and with free burgers given for a month. Burger Slayer is the brainchild of Spacedog, LA, interactive AOR for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. Challenged to make site hits materialize into restaurant visits, the Spacedog team decided to utilize mobile technology to bridge the connection from the menu board to the keyboard, and Burger Slayer was born. In-store elements will encourage novice slayers to snap a shot of the action and throw their hat in the ring; word of the offer will be circulated via social networking sites such as MySpace.com, photo sharing networks such as Flickr, and banner ads on Yahoo!
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| Media Business Report TM |
AT&T U-verse TV to Include MTV, BET
AT&T, MTV Networks and BET Networks announced a distribution deal to deliver MTVN and BET high-def, on-demand and digital music programming as part of the AT&T U-verse TV channel lineup. AT&T will provide its U-verse TV customers with content from BET, BET J, BET Gospel, CMT, CMT Pure Country, Comedy Central, LOGO, MTV, MTV2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Espanol (soon to become MTV Tr3s), Nickelodeon, Nick2, Nicktoons, Nick GAS, Noggin, The N, Spike TV, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and VH Uno. Additionally, AT&T will deliver MTVN and BET VOD content as part of the U-verse "Free On Demand" platform and will also carry MTVN's recently-launched HD channel, MHD; MTV's channels specifically designed to serve ethnic populations in the United States, including MTV Chi, MTV Desi and MTV K; as well as digital audio radio programming from MTV's new Urge audio service. AT&T U-verse TV is delivered by Project Lightspeed, the company's initiative to expand the fiber-optics network deeper into neighborhoods to deliver U-verse TV, AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet and in the future, VoIP services.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
 Sad chapter for southern TV group
White Knight Broadcasting is now a debtor-in-possession, taking its four full-power television stations and associated low power sticks into Chapter 11. The move was ordered by the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of Louisiana. The full power stations include KFXK-TV, a Fox affiliate in Tyler-Longview TX, Another Fox affiliate, WNTZ-TV, serving Alexandria LA from across the state line in Natchez MS, WVLA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Baton Rouge, and WB-headed-to-My Network TV KSHV-TV Shreveport LA. All debts incurred prior to 6/8/06 are now on hold while a reorganization plan is put together.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Communications ownership session on tap
Communications Workers of America and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund has booked a room in the Capitol Building to hold a session on the employment situation in the communications industry, including broadcast, cable, print and telecommunications. They say ownership consolidation has had a negative impact on employment diversity and the quality of jobs made available to women and minorities. The session is scheduled for Tuesday, 7/25/06 from noon until 2PM. Karen McGill Lawson of the LCCR will open the session, Benton Foundation President and ex-FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani will moderate. Panelists will include Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women's Policy Research; Linda Foley of the Newspaper Guild-CWA; MMTC's David Honig; Wade Henderson of LCCR.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
Comcast and CSTV launching
MountainWest Sports Network
CBS-owned College Sports Television (CSTV) announced a deal with cable giant Comcast to launch a new cable network September 1st in three western states. The mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network will debut on Comcast systems in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, but is being made available to cable and satellite operators nationwide. The joint venture is owned 50/50 by Comcast and CSTV. The new cable net will feature college sports fare from the Mountain West Conference, whose nine member schools are the Air Force Academy; Brigham Young University; Colorado State University; San Diego State University; TCU; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of New Mexico; University of Utah; and University of Wyoming.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 Tatum O'Neal signs for
MyNetworkTV project
You last saw her on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" and the FX drama "Rescue Me," so Oscar-winning child star Tatum O'Neal isn't without some adult TV credits. Now she has signed to play the lead role of Blythe in the primetime serialized drama "Act of Betrayal" which will debut in September on the new MyNetworkTV. According to Twentieth Television President of Programming Paul Buccieri, the Blythe character will be similar to the Maggie character that O'Neal played in "Rescue Me" - an abandoned mother. Much like the Spanish novelas that are a primetime staple of both Univision and Telemundo, "Act of Betrayal" will have a 65-episode run, airing for an hour Monday-Friday for 13 weeks, with recap episodes airing on the newbie net each Saturday. For the record, O'Neal is the youngest person ever to win a major acting Oscar, taking the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award in 1974 for her performance as Addie in "Paper Moon." She was 10 at the time.
George Clooney and Smoke House sign with Warner Bros
George Clooney and Grant Heslov's newly formed production company, Smoke House, has signed a three-year production and development deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television. Smoke House will have first-look agreements with the feature film and television divisions. Smoke House builds on the partnership Clooney and Heslov developed at Section Eight, the Warner Bros.-based production house started by Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh. In 2005, Clooney and Heslov co-wrote "Good Night, and Good Luck," which Clooney directed and Heslov produced. Clooney and Soderbergh first formed Section Eight in 2000, via a first-look deal with Warner Bros. The company went on to produce such films as "Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve" with Jerry Weintraub, "Syriana" and "Good Night, and Good Luck," as well as two television series for HBO, "Unscripted" and "K Street."
Telefutura debuts "Asi es la Vida"
The premiere of the new weekly mini-series "Así es la Vida" (Such is Life) on TeleFutura is Monday, July 24 10:00 - 11:00 p.m. ET/PT (9:00 - 10:00 p.m. Central). Así es la Vida breaks is a primetime drama featuring real-life stories that begin on Monday and come to their emotional and often surprising conclusions on Friday. Stories that cover every aspect of life: love, greed, deceit, infidelity, salvation, and forgiveness.
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| GM Talkback |
What are you doing to bring revenues
from non-broadcast use of your content?
 Joe Fiveash, SVP/GM, The Weather Channel Interactive:
We have an entire business unit, The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCI), dedicated to the non broadcast use of our content. TWCI is the leading provider of broadband and wireless weather products including weather.com, The Weather Channel Desktop and The Weather Channel Mobile. Weather.com features regularly updated video content, including features from The Weather Channel Network as well as content expressly developed for the Web. We employ the latest technology both in delivering content to users and presenting our advertisers' messages. An example of this is our "ad-dapter" ads, which allow ad copy to be customized based on the local weather conditions reported on the page. One of the fastest growing non-broadcast areas of our business is The Weather Channel Mobile, which offers a full lineup of mobile services including downloads, mobile Web, and mobile video, available to customers of all the major US wireless carriers. Our mobile Web site, available through all major carrier Web decks, or simply by typing weather.com in any phone browser, is our latest advertising platform, providing an unobtrusive yet fully interactive ad experience that enables a direct connection between customers and advertisers with a "click to call" button embedded in the mobile ad. TWCI also provides consumers with unique products such as The Weather Channel Desktop, an ad supported Web application which provides users with one-click access to weather conditions and forecasts and 13 different daily podcasts.
 Ann Marie Young, LIN Television Director of National Sales
Our station group WOOD TV8, WOTV and WXSP TV in West Michigan continues to createmarketing solutions for our clients through Broadcast/Convergence programs. Our Findyourcard@woodtv.com search project and Ask the Expert Category Specialist partnership has yielded over 1,500,000 Broadcast and Web revenues to date. In addition, we customize packages that include email alerts, school closings, streaming video and other search products in categories of business that are not traditional television advertisers.
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| Stock Talk |
Ben is so yesterday
A day after jumping on comments by Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, stocks retreated on higher oil prices and a disappointing earnings report from Intel. The Dow Industrials fell 83 points, or 0.8%, back below the 11K line to 10,928.
With few exceptions, TV stocks joined the retreat. LIN dropped 5.1%. Journal Communications was off 3.6%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Thursday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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5.00
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+0.01
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LIN TV
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TVL
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6.33
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-0.34
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Belo
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BLC
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15.62
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-0.28
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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49.57
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-1.08
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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26.38
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-0.17
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Media General
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MEG
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36.35
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-1.27
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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26.39
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-0.16
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Meredith
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MDP
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48.63
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-0.36
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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29.30
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-0.51
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News Corp.
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NWS
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19.40
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-0.26
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Disney
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DIS
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29.12
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-0.14
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Nexstar
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NXST
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4.43
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unch
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Emmis
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EMMS
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14.12
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-0.47
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NY Times
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NYT
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22.12
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-0.10
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.83
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-0.27
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Ion Media
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ION
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0.97
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-0.01
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Fisher
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FSCI
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41.29
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-0.24
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.96
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-0.11
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Gannett
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GCI
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52.80
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-0.53
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SBS
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SBSA
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4.74
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-0.11
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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32.52
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-0.40
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Scripps
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SSP
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42.29
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+0.06
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.18
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unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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8.29
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-0.13
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Gray
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GTN
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6.67
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-0.04
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Time Warner
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TWX
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16.06
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-0.07
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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7.13
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+0.01
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Tribune
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TRB
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29.80
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-0.03
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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20.92
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-0.05
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Univision
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UVN
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33.22
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-0.24
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.52
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-0.39
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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764.94
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-3.55
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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56.45
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+0.65
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Young
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YBTVA
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3.10
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+0.03
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to tvnews@rbr.com
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TV Media Moves
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Tribune promotes two
L. Clark Morehouse III has been named Exec. VP/General Manager of Tribune Entertainment Company (TEC). He was formerly Sr. VP/Advertising Sales at TEC. Marc Schacher has been named Sr. VP/Programming and Development of Tribune Broadcasting, adding "Sr." to his previous title.
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Below the Fold
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Media Markets & Money
Sad chapter for southern TV group
White Knight Broadcasting is now a debtor-in-possession...
Washington Media Business Report
Ownership session on tap
Subject: employment situation in the communications industry...
Cable Business Report
Comcast and CSTV
Launching MountainWest Sports Net...
Entertainment Media
Business Report
Stars are signing on
Tatum O'Neal for MyNetworkTV George Clooney & Smoke House with Warner Bros...
GM Talk Back
Bringing revenues from non-broadcast
Joe Fiveash, SVP/GM, Weather Channel Interactive And Ann Marie Young, LIN TV Director National Sales WOOD TV8, WOTV
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RBR - Radio News
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Philadelphia could be first PPM market
Arbitron officials refuse to speculate on the sequence of events, but that was a conclusion that was pretty easy to draw from Arbitron CEO Steve Morris' comments to analysts yesterday in his quarterly conference call. He noted two hang-ups with flipping the switch to take Houston from test mode to commercial service: Arbitron's pledge not to go forward in Houston until it gets Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation - which is taking longer than expected and Morris refused to speculate on when it might come - and the need for critical mass, with CBS Radio still the only company with stations in the Houston market who has signed a PPM contract. The situation is quite different in Philadelphia, where Arbitron plans to deploy PPM as ratings currency in January 2007 (3/15/06 RBR #52). Morris indicated that Arbitron is prepared to deploy PPM in Philly and other markets as scheduled, with or without MRC accreditation in hand. Arbitron VP/Communications Thom Mocarsky clarified for RBR that Arbitron intends to go through the MRC audit process, but won't necessarily wait for accreditation before deployment. Of course, critical mass remains an issue in all potential PPM markets, due to the cost of the new service. Mocarsky said operators representing 63.8% of radio station revenues in the Philly market have signed PPM contracts, but refused to say whether that constitutes critical mass for Arbitron.
RBR observation: Morris had little to say about the Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team, except to complain that the RFP process initiated by Clear Channel had gotten "somewhat secretive" of late. Arbitron hasn't yet responded to the group's June letter calling for more information about PPM, but Mocarsky told RBR that's because Arbitron is still waiting for clarification from the Next-Gen group on just where its previous submission was lacking. It seems to us that constitutes a communications problem. The Next-Gen group needs to stop bickering about who can and cannot be a member and get on with the work at hand. Completion of a side-by-side evaluation of the two competing systems for electronic radio audience measurement would be beneficial for everyone concerned. Otherwise, Arbitron will simply win by default.
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TVBR Radar 2006
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Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Peacock teams with Netflix
Netflix subscribers are going to get a chance to see fall premiere episodes of some new NBC programs before the air on the network. The deal with the video-by-mail operation will offer its five million subscribers an opportunity to preview an number of new shows.
TVBR observation: Got to give some of these networks credit or someone at the networks credit for marketing their product. CBS with its logo etched on eggs and now NBC with Netflix. Both products used by every day consumers. Love good marketing so local guys wake up and tie in with what your network is doing and steal ah borrow their ideas as it is called good research.
07/20/06 TVBR #140
Advertisers scammed
by click clique?
There's a big problem when you put an ad online and pay by the click. Anybody can do the clicking, and a lot of the time, 14.1% the person doing the clicking is not an individual interested in the product or service being advertised. Scammers are said to be responsible for phantom clicks that often, a number which is on the increase. Among the motives noted are self-enrichment, as when a website operator clicks on ads it's running, or to attack the competition, as when a rival business owner clicks on a competitor's ads to drain its marketing budget.
TVBR observation: This is a pitch point broadcasters may be able to use to help stem the flow of cash from broadcast to the Internet. Broadcast waste is measured in terms of wasted impressions. However, while it may not do your client much good if a senior citizen with false teeth hears a toothpaste ad, at least the waste isn't coming right out of the client's checking account.
07/20/06 TVBR #140
Let the Calls begin; Broadcasting saves quarter for Journal
Gains in radio and TV revenues, including some new TV stations, counter-balanced revenue declines for other units of Journal Communications. Q2 revenues were flat with last year.
TVBR observation: Nice radio numbers. Unfortunately, they are not likely to be duplicated by many other radio groups. TV is currently pacing up in the double digits, but he cautioned that the final outcome will be totally dependent on demand for political advertising. More in this TVBR report
07/19/06 TVBR #139
Point-counterpoint on new media
Last week, Advertising Age gave some online space to Dave Morgan of Tacoda, who believes that the Internet has permanently changed advertising and media. Morgan was responding to someone else's point that the current Internet disruption is not really all that different than when television burst onto the advertising scene. It took share (a lot of share, the lion's share, when you get right down to it). But the other media forms which were in existence at that time were able to continue in the business of providing advertising venues to their clients. He disagrees. Dallas Maverick owner and Internet pioneer Mark Cuban thinks this is nonsense, according to an article from Creative Voices in Media. He says that traditional broadcasting should still be able to take advantage of its stronghold on a unique form of communication. The problem with the Internet is that is will be home to thousands upon thousands of options, few of which will go to the trouble to break through the din so strongly that they can compete with the broadcast megaphone.
TVBR observation: At some point, for a product or service to become ubiquitous, it has to figure out a way to make itself famous. Broadcasters need to make sure they are delivering quality programming to their audiences so that they have a quality audience to deliver to their clients. At any rate, it seems the conventional wisdom is that the Internet is eventually going to prevail, so it is nice to hear someone with experience like Cuban take the opposite position. But broadcasters will have to work hard to defend their turf.
07/18/06 TVBR #138
Tough start for quarterly season
Tribune Company started the disappointing earnings report, which resulted in a downgrade from "Buy" to "Hold" from Standard & Poor's. The downgrade followed the company's report of a 62.9% decline in net income for Q2. Then, Ta-Dum, Walt Disney was punished and downgraded by CIBC. Strap in, folks, Chapter Two of the 2006 conference call season is just beginning.
TVBR observation: Anyone in TV not reading our sister morning Epaper RBR then you should take a look see because you will notice that the radio public companies and their stocks have been punished to the depths of time. If there is a lesson for TV media companies and if TV follows radio then soon come your turn to be put into a corner with Rocky Balboa and have your lungs punched in. This is not the time to make excuses but to be stand up and tell the truth and give solid honest information where your company is focused for the balance of this year and in 2007.
TVBR note: After they report then TVBR reports with our analysis and yes Observations.
07/17/06 TVBR #137
TWC, Starcom strike upfront deal with Minute-by-Minute ratings
While Magna Global has expressed some doubts about the viability of Nielsen's commercial/minute-by minute ratings, The Weather Channel and Starcom have reportedly struck an upfront ad deal based on the new data for eight clients. The deal guarantees that if viewing levels for those clients' ads fall below specified levels, they'll get make-goods.
TVBR observation: Magna has a point that buyers like Mediacom honcho Jon Mandel and Carat top buyer Andy Donchin have also told us: second by second ratings would be ideal. One of Magna's issues is that for minute-by minute, viewers only need to tune to a network for a few seconds for it to get credit for a full minute-not necessarily a true measure of the viewing of a spot. We say that's valid, but for now, minute-by minute is not only very desirable for agencies and clients, but also better than not having a means to measure commercials at all. In time, second-by-second technology will be available and accredited. Then we can use it. Step by step, we will get there.
07/17/06 TVBR #137
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Editorial & Sales Reps
TV: Working for a print trade with no growth? Working for B&C, MediaWeek, TVWeek, or any other TV/Cable Trade publication?
Radio: Like to capitalize on your efforts and grow with RBR that is moving forward in the electronic business. Contact RBR / TVBR publisher Jim Carnegie in confidence at publisher@rbr.com and join in the future today. Capitalize on your experience, contacts, relationships, and secure your future growth.
NO Relocation necessary.
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? TVBR's - Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See www.mediaheadhunters.com and get results with service--Period.
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Help Desk
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__FIRST__ __SECOND__ :
Having problems with our epapers?
Please send Questions/Concerns to:
Memberships@rbr.com
If you wish to remove your name completely from our database use this link __UNSUB__
TVBR Epaper -- 108 annual
or just 9 a month
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©2006 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Television Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
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