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BUICK MOST DEPENDABLE U.S. BRAND The annual Vehicle Dependability Study from J.D. Power has found that problems with infotainment, navigation, and in-vehicle communications systems (called ACEN for Audio, Communication, Entertainment, Navigation) are the primary reason that the overall dependability ratings for new vehicles are falling. Power found the overall industry average of problems per each 100 new vehicles sold rose from 147 a year ago to 152 now. The study is based on problems that arise in the first three years of ownership. Any decline in dependability is crucial to both factories and the dealers that sold the vehicles. Among owners who have no problems with their vehicle, 55% purchase the same brand when they return to the market. But among owners who report three or more problems, only 41% stay with the brand for their next purchase. “The decline in reliability coupled with a record number of recalls and safety-related complaints affect consumer confidence,” Power’s VP of U.S. automotive said. “Dependability has a direct impact on purchase decisions and brand loyalty.” Outside of technology, problems appear to be coming down: Engine/transmission problems reported were only 24 per each hundred vehicles compared to 26 a year ago. Toyota and General Motors each did very well in the study. Toyota’s Lexus brand (pictured) was number one (for the fifth consecutive year) with 95 problems per 100 vehicles and Toyota itself was number four (113 problems). Porsche was number two, but General Motors placed third, fifth and sixth (Buick, 106 problems per 100; GMC (120); Chevrolet (125). The news wasn’t all good for GM, however—Cadillac, its premium brand, was actually the least reliable of all GM nameplates at 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Ford, which has done a lot of advertising in the past centered on tech features, did poorly, next to last with 204 problems per hundred vehicles. (Its Lincoln brand did better at 132). And Fiat Chrysler Automobiles did even worse: Ram was the only FCA nameplate above the industry average (129), while Chrysler had 165 problems per hundred, Fiat had 171, Jeep 181, and Dodge was the absolute last of the 32 nameplates studied by Power with 208 problems per hundred vehicles. in the car segment, Honda’s Continued on Page 2

ADVERTISER NEWS While most major department store chains have reported downbeat news for the holiday quarter, J.C. Penney had a 4.1% same-store gain which completed a year that produced 4.5% comp sales growth. Penney does see the current year slightly below last year, however, estimating a 3-4% same-store gain for fiscal 2016……While most reports we’ve seen on the furniture business have been positive, Havertys had a negative fourth fiscal quarter with same-store sales down 0.9% and same-

store orders written down 3.6%. Its CEO said “We are separating Havertys from the promotional furniture stores and reaching the more discriminating on-trend customer” but he added it is evaluating “targeted price advertising” to boost traffic……Sam’s Club is planning a business “reset” trying to attract more upscale customers to better compete with Costco. Progressive Grocer says the plans include opening 8-10 new clubs

annually in more affluent communities starting this year and improving food offerings……Subway will introduce some new premium items above price points used on some other choices. The Carved Turkey & Bacon Sub for example will be offered at a suggested price of $8.75 for a footlong……The CEO of DineEquity promises to “boldly change the story” at Applebee’s after that chain’s same-store sales fell by 2.5% in the latest quarter. Sibling IHOP had its eleventh consecutive quarter of comp gains with a 1.4% increase. Virtually all units of both banners are franchised……Oprah’s investment in Weight Watchers and her appearance in its advertising did not do much to change the trends the company faces. Revenue was down 21% in the quarter that ended on January 2, and active subscribers were down 4.8% to 2.4 million. Rival Nutrisystem, whose business is mostly focused on selling food on a direct-to-consumer basis, had a 14% gain in Continued on Page 3

POWER: ‘TECH WOES DRIVE UP PROBLEMS’

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NETWORK NEWS From House creator and executive producer David Shore, the new mystery adventure drama series Houdini & Doyle premieres Monday, May 2, at 9:00 pm (ET) on FOX. The series is a fictional account of the friendship between Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes. It stars Michael Weston as Houdini and Stephen Mangan as Doyle……Univision Communications announced a joint venture with producer Patricio Wills. The new company will develop “edgy, action-packed series” primarily for primetime broadcast on UniMás and created specifically for U.S. Hispanic audiences. Wills is the executive producer of La Viuda Negra II (Black Widow II), which had its premiere yesterday……Jimmy Smits has been tapped for a key role in the FOX drama pilot, 24: Legacy, from 20th Century Fox Television. Smits will portray John Donovan, a powerful U.S. Senator with higher political aspirations, who is married to the blazing smart former head of the Counter Terrorism Unit, played by Miranda Otto……Telemundo says its broadcast of the only GOP presidential debate sanctioned by the Republican National Committee (RNC) aired by a Spanish-language network, reached a cumulative audience of 3 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. The Thursday debate averaged 1.22 million.

WEEKEND RATINGS CBS won Friday night with The Amazing Race, Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods giving the network a Nielsen average rating of 1.1 in Adults 18-49 for primetime and an average audience of 8.09 million viewers. ABC, led by Shark Tank, was at 1.0 18-49 and 5.01 million; NBC, with Dateline, 1.0 18-49 and 4.98 million; FOX 0.7 18-49 and 2.40 million; and The CW 0.5 18-49 and 1.11 million. NBA Basketball on ABC dominated Saturday night in the young demo, producing an average 1.4 in 18-49 and an average audience of 3.86 million. CBS, with 48 Hours and reruns, was at 0.7 18-49 and 5.42 million; NBC 0.6 18-49 and 1.78 million; and FOX 0.3 18-49 and 1.14 million.

THIS AND THAT The Wall Street Journal says the FCC is expected to require Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable to end contracts with program providers that prohibit them from running programming on the Internet as a condition of winning approval of their merger……Stein Mart plans 12 new stores this year, five next month and seven more in the fall. The current count is 278 locations nationally.

POWER: ‘TECH WOES DRIVE UP PROBLEMS’Continued from Page 1Fit was seen as the best small car, the Buick Verano the best compact car, the Chevy Malibu the best midsize car, and Buick’s LaCrosse was the best large car. In the SUV/truck segment, key winners were Buick’s Encore (small SUV); Nissan’s Murano (midsize SUV), Toyota’s Sienna (minivan); the GMC Yukon for large SUV; Toyota’s Tundra for large light duty pickup and Chevy’s Silverado for large heavy duty pickup.

AVAILS KFOR, the Tribune-owned NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City, seeks a dynamic National Sales Manager to lead our team. This individual will have experience coaching and directing national sellers to grow market share and sell new revenue streams. Success in selling digital and NTR concepts a plus. Three years television sales management experience and college degree preferred. CLICK HERE, then filter the job search by location (US-OK-Oklahoma City). This will allow you to view all current postings for KFOR. EOE. WXTX-TV in Columbus, GA seeks a Local Sales

Manager who can drive revenue and lead our sales team to success. A strong background in local core and digital sales is preferred. Ability to coach and train a team of Account Executives in the field. Solid written and verbal skills are a must. If you possess creative leadership skills, the ability to develop new business, relationship building skills and a successful track record in television sales, send cover letter and resume to careers@wxtx.com. No

calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V BEND Oregon is searching for a Director of Sales who is a strong team leader. This is an incredible opportunity to work and live in a beautiful region of the country for both livability and business, as well as working for one of the premier owners of local TV stations in America. The ideal candidate must have a strong background in new business development, DIGITAL sales knowledge and inventory and pricing management. APPLY HERE, or send resume and cover letter to danettes@ktvz.com. News Press & Gazette of Oregon, EOE. WSET-TV is looking for exceptional Account Executives who can take an exciting and established list to the next level.

We have opportunities in our Lynchburg and Roanoke, VA offices. Position requires an individual who possesses strong sales skills, can persuade a local client and would love selling a dynamic TV station. Prefer

that candidate have some broadcast sales experience, a passion for new business development and understands how to create revenue streams through a multi-screen integrated approach. CLICK HERE to apply now. Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace! ABC7, KABC-TV, the ABC-owned station and the #1 station in Los Angeles, is seeking a passionate, talented cross platform marketing rock-star VP to join our dynamic team to develop integrated marketing campaigns that drive incremental revenue across our local broadcast, digital and social media properties. The VP, Marketing and Sales Promotion, will be responsible for developing innovative creative ideas to sell to advertisers and delivering flawless campaign execution, leading to renewals. An ability to understand audience driven marketing and inspire winning partnerships is key. Please apply online at www.abc7jobs.com. EOE2/29/2016

President Obama said that his very first job was scooping ice cream. After hearing this, Chris

Christie said, ‘I thought he looked familiar.’

Conan O'Brien

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PAGE 3

MOST CABLE NETS LOSING SUBS Nielsen has published its March 2016 cable network Universe Estimates and analyst Brian Wieser at Pivotal Research Group says the figures show a median decline in cable network household penetration of 2.4%. “We view the data as illustrative of a broader trend of ‘cord-shaving’ and subscriber interest in increasingly skinny bundles, which is a more significant threat to cable network owners than the less pronounced reality of ‘cord-cutting’,” he said in a research note. Wieser says cord-shaving disproportionately impacts networks that are either particularly expensive or which distributors are relatively more willing to go without. Affiliate fees are not necessarily impacted in the short-term, he noted, as MVPDs will often be obliged to pay for certain minimum subscriber levels. “However, over longer time horizons we think that the trends captured by Nielsen are likely to be reflected in the subscriber numbers that programmers get paid for,” the Wall Street analyst said. Among the major network groups, Wieser said Disney’s March figures were weakest, with a 3.5% median decline in household subscription levels to its networks (excluding ESPN News and ESPN Classic, which are no longer Nielsen-rated post-December 2015). Declines ranged from 2.4% for Disney Jr. to 4.1% for ESPNU among the seven rated networks. Viacom’s networks were collectively the next weakest group on a 3.1% median network decline for the company’s 15 rated networks. Declines ranged from 1.0% for Centric to 4.0% for VH1 Classic. Among individual networks of significance, Wieser said the worst decline was at the independent Weather Channel (down 9.9% year-over-year), and several sports networks also saw noteworthy declines—MLB Network was down 5.5% while NBA TV was off 6.1%. Networks owned by Discovery Communications were once again also among those losing the most subscribers, with Science down 4.6%, Discovery Family down 3.9% and American Heroes down 4.0%. Bucking the broader trend of decline once again, Fox was the only major group posting median gains in subscribers for its networks, up by 0.8% for the month. Gains were reasonably broad, although one key network owned by Fox was among those losing significant numbers of subscribers—FX was down 2.8%, Wieser reported.

COMPETITIVE INFO Groupon says it sold its one billionth Groupon (online discount coupon) on Friday. The landmark billionth Groupon was an $11 for $20 promotion for pizza and Italian food at Pirrone’s Pizzeria in the St. Louis area. As it happens, the first Groupon ever sold in October 2008 was also for pizza—$13 for $26 worth of pizza at Motel Bar in Chicago. To commemorate the selling of a billion Groupons, the company is launching a “A Billion Thanks!” up-to-80% off sale running through tomorrow on nearly 50,000 deals––spanning restaurants, spas, activities, electronics, travel and more.

AVAILS Media General’s KRON4, the San Francisco Bay Area’s Local News Station, seeks a Digital Account Executive. The DAE will identify, develop, and expand existing and new client relationships & key accounts, maintain close communications at various stages in the sales cycle including account updates, & provide weekly projections & forecasting of future advertising. Strong oral,

problem solving, writing, negotiation and presentation skills, extensive travel and long work hours required. Qualified applicants can APPLY HERE. Please indicate where you heard about this job opening. EOE. Account Executive: Are you ready to make the move to Nashville? Of all the salespeople you know, are you the best at nailing down commitments from customers and do you always strive to be #1? Then this career opportunity

at WSMV may be for you! Our AEs know how to achieve revenue goals, solicit new advertisers and increase their share of business. If you would love to put satisfied advertisers on our station and digital properties and work for an awesome company, please CLICK HERE. Or, submit your resume directly to Paul.Scott@wsmv.com EOE

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DONE DEALS Sinclair Broadcast Group has named John Nizamis General Manager of WSBT (CBS) South Bend-Elkhart, IN. Succeeding him as General Manager of WNWO (NBC) Toledo, OH is Charity Freeman, promoted from General Sales Manager of the station……Ernie Simon, most recently president of GroupM Consulting, has been named CEO of Mindshare North America. The media agency, which is part of WPP’s GroupM, also elevated Adam Gerhart to CEO for the United States and Cindy Gustafson to Chief Strategy Officer for the United States.

ADVERTISER NEWSContinued from Page 1quarterly revenue……Foot Locker had a strong quarter, with comp stores sales up 7.9% above the previous year’s quarter that itself had been up 10%. It predicts another gain of mid-single digits for this year……L Brands, whose major banners are Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported a 6% same-store gain for the holiday quarter. “We delivered record results in a year when many retailer struggled,” its CEO said……SpartanNash supermarkets had a 4.6% same-store decrease which the company attributes to the “deflationary environment in certain fresh categories,” competition, and warm weather……Sprouts Farmers Market had a good quarter, though, with a 7.4% same-store gain. It opened 27 stores last year to reach 217 and is projecting same-store gains of 4.5 to 6% this year.

2/29/2016

A study found that horses can recognize human

emotions based on our facial expressions. Yet another

reason you should never play poker with a horse—and they never pitch in for the pizza.

Stephen Colbert