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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2018.The Daily News of TV Sales Monday, July 8, 2019

WSJ: VEHICLE ABUNDANCE THREATENS PROFITS Sport-utility vehicles became big hits with Americans looking for roomier rides, prompting automakers to roll out a range of models of different sizes and price points. Now, some dealers and analysts say car companies may have gone too far, and expect an overcrowded market to lead to deflated prices. Sales of crossovers and SUVs are slowing, The Wall Street Journal reports, while models are sitting longer on dealership lots before being sold and companies are resorting to more sales promotions to keep inventory from piling up, analysts say and industry data shows. And yet, automakers are getting ready to roll out even more sport-utility offerings in the next few years, further packing U.S. showrooms. For customers, this could be a boon, resulting in a wider selection of vehicles and better deals. But, analysts say, it is also likely to dent profits for automakers that have pivoted sharply from sedans in recent years and boosted output of more-lucrative SUVs. Some dealers say car makers are falling back on old habits of overbuilding to keep factories running and then turning to discounts when the demand doesn’t materialize. “We don’t need any more SUVs right now,” said Earl Stewart, owner of Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, Fla., who worries manufacturers have given consumers too many choices already. The number of crossover and sport-utility models on sale in the U.S. has steadily climbed this decade from 70 individual nameplates in model-year 2014 to 96 currently, according to a Bank of America report. By 2023, that figure is expected to rise to 149 models, the most ever for this category, the report found. “This is a very significant trouble spot for the industry,” said John Murphy, an auto analyst with Bank of America. “The pendulum is swinging too far in the other direction.” If trends continue, he estimates the profit premiums automakers have long enjoyed on these models will fall over the next three years, eventually matching the lower margins now earned on sedans. Today, crossovers and sport-utility vehicles make up more than 47 percent of the new-vehicle market, while sales of sedans and hatchbacks have plunged this decade to only 30 percent of the market today, down from about 50 percent during the same period in 2012, according to Kelley Blue Book, a car-pricing firm. Among the latest debuts are the Hyundai Palisade — a large, eight-seat SUV — and a Lexus subcompact crossover called the UX. While sales of crossovers and SUVs rose 1.6 percent in the first half of 2019, the pace of growth has slowed considerably from the 13.2 percent increase recorded in the same year-over-year period last year, according to research firm LMC Automotive. By comparison, U.S. auto sales overall were down 2.2 percent in the first half of this year, after rising 2.1 percent in the first six months of 2018, data provided by Kelley Blue Book shows.

SUVs PLENTIFUL ON DEALER LOTS, WITH MORE COMINGADVERTISER NEWS Procter & Gamble, facing an industrywide backlash against consumer waste, is seeking a patent that would help it develop recyclable versions of absorbent products including diapers, sanitary products and potentially even Swiffer pads, Bloomberg reports. Because many absorbent products today use multiple kinds of plastic and other materials, they’re hard to separate during trash sorting and nearly always end up in landfills, the consumer-products giant said in its patent application. By reducing

the number of components and using more sustainable ones, P&G said it could simplify the separation process and make the recycling of single-use goods more feasible... Forever 21 is reducing its physical footprint, Forbes says. It began opening larger stores several years ago, moving the fast-fashion chain in a different direction from most of the retailing industry. Sales and profits

have fallen since Forever 21 adopted the bigger-is-better approach. Today, the average footprint of one of the chain’s stores is around 21,000 square feet, substantially smaller than the 38,000 square feet listed on its website... Walmart is reportedly struggling in its efforts to keep pace with online rival Amazon. According to Recode, although Walmart’s online sales grew 40 percent last year, its e-commerce division is projecting losses of $1 billion on revenue of $21 billion-$22 billion for 2019. Sources indicate Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon and board of directors are pressuring Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart e-commerce U.S., to reduce his division’s losses, the report said, which may result in Walmart selling off its online fashion brand ModCloth... Amazon is reportedly expanding its corporate presence in the greater Seattle area. According to the Seattle Times, Amazon has begun the formal permitting process for a 43-story office tower in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash., where the e-tailer already has a presence. The property, known as Bellevue 600, is the east half of a property Amazon purchased in April 2019 for $195 million. The skyscraper, which will be Amazon’s tallest office building, should have enough space for about 4,200 employees. It is expected to be completed in 2024... Walmart has topped the National Retail Federation’s measure of the Top 100 retailers, in a list that the organization itself said reflects “stability,” RetailDive reports. While Amazon comes in at No. 2, its $120.9 billion in retail sales last year pales in comparison to Walmart’s $387.6 billion, according to the list published in the organization’s Stores magazine. Rounding out the Top 10 are, in order, Kroger, Costco, Walgreens, The Home Depot, CVS, Target, Lowe’s and Albertson’s... Nordstrom and even its Rack off-price unit are losing customers and sales to lower-price rivals, according to new research from UBS analysts. The team has downgraded the department store to a “no-growth retailer,” according to their report.

PAGE 2 The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com

AVAILS Do you have what it takes to close the big deal? Can you put together creative cross-platform campaigns? If the answer is yes, come to WPLG and Local10.com, where our sales and marketing team bring creative ideas to life. WPLG-TV, ABC affiliate, a Berkshire Hathaway company in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, is searching for a dynamic, enthusiastic and results-oriented Account Executive. 3-5 years of broadcast sales experience preferred. Follow THIS LINK to apply, and send resume to: Alex Price, Sales Manager: aprice@wplg.com. No calls, please. EOE.

CBS-Los Angeles seeks a dynamic, experienced Account Executive to represent platforms in 17 O&O markets including KCBS2/K C A L 9 - L o s Angeles, CBSN-Los Angeles and CBSLA.com. If you are a creative self-starter who wants the opportunity to sell the Rams and Chargers, the Masters, the PGA Championship,

March Madness and more, we want to hear from you! All qualified candidates MUST apply at www.cbsandyou.com (internal applicants) or www.cbscorporation.com (external applicants). No phone calls or emails! Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview. CBS is an EOE. WPBF 25, the Hearst-owned ABC affiliate in the beautiful West Palm Beach market, has an incredible opportunity for you! WPBF 25 is looking for a dynamic sales superstar to join our phenomenal sales team. The ideal candidate will bring both Broadcast and Digital sales experience and will possess the drive and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, highly competitive market. Your creativity, originality and passion for developing new business will be encouraged and rewarded! CLICK HERE to apply. EOE. WDSU-TV, New Orleans, is looking for a Digital Sales Manager to provide energized leadership for our digital sales initiatives. If you are looking for a great city with out-of-this-world food, music, culture and history, this could be the job for you! The ideal candidate should possess a passion for new media and enjoy staying up to date with its evolution, understand digital marketing strategy, and can thrive in a customer-focused team environment. CLICK HERE to apply. EOE. ABC7 Los Angeles seeks a Media & Marketing Planner who will work with the VP of Sales Marketing to help create, develop and implement KABC sales and marketing strategies, cross-platform solutions and promotion executions. Minimum 2-5 years of media planning / marketing / project management experience, as well as knowledge of and ability to analyze and interpret local TV and digital research. Experience with promotions and sweepstakes management is a must. Keynote and Wide Orbit experience preferred. Bachelor’s degree required; marketing degree preferred. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE.

See your ad here tomorrow! CLICK HERE for details.

NETWORK NEWS Thursday’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (0.9 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, 5.89 million viewers) on NBC didn’t quite blow up with viewers. The 2019 Macy’s effort dropped 25 percent among adults 18-49 from last year. The TV fireworks crowd is the smallest to watch the extravaganza since 2015... The CW has tweaked the scheduling plans for two new summer scripted series. Action thriller Bulletproof will premiere on Aug. 7 at 8 PM, a move to a Wednesday night slot. The show was originally scheduled to premiere on Sunday, July 28. Horror anthology series Two Sentence Horror Stories moves to a later time, from 8 PM to 9 PM, on Thursday. It will still debut on Aug. 8... Arte Johnson, who won an Emmy for his work on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and worked in TV and film for nearly half a century, died last week in Los Angeles, his family said. He was 90 and had endured bladder and prostate cancer for the past three years. Johnson was part of the politically tinged NBC sketch series’ main cast from its launch in January 1968 until 1971, playing myriad characters that launched the careers of such stars as Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Henry Gibson and Jo Anne Worley.

SUBS WARM TO NETFLIX ADS, FOR A DISCOUNT Investigating the ramifications if speculation regarding ad-supported Netflix subscription plans is true, Hub Entertainment Research has discovered a potential yet very conditional acceptance of such a move. In its Monetization of Video report, Hub found that many of the leading subscription video-on-demand service’s customers would be open to the idea, but only with a significant discount off the current ad-free subscription. The study, Rapid TV News reports, fundamentally warns Netflix risks losing about a quarter (23%) of its subscriber base if it switched from ad-free to ad-supported — with no reduction in subscription fee. Fewer than half (41%) of subs say they’d definitely or probably keep their subscription, with the remainder undecided. In addition, Hub found that it was only at a $2-$3 lower price point where the company saw stronger levels of retention and fewer potential subscriber losses. At $2 less per month than the current fee, just over half (53%) said they’d keep Netflix and 14 percent would drop. The remainder were unsure. At $3 less per month, three-fifths said they’d keep the service.

AMERICA’S TRADE GAP WIDENED IN MAY The U.S. trade gap widened sharply in May despite a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods that took effect in the first half of the month, The Wall Street Journal reports. The trade deficit in goods and services jumped 8.4 percent in May from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted $55.52 billion in May, the Commerce Department said. The gap widened because of the biggest monthly rise in imports in more than four years along with moderate growth in exports amid a cooling global economy. Regarding U.S. trade with China, the bilateral goods deficit widened in May by 12 percent from the prior month to $30.2 billion, as both imports and exports rose sharply.

7/8/2019

Jim Gaffigan

If only Americans cared as much about the

homeless as they do about a stranger’s dog.

The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com PAGE 3

U.S. JOB GROWTH SURGED LAST MONTH U.S. job growth rebounded strongly in June, with government payrolls surging, but persistent moderate wage gains and mounting evidence the economy was losing momentum could still encourage the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this month. The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report last week suggested May’s sharp slowdown in hiring was probably a fluke. Lack of concrete progress in resolving an acrimonious trade war between the U.S. and China, however, means the bar could be very high for the Fed not

to lower borrowing costs at its July 30-31 policy meeting. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 224,000 jobs last month as government employment rose by the most in 10 months, and construction and manufacturing hiring regained speed. The economy created only 72,000 jobs in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 160,000. Job growth averaged 172,000 per month in the first half. Hiring has cooled

from an average of 223,000 jobs per month in 2018, in part as the economy runs out of workers. The pace, however, remains well above the roughly 100,000 needed to keep up with growth in the working age population.

UNIVISION MULLS OPTIONS, INCLUDING A SALE Univision Communications is possibly putting up a “for sale” sign, confirming its board is reviewing strategic options for the Hispanic media company. Inside Radio reports Univision has hired three banks to explore options, including an outright sale or a partnership with another company. The company has retained Morgan Stanley, Moelis & Company and boutique investment bank LionTree. The move wasn’t unexpected. Citing “prevailing market conditions,” Univision pulled its long-awaited IPO in March 2018 and recruited broadcast veteran Vince Sadusky as chief executive. He’s refocused on core Spanish-language media assets while selling off English-language properties. Univision’s pitch to potential suitors is that the U.S. Hispanic audience represents “one of the very few certain growth opportunities in today’s media marketplace,” and that Univision is well positioned to capitalize on that growth. The strategic review process is in its early stages and a deal is far from certain, said Univision, which is owned by Broadcast Media Partners, a consortium of five private equity firms.

7/8/2019

Lewis Black

If the people of New Zealand want to be part of our world, I believe they

should hop off their islands, and push ‘em closer.

SATURDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

U.S. FOOD DELIVERY APP USAGE NEARING 40M Food delivery apps are rapidly growing in popularity, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast on mobile app usage. This year, these apps will be used by 38 million people in the U.S., up 21 percent over 2018. By 2021, more than 20 percent of U.S. smartphone users will use a food delivery app. The research firm defines a food delivery app as a third-party mobile app whose primary function is the ordering of prepared food for delivery (e.g., Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash). By 2020, food delivery app usage will surpass 44 million people in the U.S., reaching nearly 60 million by 2023. “Companies in the food delivery app space are continuing to expand and develop new partnerships with food merchants,” said eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam. “As a result, customers can expect more options, which will drive user growth.” In 2019, DoorDash has the highest share of consumer spending among U.S. food delivery apps at 27.6 percent, according to research firm Edison Trends. This is closely followed by Grubhub (including Seamless) and Uber Eats, which capture 26.7 percent and 25.2 percent of consumer spending in the U.S., respectively.

ANALYSIS SEES $4.4B IN POLITICAL TV AD SPEND Spending on political advertising is projected to smash all-time records in 2020, according to Advertising Analytics. The political ad-tracking firm, Politico reports, expects the total cost of TV and digital ads for the next election to top $6 billion — a 57 percent increase over the total in last year’s hotly contested and expensive midterm elections, driven by a huge jump in digital video advertising. More than a quarter of the $6 billion total, $1.6 billion, will be spent on digital video platforms, primarily Facebook and Google, while broadcast and cable TV stations will take in a whopping $4.4 billion — more than twice as much as Democrats and Republicans spent on TV in the last presidential elections. Advertising Analytics projects presidential general election spending in two swing states alone — Florida and Pennsylvania — to top $600 million combined. Congressional and gubernatorial races will also account for more than $2 billion in spending, including $1 billion on the battle for the House of Representatives, breaking a record set in 2018.

THIS AND THAT MAD Magazine is coming off newsstands after a 67-year run. The famed satirical magazine featuring the freckled face of Alfred E. Neuman will stop publishing new material outside of its end-of-year specials, owner DC tells AdAge... The U.S. women’s soccer team is again the champions of the World Cup, beating the Netherlands 2-0 yesterday to win its fourth World Cup title and second championship in a row. The game, which was played in Lyon, France, saw U.S. star Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle score second-half goals.