| CynWkndr 3/1/07 |
|
|
|
Cynopsis: Weekender 03/01/07 Good afternoon. It's Thursday, March 1, 2007, and this is your Cynopsis: Weekender edition. Below are a handful of industry stories - with which you may agree or disagree. If you'd like to be heard - put together your own 350 word submission! Details below. The Tide Starts to Turn: Broadcasters Claim Early Retrans Victories By Daisy Whitney The retransmission momentum is swinging towards broadcasters. After several years of battles that saw local TV stations come up short, the beleaguered broadcasters have begun to amass some victories. Victories sorely needed, given how their traditional business is squeezed in a world that is migrating more to online and on-demand viewing. But paradoxically, broadcast networks have become more valuable in this new environment. Their top shows, like ABC's Grey's Anatomy, CBS's CSI or Fox's American Idol, are the rare venues that can aggregate massive audiences. "Even though we are living in an era of increasing fragmentation where broadcasters occupy a smaller and smaller percentage of the total viewing audience, the fact is they will attract a pretty impressive percentage especially with their most popular shows," said Todd Chanko, media analyst with Jupiter Research. Earlier this month cable operator MediaCom inked a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group that called for MediaCom to pay between 40 and 50 cents per subscriber. In late February CBS inked retransmission deals with nine cable operators reaching more than 1 million customers. Media reports said CBS secured about 50 cents per subscriber. "Clearly, there is a new paradigm in the marketplace, one that recognizes the value of the content that we bring to our various audiences," CBS Leslie Moonves said in a statement. Hearst-Argyle Television is feeling that momentum. In its fourth-quarter earnings report, the station group said it's generating fresh revenues via retransmission deals. Retransmission revenues rose from $6.8 million in 2005 to $17.9 million in 2006 and should hit between $18 million and $20 million in 2007. Retransmission is a small portion of total revenues, but it is one of the few areas that's growing. So broadcasters feel a bit like they have nothing to lose, said Len Ostroff, CEO of online video firm Rovion and a former television executive. "These are meaningful dollars to broadcasters," he said. "And a lot of that retransmission money will go right to the bottom line." Besides, cable operators have more to lose if they pull a station. While a broadcaster may lose some viewers, hurting ratings and revenues, the impact to a cable system can be far more damaging if the operator loses subscribers, said Damian Riordan, Director of Media and Entertainment for investment bank HT Capital Advisors. "When a broadcaster is pulled from the cable system, he is not pulled from the entire market. When a cable MSO pulls a station off of its system - it is off the system in the entire market." But many of the recent transmission victories weren't with the biggest operators. That's why some industry observers warn that broadcasters shouldn't get ahead of themselves. Getting paid from a MediaCom is a lot different that getting paid from Comcast. See Spot Run Digitally By Louis Chunovic Local broadcasting's TV time buyers and sellers finally will be making their own digital transition, according to an ambitious plan outlined last week by the Television Bureau of Advertising. After years of calling on stations and advertisers to go paperless and electronic, TVB is itself moving to create what it's calling ePort, an open-standards-based system which is expected to enable entirely paperless transactions among advertisers, agencies, broadcasters and station reps. Why now, after years of just prompting and persuading from TVB's bully pulpit? "To grow even our core [broadcast] business, broadcasters recognize that we have to make the process as easy as possible," said Rohrs, who also emphasized the improved capabilities of new digital broadband platforms that finally make an ePort-like system viable. But a senior advertising executive who attended last week's unveiling in Manhattan, had a more bottom-line perspective: Approximately 85 percent of all current transactions are "discrepant" -- that is, they contain at least one error -- and each of those errors requires a warm body to investigate and correct it, said the senior executive, who asked not to be named, so fixing those discrepancies ends up costing millions of dollars each year. "It is crystal clear that some of the shrinkage" in the national spot business is a result of the current "cumbersome" spot-buying process, Rohrs agreed, calling paperless a "big savings for both the seller and the buyer." In its initial phases, ePort, which also will receive funding from the National Association of Broadcasters and from such station groups as Meredith Broadcasting, is expected to cost around $5 million. Its capabilities are expected to include not only traditional spot buys, but Web, VOD, wireless and digital sub-channel advertising as well. "We're going to build it," said Chris Rohrs, TVB's president, who, over the past several years, has made the paperless back office something of a crusade for the trade organization. "Making decisions, not corrections, is what it's all about," added Greg Smith, co-chair of the American Association of Advertising Agencies' e-biz committee and CIO of McCann Worldgroup. "We're going to automate every aspect of the transaction except the negotiation," said TVB executive VP Abby Auerbach. Step one in the ePort plan: TVB will send out an RFP to technology providers. EPort is expected to go live in the fourth quarter for first quarter 2008 orders, said Auerbach, then to be "totally up and running" by the end of 2008, said Rohrs. That would put ePort fully in place on time for the actual digital transition, currently mandated by the FCC for February 17, 2009. By then, paperless ePort should be saving the industry millions annually, not to mention saving entire forests of trees. The CW Scores A Hit With Content Wraps By Karen Woodward In the DVR age, networks and marketers must think creatively to convince viewers to watch commercials. Last fall, The CW introduced content wraps, serialized vignettes featuring one product and aired during one night of programming, as part of the network's quest to bring something new to advertising. The content wraps were a huge success for the network; each producing 100% or greater audience retention out of the program they were scheduled around. When a wrap featured a CW talent (such as Supernatural's Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki playing Activision's Guitar Hero II) the retention rate went through the roof. "We want to be the net that is known for working with advertisers in new and innovative ways," said Bill Morningstar, EVP National Sales, at The CW winter press tour in January. "We looked at different ways to really connect to today's young adult and relate to the world they live in. Our goal was to create something entertaining for viewers that also presents value for the advertisers." The network aired four wraps, each specifically designed and produced in conjunction with four different brands to target different demos on four different nights of television. A Listerine wrap aired during 7th Heaven on Sunday targeting women 18-34; a Cover Girl wrap targeted women 18-49 during the network's three Monday night sitcoms - Girlfriends, The Game and All of Us; an Herbal Essences-sponsored wrap aired during Wednesday's America's Next Top Model targeting women 18-34; and the aforementioned Guitar Hero II wrap aired on Thursday night targeted to teens 12-17. The CW's latest content wrap aired last night during Wednesday's premiere of America's Next Top Model, and featured the most recent installment of the branded entertainment and culture mini magazine CWH, entitled C What's Hot, C What's Happening, and C What's Hip. The latest CWH spotlight, sponsored by Procter & Gamble's Herbal Essences, provides viewers with fashion advice and hair tips to prepare them for the coming beach season. The phenomenal success of content wraps proves that The CW has an understanding of young adult viewers and how they relate to advertising. But content wraps are just one way to reach the busy consumer. As marketers continue to be creative and inventive to reach desired audiences, expect other networks and online media to also embrace new forms of advertising. Take that DVRs. Video Clips Goes VOD by Marshal M. Rosenthal User-generated content is turning the sit-back-and-watch MTV viewer into a more active and involved participant, as found on YouTube and other websites. This craze among the 18-34 year old demographic really took off in 2006, when by year's end, user-generated video accounted for more than 40% of all online video content. So it makes sense for Comcast to look toward using this content to enhance Video on Demand as an offering to this young demographic, especially as 34-and-unders account for nearly 67% of VOD viewing, as compared to only 34% for that of linear TV (source: Nielsen Media Research). Comcast has partnered with producer R.J. Cutler (of The War Room, American High and 30 Days) to produce a 10 part series called Facebook Diaries. The show will include use of short videos chosen from the social online network Facebook popular among college students, and then re-worked and presented for use on a VOD channel as well as Comcast's own Ziddio web site. "This 18-34 demographic is used to consuming entertainment in any fashion on their own terms, so on-demand is both appealing and natural to them," points out Kate Disston, spokesperson for Comcast. " They love their entertainment and want it on the go and wherever they are." Disston sees VOD and the internet perfectly complimenting each other for this demographic. "Young people want to see user-generated content in many places, including television where they can watch what they want when they want it," she says. "This type of content is attractive to them and has an organic entertainment factor well suited for moving into the television space, as the young consumer online is a very similar demographic to that of VOD." The synergy between the two can only increase over time, especially as London-based screendigest predicts that by 2010 more than half of all the video content consumed online in the US will be user-generated. "The Facebook Comcast relationship is catering to a group of people who are dynamic, young and thrive in an online community environment," says Disston. "We believe the appeal will be strong in the on-demand world as well." * WEEK'S RECAP *
SUBMISSIONS / AD SALES/ SUBSCRIBE & UNSUBSCRIBE Cynopsis Ad Sales - Mark Bohn - 203-583-1224 / Article submissions for Cynopsis: Weekender are welcome, provided they are no longer than a maximum of 350 words. News articles used are paid at the rate of $1/word. Not all submissions are used. Editorials (also 350 word max) may be submitted but are not paid, and not all are used. Send submissions to Cynopsis at . The Weekender edition is published every Thursday and includes a few items to ponder over the weekend, as well as the highlights from the week. It is delivered to the entire Cynopsis subscriber list, unless you specifically request to be unsubscribed. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your email subscription, go to the Cynopsis website, www.cynopsis.com and click on the subscribe tab. Emails to the Editor: subject E-Mails to the Editor Copyright Cynthia Turner 2006 Later -- Cyn 03/01/07 What's On This Weekend: Saturday: 8-11p, March 3, 2007 ABC: Building a Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy [r], Movie: Head of State CBS: NCIS, Cold Case, 48 Hours FOX: Cops, Cops [r], America's Most Wanted ION: Movie: The Fourth Protocol [7], Movie: Who's Harry Crumb MNT: Movie: The Cider House Rules NBC: Dateline, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: CI PBS: Great Performances, Great Performances TELE: Vas o No Vas [7], Seguro Y Urgente, Cinemundo del Sabado UNIV: Sabado Gigante Sunday: 7-11p, March 4, 2007 ABC: America's Funniest Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters CBS: 60 Minutes, Amazing Race 11, Cold Case, Without a Trace [r] CW: Reba, Reba, 7th Heaven, Beauty and the Geek [r] FOX: King of the Hill, King of the Hill, The Simpsons, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Family Guy ION: Kung Fu, Movie: Blow Out, Kojak NBC: Dateline, Grease: You're the One That I Want, Deal or No Deal, The Apprentice PBS: Nature, Best Masterpiece Theatre, Johnny Mathis TELE: El Maravilloso Mundo De Disney/Estreno, Cine Millonaro Estreno UNIV: La Hora Pico , Bailando por la Boda de mis Sueos |
