TVB Forward

Both Nielsen and ComScore have identified local TV measurement as a growth area ripe with opportunity. And according to CBS research guru David Poltrack, “You now have two companies … that are expanding and investing a lot of money in measuring the medium more effectively. We’ve never enjoyed that before.”

Steve Szakaly, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, predicted a downturn in car sales over the next five years, but said that’s not necessarily bad news for local television because auto dealers and OEMs often increase their advertising expenditures in order to lift sales during a downturn.

Tribune-owned Fox affiliate WDAF Kansas City (DMA 33) was recognized today with the Ad Council’s 2016 Crystal Bell award. The award was presented at the TVB Forward conference. Each year, this […]

That’s a $500 million drop from what the research firm had originally expected and is just a hair better than what stations received from political advertisers four years ago.

Between now and 2020, linear ad business will be flat, according to BIA/Kelsey’s Tom Buono. Other predictions from the TVB Forward conference include Pivotal’s Brian Wieser, who says spot will grow 4.5% this year in comparison with 2015 when both the Olympics and political ad spend is excluded. Jack Myers of MyersBizNet says the strong CPM growth of between 7% and 12% for national networks during the upfront and continued strength of the scatter market is good news for local TV.

The Wells Fargo analyst is bullish on net retrans growth, sees spot advertising moving along with single-digit growth, and sees ATSC 3.0 presenting opportunities for new revenue streams.

Despite the decision to postpone the roll out of the controversial new diary replacement system for local TV until Jan. 1, Nielsen’s Matt O’Grady tells the TVB crowd it is the way to go. “I know there are plenty of questions about this remodel. However, I also know that remodeling is the future for us to assign demos to big-data sets. I know we can get it right.”

Since hitting record low sales in 2008, the auto industry has surged. That’s good news for local TV says Jason Stein of Automotive News. Local dealers are spending up to six times what they did in 2009 on TV advertising, he said. And with the market so “red hot,” car manufacturers, which usually spend on national ads, are also buying more local TV.

Wall Street analysts say cable and satellite operators will be hurt more by OTT offerings than will stations because the skinny bundles are going to need stations’ local programming as well as their network lineups.

The EMMA awards recognize broadcast television stations and advertising agencies for outstanding collaborative multiplatform marketing campaigns.

This year’s TVB Forward conference, the first to offer a full day’s schedule of events, provided a lively forum for discussing what’s happening in broadcasting and what’s coming next. But it fell short of its goal to provide a showcase for local broadcasting. One way to draw media and ad buyers would be to replace news personalities with newsmakers.

A TVB survey finds that TV is three times more likely to spark discussion than digital media and local TV news is a bigger conversation starter than both network and cable news.

Nielsen’s Ian Beavis says successful auto campaigns must be tailored to car buyers, who watch slightly less TV than other viewers and tune in most heavily during primetime and latenight. “We need to improve creative across platforms, place advertising where people watch it and cut through clutter.”

“Broadcast captures 35% of the audience, gets 7% of programming fees,” Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker told the TVB Forward conference today. Growing retrans consent revenue (it’s expected to total $2.6 billion this year) is one factor driving investor interest in broadcasting, she added, with broadcast TV stocks currently up 74% over what it was at this time last year.

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo Wells Fargo’s Marci Ryvicker and ABC TV’s Charles Kennedy are on tap for this year’s conference in New York on Sept. 18.

Bob Liodice, president of the Association of National Advertisers, tells the TVB Forward audience that “while a long time ago we may have said TV is dead, I truly believe that TV is not only alive and well but also flourishing at a very exciting pace. Without TV, it’s so difficult to get a brand viral, to get a brand mainstream.”

Media advertising analysts Ken Goldstein of Kantar says that should be a record take for local TV next year, driven by the proliferation of Super PACs spawned by last year’s Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.

The measurement firm’s Steve Hasker says it’s increasingly important that audience measurements keep up with the changes in media as viewers migrate to other platforms.

TVB Forward panelists say after surviving 2011, next year’s outlook is good, with plenty of room to grow with political and car revenue and a healthier base than many other media. Key to the continued growth is retransmission consent fees.

With an expected fourth-quarter upsurge in spending by Japanese automakers, stations are urged to demonstrate to dealers the reach of television, as well as options such as time-targeted ads and multi-platform plans.