Category: Television
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Coming Soon: Major Changes in the Broadcast TV Industry
We’re about to see a major shift in broadcast TV unlike anything we’ve seen before. Big statement, but it’s true if a few things fall into place. While radio consolidated years ago, letting big ownership groups control a significant number of stations in a marketplace, the FCC has limited anyone…
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Advertisers Shifting Budgets from Acquisition to Retention in Early 2023
Marketers are already shifting marketing dollars early in 2023. A survey of marketing professionals by Advertising Perceptions via Marketing Dive showed that nearly two-thirds of marketers said they were moving dollars to higher-performing channels. That’s not surprising as the number of channels has exploded over the past few years. With…
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Maps Reimagined if Streaming Services Were Countries
A new study by Mackeeper has analyzed which streaming services are bigger than entire countries! The US dominates global tech and is home to the majority of tech giants including streaming services, but this study shows which of these mammoth services are bigger than countries by comparing population to subscriber…
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Advertising During Uncertain Times: 11 Research Projects Tell the Same Story
If you’re looking for hard data on what’s happened to brands that increased or decreased marketing during and after a crisis or recession, I’ve compiled the results of 11 studies into this article. Every single one shows the same thing: the companies that stayed the course or increased their marketing…
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Changing Consumption Habits During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Remember all the headlines about the death of network news? It turns out the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir is the #1 program on television right now. It’s not just the #1 news program; it’s the #1 program period – beating everything in prime time. During the coronavirus…
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What is the World’s Largest Advertiser Doing Right Now?
Procter & Gamble is generally considered the world’s largest advertiser. They are certainly TV’s largest advertiser and it’s where they spend the bulk of their money. P&G spent more than $100 million in TV, digital, and print last year. You would think if anyone could afford to take a little time…
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Senators Ask for Relief for Journalists Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
“Local news is in a state of crisis,” said a letter written by a group of 19 Senators in a letter to Senate leadership. The senators warn that the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – including plummeting advertising revenue – could decimate local and regional news outlets even as…
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Video Consumption Up 33%; Local Broadcast TV Still Gets the Bulk of Viewing
Consumers spent way more time watching video in 2019 compared to previous years, according to a Parks Associates study reported in Fierce Video. Video consumption rose by 33% in 2019 compared to 2018. When it comes to where people watch video, TV still ranks as the #1 destination. TV sets…
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TV’s Influence on Purchase Decisions Exceeds All Other Media Combined
Once again, consumers cited traditional television advertising as having the strongest influence on their purchasing behavior, greater than the influence of all other media combined. That was the key takeaway from a research study, 2019 Purchase Funnel, conducted by GfK which measured the influence of media on consumers during their…
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What are People Watching on TV? Here are the Top 100 for 2019 Broadcast Season
92 out of the top 100 aired on broadcast TV channels.
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Content Omnivores: Video Consumers Want It All
With the increased attention focused on OTT (Over-the-top) TV and streaming services, there are some interesting trends developing. 65% of US consumers say they stream content at least once a week. Two-thirds say they stream more video online than they watch of broadcast, cable, or satellite, according to Horowitz Research’s…
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Changing Channels: Direct to Consumer Brands Are Moving Digital Dollars Back to Traditional Advertising
Many D2C brands are moving digital dollars back to traditional marketing channels. Rising costs of digital mediums Need to build brand awareness, trust, and credibility They are finding out that the direct response type campaigns that can work on search and social media channels will only take you so far. …
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IAB: TV Ads Are Still the Best for Generating Awareness
When the TVB (Television Bureau of Advertising) puts out a study that says TV ads are the best marketing solution for businesses, some critics say the results are skewed because it’s a TV-focused organization. If that happens in the future, you can now point to the survey done by the…
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Vast majority of video viewing still taking place on TV sets
Yes, there’s a fair amount of viewing these days on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, but 70% of all viewing is still through the TV set. A survey of OTT consumers conducted for Nevion reports that 70% of those responsing still watch the majkority of programming on TV. …
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Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought.
Quick Read: Cord Cutting by Younger Consumers Making It Harder for Advertisers to Drive Conversation and Engagement with Their Brands, Especially in Tech, Telecom, Automotive SOURCE: Engagement Labs Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought. The decline of ad-supported television is driving down audience engagement with brands.…
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DirecTV Now Streaming Service Loses A Quarter-Million Subscribers
The future of TV is supposed to be streaming, right? In its 4th quarter earnings report, AT&T dropped a bombshell. The parent company of DirecTV announced that it had lost 267,000 streaming customers of its DirecTV Now service. The forecast for sub losses was 19,000 according to the Hollywood Reporter. …
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Hackers are now hacking Connected TV Sets
Yup, it happened. Hackers have been able to hack TV sets. The guy behind the hack called himself, The Hacker Giraffe, and managed to exploit a Google Chromecast vulnerability in devices and posted a privacy warning (and promoted PewDiePie, a YouTube celeb). According to Media Post, the hack takes advantage…
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Local TV News is the Most Trusted of All Media – By Far
When it comes to trust, local TV news reigns supreme. According to market research firm SmithGeiger (doing research for Hearst Television), 73% of news consumers say they trust at least one local TV news brand in their market – far outdistancing any other news source on any platform. 81% of…
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Online Brand Search Spikes Within Seconds of TV Ads Airing
Advertise on TV and people will search for you online… almost instantly. As many as 90% of TV viewers have a digital device either in their hands or within reach while watching. “Forget the remote,” said Lisa Gevelber, VP Global Marketing at Google. “Smartphones are becoming the essential TV-watching companion.”…
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Screen Size Matters: TV Ads Lead to More Sales Than YouTube or Facebook Ads
Research done by Dr. Karen Nelson-Field, Professor of Media Innovation, University of Adelaide and Executive Director Centre for Amplified Intelligence, shows several important points: There is a significant relationship between the attention paid to advertising and sales People pay more attention to the same advertisement on TV vs. Facebook or…
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Own a Vizio TV? You might be entitled to a 62 cent settlement
Vizio has agreed to pay some $17 million in an effort to settle a class action suit over privacy laws, according to the terms filed in court. The case revolved around consumer complaints that Vizio was tracking TV viewers by default, without getting consumer permission, and sharing data with third-parties. …
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Consumers Are Canceling Video Streaming Services at Significant Rates
You hear a lot about cord cutting and people dropping their cable service, but not so much about people dropping their OTT (over-the-top) video streaming services. Park Associates has now quantified the OTT churn and it’s bigger than you probably think: 18% annually. That’s right. 18% of streaming video service…
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Why TV + Digital is a Powerful Combination
Even the digital folks will tell you TV is still the King when it comes to media consumption. Combined with digital, the results can be incredible! Television isn’t dying; it’s just changing. And it remains unrivaled in its sheer, unadulterated reach, said Daniel Gulick, writing for digital media publisher SmartBrief.…
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Overall trust in news is up significantly: Local TV News is the most trusted source
More people trust local TV news than any other source. That’s the key finding in the latest Poynter Media Trust Survey. Trust in the media overall, the report shows, has increased since President Trump took office. The survey shows similar results to a Gallup poll and a survey done for The…
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Direct correlation between TV ads and auto website traffic: Ignore it at your own peril
If you want to increase the traffic to your auto dealer website, increase your TV ad spending. Cut back on TV advertising at your own peril. An in-depth investigation from the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) reveals that 76% of auto brands saw a direct correlation – good or bad –…
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In this era of “Fake News,” TV News is still rated as most accurate by all parties
Despite all the cries about fake news, and people’s concerns, there’s one place they still trust for the most accurate political information: Television. All parties to the political debate are concerned about the amount of fake news on social media, according to a survey done by the Video Advertising Bureau.…
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Boycotts Up: Where You Advertise Matters More Than Ever
Boycotts are up. Where you advertise matters. Those are two of the findings of a recent Civic Science poll. The results show that the number of people boycotting products they use to buy as a result of where the ads ran has grown from 22% of US adults in 2017…
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Facebook is spending $1 million a day on TV ads
Facebook’s taken hit after hit to its reputation. Accusations of political bias, alleged misuse of personal data, data leaks, third parties accessing your data through your friends without permission… the list of complaints goes on and on. The list of lawsuits by shareholders and users against the social media company…
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Social Media falling out of favor as a news source
Reuters Institute surveyed more than 74,000 people in 37 countries about where they get their news online. What they found is that social media is quickly falling out of favor for news consumption after years of continuous growth. “For the last seven years we have tracked the key sources for…
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Major Advertisers Shifting Dollars from Digital to TV
JP Morgan Chase is retreating on its digital ad placements. Instead, they will take dollars and move them back to television. That’s big news in advertising circle. The company has a $5 billion marketing budget. Perhaps it’s the logical outcome for the company that reduced their digital reach by more…
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Video streamers watch more traditional TV than anything else – by far
Nearly 60% of all US households own some form of streaming device. While video streaming is on the rise, it’s not an all-or-nothing thing. In fact, on a typical day, 93% of streamers also watch traditional TV, according to Nielsen’s Local Watch Report. More than half (51%) watch local TV…
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Bulls-eye marketing: Finding the sweet spot
To maximize the effectiveness of your advertising, you have to place it squarely in the target for consumers. You already know it’s not enough to have a great product. It’s not enough to assemble your unique selling proposition – what I call your Weapon of Mass Distinction. It’s not enough…
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Cable, Satellite cord cutting accelerates while streaming service grow subscribers
As cord cutting in pay-TV (cable + satellite) continues to accelerate, subscribers of premium video streaming services continues to increase. The penetration of cable and satellite subscribers is now at 78%, the lowest it’s been in 15 years. SNL Kagan reports that 32 ad-supported cable networks EACH lost more than…
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What ads most lead to purchases: TV, Facebook, or YouTube?
It’s the first time a study like that has been done. Karen Nelson Field us a marketing science professor. According to Spots N Dots, she exposed more than 2,500 people to a variety of advertisements (more than 18,200) to study their impact on behavior. One of the more interesting parts…
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Which Advertising Medium Do Consumers Trust the Most?
With U.S. consumers being exposed to an average of 10,000 brand messages every day, and 90% of consumers reporting that advertisements influence their purchase decisions, the power of advertising is undeniable. According to research from Clutch, consumers in the United States say Television and Print are the advertising mediums that…
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4 largest TV companies will own more than 40% of all local stations
The big get bigger. That’s been the story of the past three years in television as the 5 largest companies now control 37% of all TV stations in the U.S., according to Pew Research. With a FCC that is relaxing ownership rules, and a major acquisition of the 42 Tribune…
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Priceline spends $4.3 billion on digital ads each year. It’s shifting to TV for the future.
Priceline is the travel industry’s largest digital advertiser. It’s built its company using TV and digital advertising, but the majority has been on digital. In 2017, it’s expected to spend $4.3 billion dollars on digital, according to Skift, an industry website that tracks spending within the travel category. The vast…
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Is Google Fiber sputtering? Dropping 8 markets and new television services
Is Google Fiber struggling? The rollout of high speed Gigabit internet has been slower than expected and the company has cut back on the markets where it’s installing. In October, it scrapped plans to expand into 8 markets. It’s been hampered by both the cost and time it takes to…
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TV still #1 choice for news consumption, but the gap is narrowing
Only a third trust social media as a news source Half of all Americans report they get their news on television, but the gap with online is narrowing. 43% now say they often get their news online. The gap is just 1 points, narrowing from 19 points in 2015, according to…
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My first book has been re-released as a free download on Amazon
My first book – “Weapons of Mass Distinction” – has been re-released and is available as a free download on Amazon. Get it here.
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Study: Media Measurement missing 66% of all video consumption
Global marketing company Omnicom handles ad services for more than 5,000 clients in over 100 countries. They are a big deal in ad circles. So, when they talk, people do listen. Here’s what they’re saying: 66% of TV and Video on content consumed by Millennials and Gen Xers is not…
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Just how prevalent is social media for small businesses?
Just how prevalent is social media for small businesses? It’s fair to say it’s nearly universal. Nearly 87% of small business owners say they use Facebook for marketing, according to a new survey from G2 Crowd via eMarketer. So, how’s it going for them? There are mixed results here. 38%…
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Facebook, Apple join the billion dollar club for spending on original video content
Everybody, it seems, wants to be in the TV business. OK, it’s really the video business, but it’s the same thing the TV networks have been doing for years: producing original television content. The WSJ reports that Facebook is looking to spend A BILLION DOLLARS on original video content for…
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Where did people turn for life-saving information in Hurricane Harvey? Local TV stations
If you doubted that local television is still important in people’s lives, consider this: When Hurricane Harvey was threatening Texas, where did people turn for the latest information? Local TV. 89% surveyed said local TV news was their top choice. Their second choice? Local TV station websites. Their third choice? …
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Partisan views on media more entrenched than ever
If anything, partisan views of the national news media have gotten even more entrenched… and the gap has widened, according to a national survey by Pew Research Center. While Democrat views on the impact of the national news media have grown more positive, Republicans have grown even more negative in…
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We’re hiring serious journalists to do the important stories
Have you become disillusioned with the TV news business? Tired of the fluff and happy talk? We want serious, experienced reporters that are willing to take on the tough stories, dig deeper, and do the important journalism our town deserves. Here’s the kicker: We’re willing to pay for experience. If…
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Trump’s 2018 budget would end federal funding for public broadcasting
The draft budget, if approved, would cut the $445 million dollars the Corporation for Public Broadcasting currently earmarked as part of the omnibus bill approved for fiscal year 2019. Instead, it would allocate just $30 million dollars. The $30 million would be to conduct “an orderly closeout of federal funding,”…
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Who you trust more: Advertising or News Media?
While we hear a constant drum beat that trust in the news media continues to drop, it’s not the same for advertising. In fact, more people think ads are more honest than they were three years ago, according to a YouGuv survey in March. Trust but verify
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Overall news consumption is up 18%
Overwhelming majority of consumption happens on TV Adults in the US spend more than 72.5 BILLION MINUTES consuming news during an average week. The Nielsen folks say total new consumption across platforms was up 18% last year. Broadcast TV (local and national) accounted for the biggest chunk of viewing (29.4…
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175 TV stations sell off spectrum, nearly 1,000 will move to new channels
A bunch TV stations got a windfall from the FCC’s spectrum auction. Some got so much they opted to go off the air forever and take the money and run. Altogether, 987 TV stations must change channels. [ FULL LIST AFTER THE JUMP ]
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A bad idea: Congress looks at taxing advertising
The Trump administration has put tax reform on the table for debate. There are very few people that would argue what we have right now is working fine. One of the things under discussion, however, is eliminating the business deduction for advertising. Businesses are able to deduct the cost of…
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Internet advertising to surpass TV advertising, but…
For the first time, more dollars are being spent on internet advertising than on traditional television. That news comes from Zenith (a Publicis company) in taking a look at 2017 internet advertising dollars and projections.
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Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press
I put this up right outside my office door to remind everybody who walks into our TV station how important it is that journalists do their job. The Bill of Rights warrants Congress shall make no law abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the Press. The founders saw journalists…
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Where to get the best ROI for TV ads
Story worth reading by Jason Lynch in Ad Week. It details a Nielsen study done for CBS that looks at the best place to put ads for the best ROI. The short answer (beyond news and live sports) is sitcoms. Also worth noting this exchange. When advertisers talk about reaching…
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A huge number of Millennial Men aren’t watching any TV on any device
How big a deal is this cord-cutting thing for TV? It may depend on who you ask. The number of people cutting out cable has slowed, but it’s still a growing number. But when you slice and dice those dropping (cord-cutters) or never subscribing (cord-nevers), this new report shows…
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75 million U.S. homes now have internet connected TV
Nearly three-quarters of broadband-connected homes now have a TV connected to the internet. The adoption of internet-connected TVs has mirrored the adoption of broadband in the US, but has slowed recently as more homes were connected. According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), the penetration of Internet-connected TVs…
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Broadband Only homes rising, 15% get TV without cable or satellite
In 2013, just 9% of US residents did not subscribe to pay-TV (cable or satellite) to get television. By the third quarter of 2016, that number had risen to 15%. That equates to 17 million broadband-only homes, according to TDG (The Diffusion Group) as reported in MediaPost. Park Associates…
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Cord Cutting and Skinny Bundles: More hype than hope?
Cord cutting is real and it’s gaining traction, but not as quickly as predicted. Nielsen’s latest report shows homes that subscribe to pay-TV (cable or satellite) is down 1.7% from last January. That’s hardly a tidal wave of cord cutters. At the same time, the number of TV households actually…
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Paul Dughi named as one of 16 “Media Influencers” by Local Media Today
I was honored to be included in the list of 16 “media influencers” as named in the 2017 monthly edition of Local Media Today, by the Local Media Association (an industry trade association of more than 2,400 newspaper, TV, radio, pure plays and other media partners). It’s a pretty impressive group to be…
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Bipartisan investigation demands answers on cable TV’s “misleading fees and sales practices”
In a bi-partisan effort, Senators from both parties are calling on Charter Communications (which also acquired Time Warner) and Comcast to stop what they call “misleading placement of fees on customers’ bills, and inadequate advertising disclosure for service promotions.” They’ve asked before and say they’ve never got an answer to…
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Now ransomware is showing up on a Smart TV?
Wow. Just wow. Darrn Cauthon is a software developer. On Christmas day, he says, a family member was using their Smart TV and downloaded an app to watch a movie. The TV set froze up. When it rebooted, this notice appeared claiming to be from FBI Director James Comey. Full…
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Cord cutters are cutting cable AND broadband internet at home
First it was cutting landline phones for mobile. Next, cord cutters dropped cable TV and opted for streaming devices. Now, in what Ovum researchers call “triple cord cutting,” we’re seeing people start to trim their broadband connections at home and use cell phones to do their online viewing. “Cord-cutting started…
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How Advertising Works
The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it. The second time, he does not notice it. The third time, he is conscious of its existence. The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before. The fifth time, he reads it. The sixth time,…
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Bulls-eye marketing: Finding the sweet spot
To maximize the effectiveness of your advertising, you have to place it squarely in the target for consumers. You already know it’s not enough to have a great product. It’s not enough to assemble your unique selling proposition – what I call your Weapon of Mass Distinction. It’s not…
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Comcast gets caught charging customers for stuff they never ordered and hit with largest FCC fine ever given
Comcast hit with the largest civil penalty ever given to a cable operator about consumer complaints and ordered to put in place a compliance plan “In some complaints, subscribers claimed that they were billed despite specifically declining service or equipment upgrades offered by Comcast. In others, customers claimed that they…
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Majority don’t trust media, but one source does better than all the others
We’ve all heard that people don’t trust the media anymore. Heck, I’m in the media and I view everything through a skeptic’s lens these days. Through it all though, one media source continues to do better than all the others:
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Are DVRs going the way of VCRs?
The DVR is a wonderful device. Digital Video Recorders let you record all the TV shows you want and watch them on your schedule. It’s kind of like Netflix… before Netflix existed. But new research shows that DVR use is down dramatically.
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Americans spend 47% of time awake on TV, PC, Tablets, or phones
According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), consumers spend a lot of time each week using a ‘screen’ — a television, personal computer, tablet, or mobile phone. It now tops 50 hours with TV topping the list.
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Olympic streaming is up, TV viewing down – NBC doing “make goods” for advertisers
TV ratings from the summer Olympics are down. Live streams across various platforms, though, are way up. NBC reports a 232% increase in live streams on August 10th versus the same day of the Olympics in 2012. On that day in 2016, live streaming topped ONE BILLION MINUTES through the…
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Customers dumping satellite & cable TV at an ever-growing rate
There’s no denying this cord-cutting thing is real. BTIG Research is the research arm of BTIG brokerage and fund services company which advises investors on key markets. They looked at the top MVPDs – that’s industry jargon for “multi-channel video programming distributor. In other words, what people know as cable…
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Olympic rule 40 prohibits athletes from marketing themselves during the Olympics
Yet many Olympic athletes live below the poverty line Despite the TV glory, a surprising number of Olympic athletes live below the poverty line. They typically self-fund their training and efforts, scraping together an income from limited prize money, part-time jobs, and sponsor contracts. Selling sausages to train for the Olympics…
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Washington Attorney General sues Comcast over 1.8 million violations of Consumer Protection Act
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Comcast isn’t playing fair with its customers. In fact, he says Comcast committed more than 1.8 million violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act, citing improper credit screening practices and charging fees for service calls. In addition, Ferguson says Comcast deceived customers for…
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I watched Team USA beat China… live on Facebook
I had the most surreal experience last night. I was watching Team USA (you know, the team made up of NBA All-Stars that will represent the US in the 2016 Olympics) take on China. But I was watching the game Live… on Facebook.
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For $86 Billion Dollars, you can get TV stations to go off-the-air
Phase 1 of the Spectrum Auction has been completed. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is trying to clear 126 MHz of broadcast spectrum for use by the wireless industry. The spectrum would come from TV stations currently broadcasting in that spectrum. They’d give it up in exchange for a one-time…
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Subscription, on-demand video services hit important milestone (but Live TV viewing is still King)
You may not have heard the term OTT before. It means “over-the-top” delivery of video programming – through a set-top box or internet-connected TV. But I’ll bet you know some of the products and have even used them. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu are OTT products and the news today…
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Why your local TV station may disappear forever
If you’re not in the local TV station business, you probably have no idea that your favorite local TV station may be disappearing soon or that your TV set may not work at all in the near future. Those are two consequences of initiatives that are underway right now. Spectrum…
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Confidence in newspapers, TV news hits all-time lows
The folks at Gallup have been surveying everything about American society for decades. One advantage to that is tracking how people think about key issues over time. This June, when they asked about people’s confidence in newspapers, the numbers hit an all-time low. Television News wasn’t far behind, ranking just…
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Senate investigating cable and satellite TV customer service and billing amid horror stories
The US Senate called for an investigative report and will hold hearings on cable and satellite TV customer service and billing practices. The report will be released at the hearings. Execs from Time Warner, Charter, AT&T, Dish Network, and Comcast are expected to testify. They’re likely to get blasted. Horror…
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How do you know what you’re seeing is real?
Breaking News! At the local TV station, they roll out a microwave live truck, a reporter and photographer, light up the studio, get the anchors in place, and bring in the control room crew. 7 or 8 people, a million dollars’ worth of equipment, and 10–15 minutes later, you’re on…
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Connected TVs: Streaming first, live TV second
Whether it’s a Smart TV with the internet and some services baked in, a Blue-Ray player, Roku, Google, FireTV, AppleTV or one of the dozen other internet-connected devices, US households continue to connect their television sets to the Internet at a rapid pace. A study from Frank N. Magid Associates…
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Next generation of Smart TVs could spell trouble for Local TV stations
This has been coming for some time, but it should send chills down the spines of local TV execs everywhere: a TV screen that when you turn it on doesn’t start on a channel, but gives you a listing of everything available. If you’re local, you’ll probably be tucked inside…
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If you could only pick one: Pay TV or Streaming?
When forced to choose between pay TV (cable, satellite) and streaming services, people that currently use both react differently according to their age. The younger the adult, the more likely they are to choose TV streaming services over pay-TV, and vice versa. So the big news is… young people stream,…
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Internet Video views: Beware data without context
I am a huge proponent of the potential of online video, OTT (over-the-top) video, and online news in general. Both from a consumer standpoint and a producer, online video is a force to be reckoned with. But this breathless reporting about video views, without context, needs to stop. We all…
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