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Should Google & Facebook be regulated, pay license fees for news content?
The British government has officially opened an inquiry into “fake news.” Damian Collins MP, Chair of the Committee investigating, summed it up: “The growing phenomenon of fake news is a threat to democracy and undermines confidence in the media in general.” Now British publishers have responded. The newspaper group News Media…
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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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Nearly 800,000 cut the Cable and Satellite TV cord in 2016
The numbers are in. More than 796,000 people ditched their pay-TV service (cable or satellite) in 2016, according to Leichtman Research Group. That’s about an 80% increase in the number of cord cutters from 2015, when 445,000 subscribers stopped being subscribers. Other key findings from its study:
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Three challenges for the web, according to its inventor
Al Gore jokes aside, the man credited with creating the WWW in web addresses says we’ve got some big problems on-line that need to be addressed. He’s published a letter to the world, titled “Three challenges for the web, according to its inventor.” In the letter, Tim Berners-Lee, talks about…
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Low renewal rates from ad buyers on Native Advertising: Does it work?
You know native advertising. It’s when instead of running an ad, publishers integrate advertising messages into content. It may be in the form of a news-looking article that features the company’s information or employees. In its best form – clearly labelled as advertising content – it may provide interesting and…
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I love my cable / satellite / streaming / internet provider (said nobody ever)
Nobody, it seems, is happy with their cable, satellite, or streaming provider. Overall cost, hardware problems, streaming issues, and quality – take your pick. When you’re paying that much money, you just want to watch something of quality and have it work right without issues. When it doesn’t, people get…
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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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Is society as we know it “broken?”
66% of US thinks it is, 58% around the world agree. It’s not just you. People around the world are questioning what’s happening their world these days. In fact, More than half (58%) think their society is “broken.” 71% lack confidence in their government and even more, 81%, lack confidence in…
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Morning inspiration: 19 quick quotes on being happy
Here are 19 quick quotes to help you remember, happiness begins by looking inward:
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Cable company hit with $25 million penalty, $8 million legal bill for not cracking down on music piracy
Known fact: people pirate music online. It’s hard to track down each offender, and even taking individuals to task, it’s like the little boy sticking his finger in the dam only to have another leak pop up. Music publishers have tried to put the burden on internet service providers (ISP’s)…
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Majority of millennials say they don’t think pirating video is illegal
There’s more evidence that this Millennial generation is really different than Boomers. Taking a look at two studies, one done by YouGuv commissioned by Irdeto and the other by Anatomy Media, shows than more than half of millennials watch content illegally. The survey also asked if they felt any guilt or…
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Who’s more truthful: Trump or the media?
If this isn’t a wake up call for the media, I don’t know what is. A Spring 2017 poll from Emerson College shows the nation is split on the job President Trump is doing: 48% of registered voters approve of the job he’s doing, versus the 47% that disapprove. It’s…
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Everytime there’s new technology, someone figures out a way to hack it, exploit, or infect it
Doesn’t it seems everytime there’s new technology, someone figures out a way to hack it, exploit, or infect it? 16 million homes have had a serious virus problem in the past two years. The conflicker virus alone has infected nearly 9 million computers. Even cars are being hacked. And there’s…
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Life lessons: Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford, 2005
I recently came across Steve Jobs’ commencement address to Stanford University graduates. The year was 2005. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but surgery would help him live until his death in 2011. He had three important things to tell those assembled: You can’t connect the dots looking forward;…
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Google ad changes hurt organic search
When Google announced expanding text ads in April allowing publishers more characters to use in text ads, it claimed it could lead to up to a 20% increase in CTR (click-through-rates) for advertisers. So how did it do?
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At what point does Facebook stop adding users?
In its earnings report this week, Facebook said monthly users of its social media platform now top 1.86 billion people. That’s roughly 25% of the entire world’s population that users FB regularly. In total more than half the world’s population that have Facebook accounts (although to be fair, a lot…
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Auto sales off to a slow start in 2017, but projections show another record year for auto industry
Following a strong close to 2016, January’s retail new-vehicle seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate (SAAR) is expected to slow to 13.9 million units in 2017, down 200,000 units from last year, according to a forecast developed jointly by J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. U.S new-vehicle retail sales in January are…
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Facebook testing targeted ads in Messenger app
A test in Australia and Thailand this week may lead to more ads from the folks at Facebook. This time, they’re testing adding advertisements to its Messenger app. “This means that a business is able to place an ad in an area of Messenger below your recent conversations, similar to…
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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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Are voice-enabled devices a threat to Google’s ad revenue?
Voice-enabled apps and devices seem to be the next big thing. It was the clear star-of-the-show at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in December. But using voice to do searches may reveal a vulnerability for Alphabet (aka Google). While its Google Home device may compete in the market, it —…
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How to make change stick
What it takes, what you need to do personally, and what you can expect in attempting transformational change in an organization.
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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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Network TV viewing bigger now than 15 years ago *
CBS proudly proclaimed its top performing programs get more viewers than they did 15 years ago. In a world of cord-cutting, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, that’s a strong statement. Ah, but the devil – as the say – is in the details.
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Virtual advertising on windshields aimed at the driver?
I’ve started to wonder if we’re putting too much tech in front of drivers. As they navigate down the road, there are an awful lot of things that can add to your distracted driving. My new car has a screen that shows current radar and weather forecasts. I’ve found the…
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DirecTV raises price on skinny bundle by 71%
When DirecTV launched its skinny bundle in November, offering 100 channels for $35 a month, it was called disruptive. Other bundles on the market were either much smaller, or single-provider options, like HBO or CBS. It almost seemed to be too good to be true. Alas, it was. Those days…
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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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Are restaurants that don’t accept cash the next trend?
Sweetgreen restaurant chain is in the “fast casual” category, serving up healthy food choices. What won’t be on the menu in 2017 is… cash. Starting mid-January, they will stop taking cash at 64 locations. The company says it will speed up transactions by as much as 15%. Employees touching cash…
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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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US digital ad spend nearly $18B in 3Q 2016
U.S. advertising spend in digital advertising in the third quarter of 2016 alone was nearly $18 billion dollars. The latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report shows the number at $17.6 billion. This marks the highest third quarter for digital advertising spending on record and a 20% increase over the same time period in…
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At what point does new technology become mainstream?
Commercial mobile telephones were actually invented in 1949 by AT&T, but it wasn’t until the early 70’s that phones were truly mobile – not tethered to vehicles. I remember when neighbor kids would want to ride in my car so they could call Mom at home and tell her where…
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Four times people were threatened or sued for leaving bad reviews on Yelp… and won
Put a bad review on line and you risk not just making the business mad, but maybe lawsuits and fines. You may not even know you’re doing something that could get you in trouble, but buried in the TOS (term of service agreements) you never read, or buried in some…
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It’s not you. Commercial breaks are getting longer
The NFL thinks if it cuts out commercial breaks and down time, it may help with struggling ratings this year. Probably. DVR’s, Hulu, and Netflix have turned a lot of people into binge watchers and it’s made it tougher to go from that experience to sitting through commercial pods –…
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The best media to use to drive car buyers to actually buy
TV TOP INFLUENCER FOR MILLENNIALS, TOO The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) asked consumers a pivotal question for car dealers: What’s doing the best job at driving consumers to the point of purchase? The November study, done by Research Now, found that TV carries the greatest influence of all media throughout…
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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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Talking cars could help make roads safer, help the environment
If you’ve bought a new car lately, you know there’s an incredible amount of tech going on that has nothing to do with driving. My new car has weather radar maps, sports scores, movie times, and even Open Table available on the touchscreen. But a proposed rule from NHTSA (National…
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Bah humbug. Almost nobody likes holiday store shopping
Holiday sales this year are expected to increase 3.6% from last year with a retail spend of $655.8 billion dollars in retail stores and another $117 billion on line, according to the National Retail Federation. So what do shoppers like about doing their holiday gift buying in stores?
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The dirty little secret of digital ad networks
In the rush to move to digital advertising, there’s been an awful lot of ad dollars wasted because people didn’t really know what they were buying. Remember the early days of the world wide web? People reported “hits” – which we then learned equated to server calls and could be…
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Can one country tell the world what it can and can’t see online?
That’s what’s being examined by Canada’s Supreme Court as it looks at a court decision that ordered the censorship of content on Google even outside the country’s borders. Google appealed, as you can expect, and the SupCo is hearing the case now. It stems from a Canadian company (Equustek) that…
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If you spend $1 on advertising, how much ROI would you expect? Assessing ROI on advertising consumer products
Are you familiar with what’s called FMCG brands? I had to look it up. It means “Fast Moving Consumer Goods.” These are the type of products you reach for on the store shelves at the grocery or drug store. Think Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Lindt, or Pfizer. Typically, they are long-standing brands…
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Millennials are now the majority in the U.S.
You may have missed the official announcement this year, but Millennials have overtaken Baby Boomers as the country’s largest generation. US Census Bureau population estimates put Millennials (age 18–34) at 75.4 million in the U.S. while Baby Boomers (age 51–69) at 74.9 million. It’s kind of a natural progression. As populations…
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Brand loyalty is not dead, even for Millennials and new parents
Brand loyalty dead? It makes for a catchy headline and fits the narrative new-age brand marketers are selling: 90% of the leading household goods brands are losing market share on consistently low-growth categories – Study by Catalina The story goes that in the post-media age (whatever that is), consumers –…
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