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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2020.The Daily News of TV Sales Monday, February 8, 2021

NFL GAMES PRIMARY FORUM FOR VEHICLE SPOTS Automakers’ TV spending in January declined almost 6% compared to December’s robust spend. The year vs. year comparison was up 27.6% vs. January 2020, but impressions were down slightly, compared with a 1.32% decrease year over year, according to iSpot.tv. In January 2021, automakers spent an estimated $588.3 million. The top five brands by spend were Ford ($73.5 million), Toyota ($67.1 million), Chevrolet ($60.6 million), Hyundai ($48.3 million) and Lincoln ($38.1 million). The top five brands by impressions were Toyota (3.7 billion), Ford (3.2 billion), Chevrolet (3.1 billion), Lexus (2.5 billion) and Nissan (2.4 billion). NFL games were a large portion of automaker spend during the month. Between the end of the regular season and the first three rounds of the playoffs, NFL action made up 45.7% of automaker TV ad spend in January. College football also took in 6.96% of spend, while college basketball (3.02%) and NBA games rounded out the top shows. Sports also made up nearly 42% of all auto brand TV ad impressions. The top five networks for automaker TV ad impressions: NBC (2.28 billion), CBS (2.21 billion), Fox (2.11 billion), ESPN (1.44 billion) and ABC (802 million). Over the course of January, five different auto brand spots were seen at least 700 million times. With 1.06 billion, Lincoln’s “Comfort in the Extreme: Cold” had the most TV ad impressions. General Motors’ Chervolet brand, which had the most-seen auto ad for the last two months, was second with its “Last Thing” Silverado spot (941 million impressions), and was also fifth on the list with “Just Better” (777 million impressions) which debuted back in September. With big audiences tuning in for NFL games, auto brands were eager to push 2021 vehicle inventory, which showed in terms of ad spend. Of the top 20 automakers in January, 17 increased spend compared to January 2020. “Automakers were busy pushing 2021 inventory this January, largely returning to ‘business-as-usual’ sales creative while trying to move new inventory,” said Stu Schwartzapfel, senior vice president, media partnerships at iSpot.tv. “After months of auto brands hanging back in the early days of the pandemic, we’ve seen live sports drive TV ad impressions for autos since the fall — something that became even more pronounced during the NFL Playoffs.” Kia saw the biggest jump, increasing spend by 390% year over year, and

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AUTOMAKER TV SPENDING DOWN NEARLY 6% FROM JAN.ADVERTISER NEWS Nordstrom says it will phase out its HauteLook flash sales business and transfer that function to its off-price Nordstrom Rack business. The department store retailer also forecast sales growth of 25% over the next fiscal year compared to the current one. It expects to maintain low single digit annual growth thereafter... Bright colors — pink, orange, purple, green and blue — have been big hair color sellers for Sally Beauty, which saw color product sales go up 19% in the last quarter. Sally Beauty CEO Christian Brickman said bright color sales were already on the rise before the pandemic, but has picked up steam since then. “I think a significant portion of it is sustainable as people just feel more free to express themselves through hair,” he said... Gun sellers sold more than 2 million firearms in January, a 75% year-over-year increase, according to the

National Shooting Sports Federation. The FBI reported that it conducted a re-cord 4.3 million background checks in January as demand for guns increased… Simon Property Group is sounding the alarm over Sycamore’s latest retail ven-ture. The nation’s largest mall operator has filed court papers seeking to block the approval of Ascena Retail Group’s Chapter 11 reorganization. Simon ob-

jects to the approval of the plan out of concern that Syca-more, which bought Ascena’s Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Loft and Lou & Grey out of bankruptcy, plans to close more stores than was originally agreed upon. The original purchase agreement included a plan to keep at least 900 stores operating under the Sycamore entity and a master lease that Simon entered with Ascena amid the negotia-tions… Ford is embracing digital technology in an effort to catch up with Tesla and General Motors. The big news in Ford’s Q4 results was a massive acceleration in technology investments. Just over four months into the job, CEO Jim Farley pledged $22 billion through 2025 to electric vehicles and the digital technology involved in connecting them to the internet, as well as $7 billion to autonomous driving.

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AVAILS KOLD News 13 in Tucson, Ariz., has an immediate opening for a Regional National Sales Manager to lead our national and political sales efforts. Candidate must possess strong leadership, highest level of customer service and sales skills, along with a proven track record of success with negotiating and servicing national agencies. Achieving digital and broadcast sales objectives, continuously building relationships, communicating clearly and concisely,

accurate forecasting, budgeting, developing and executing a strategic plan is critical. Come join our dynamic sales team! Apply at KOLD News 13, a Gray Television station. EOE. Join our winning team in the Mile High City – DENVER! Nexstar Media seeks a dynamic Local Sales Manager to lead a team of winning Account Executives at Fox 31 and Colorado’s own-2 (CW). 3-5 years of television sales management experience is

preferred. 5+ years television sales experience mandatory. Experience working in duopoly environment a plus! Top candidates will have excellent motivational, leadership and forecasting skills, along with a proven track record of rate integrity and winning new business. CLICK HERE for more information or to apply now. EOE. SALES POSITIONS available NOW! We have immediate openings for self-starters who flourish in a sales environment. We seek executive-level individuals who want to become a part of our team and join us in our dynamic sales organization. Existing client list available, prior broadcast sales experience including with Advertising Agencies preferred. Comprehensive training, exciting earnings potential, and a simply fantastic company to work for. Apply at jobs@frontrangetelevision.com or call (307) 277-7888 to apply NOW! Equal Opportunity Employer. WJCL in Savannah, Ga., is seeking an Account Executive to sell TV and digital advertising to existing and new businesses and agencies. The ideal candidate is coachable and goal-oriented with strong interpersonal skills. Are you motivated by an excellent product, great compensation, and working with a talented team? We provide tools for powerful multi-platform marketing solutions creating partnerships, retaining and growing our client base. You provide sales ability, positive attitude, client focus, and a desire to WIN! If you want to work for the best, click HERE to apply! WJZY/WMYT, FOX46 in Charlotte, N.C., is seeking a highly motivated Account Executive to generate revenue by developing new business and grow existing accounts. We’re looking for someone who is energetic, positive, creative and passionate to succeed in the highly competitive media sales environment. Candidates should have a proven ability to design and implement best-in-class marketing solutions to cultivate business with TV and digital advertising. Must be a self-starter with strong analytical, written and verbal communication skills. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE. See your ad here tomorrow! CLICK HERE for details.

SMI: NFL REGULAR-SEASON AD REVENUE UP 5% Regular-season NFL advertising revenue was up 5% to $2.68 billion, according to Standard Media Index, which tracks ad spending. The gain came despite a recession and a pandemic that forced some games to be delayed and rescheduled. The strong gains should bolster the NFL’s leverage as it negotiates new television rights deals. SMI has not yet tabulated playoff advertising revenue. The gains were not uniform among the networks that broadcast pro football. CBS, which aired yesterday’s Super Bowl and sold out its ad inventory at prices that exceeded $5.5 million per 30-second spot, generated 15.2% more revenue with its Sunday afternoon games. Fox, which had both Sunday afternoon games and Thursday Night Football, gained 8.8% increase to $1.1 billion. NBC, which airs Sunday Night Football, was down 9.9% to $660 million and ESPN, which has the Monday Night Football franchise, was down 0.4% to $227 million. The NFL Network was up 18.2% to $61 million, according to SMI. ABC generated $22.8 million. It didn’t air any NFL games last year. Last season’s playoffs generated more than $150 million in revenue in the Wild Card round, more than $200 million for the division round and almost $250 million for the conference championships. Super Bowl LIV in-game commercials brought in $425.6 million, according to SMI.

NETWORK NEWS NBC has ordered the series The Thing About Pam, with Renee Zellweger starring. The six-episode scripted series is based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria that resulted in Faria’s husband Russ Faria’s conviction, which was later overturned. The crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme involving Pam Hupp, played by Zellweger. NBC went straight to series on the project. Dateline NBC covered the Faria murder, calling it one of the most popular topics in the history of the show... The Dick Wolf drama Law & Order: Organized Crime premieres on NBC on April 1. Featuring a crossover between Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime, the event reunites Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, played by Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni. Benson and Stabler were partners on Law & Order: SVU in earlier seasons. The cast features Meloni, Dylan McDermott and Tamara Taylor... Meanwhile at NBC: Season 4 of Good Girls is on March 7. Christina Hendricks, Retta and Mae Whitman are in the cast. And Season 3 of Manifest starts April 1, featuring Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas and Athena Karkanis... Fox has put in development Red Widow, a one-hour CIA thriller based on Alma Katsu’s forthcoming book. The story focuses on the lives of two female CIA agents who become intertwined around an internal threat to the Agency’s Russia Division as they navigate the mostly male world of intelligence. The novel captures the kind of thorny, manipulative behind-the-scenes machinations that take place inside intelligence headquarters that only a true insider would know.

2/8/2021

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

DELIVERY PLATFORMS DRIVE ONLINE GROCERY The online grocery vertical gained new users across the board in 2020, with on-demand delivery platforms seeing particularly high increases. According to a new consumer survey from digital marketing platform Chicory, Target-owned online grocery delivery platform Shipt increased its user base by 57% year-over-year in January 2021. Rival delivery platform Instacart followed with 48% year-over-year growth. No other online grocer experienced a year-over-year increase in users close to the levels of Shipt or Instacart,

although more consumers did engage with the segment as the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person shopping more difficult. Stop & Shop/Giant Foods had the next-highest year-over-year jump in users (27%), followed by Kroger (24%), Amazon (9%), Albertsons/Safeway (8%) and Walmart (0.5%). According to Chicory, online grocery usage in January exceeded usage in October by 9%, July by 15%, and April by 10%. Walmart (used by 56%) and

Amazon (36%) are still frontrunners in the vertical.

AT&T, COX SETTLE DISPUTE AHEAD OF SUPER BOWL AT&T and Cox Media Group said they reached a new multi-year retransmission agreement, ending a blackout just hours before the start of yesterday’s Super Bowl. The blackout affected 26 stations in 20 markets, including five with the CBS-affiliated stations that would have been carrying those games to subscribers of AT&T’s DirecTV, U-verse and AT&T TV. Those markets include: Alexandria, La.; Atlanta; Binghamton, N.Y.; Boston; Charlotte; Dayton, Ohio; Eureka, Calif.; Greenville-Greenwood, Miss.; Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Idaho; Jacksonville, Fla.; Medford, Ore.; Memphis, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Seattle; Spokane, Wash.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Tulsa, Okla.; Yakima-Tri Cities, Wash.; and Yuma, Ariz.

AUTOMAKER TV SPENDING DOWN 6% FROM JAN. (Continued from Page 1)Toyota was also up by triple digits at 313%. Ford (up 69.8%), GMC (up 55.83%) and Nissan (up 48.2%) also showed large increases to round out the top five in terms of year-over-year growth. But 13 brands saw spend increase by at least double digits.

2/8/2021

Chicory survey

Shipt increased its user base by 57% year-over-year in January. Rival Instacart followed with 48% year-

over-year growth.

SATURDAY NIELSEN RATINGS - LIVE + SAME DAY

DO YOUR SALES REPS VIEW YOU AS AUTHENTIC? If your reps are resisting your suggestions about how to polish their sales skills or close more deals, you may need to step up to the “presence principle.” Coined by Cory Mosley, Gitomer Certified Advisor and business consultant, this phrase is all about how authentic your reps believe you are. Too many sales managers aspire to become great leaders by pretending to be something they are not. Reps quickly figure out if their manager is simply relying on their title and acting the part without any real authenticity. You can fix this problem by improving your likeability and credibility. To improve your likeability, don’t fake an interest in a topic to make personal connections with your reps. If you pretend you love video gaming but can’t name a single game you play, you’ll come across as a fraud. Take the time to get to know each person and learn which topics they’re interested in. You’ll be able to find one common interest, and when you bond over that topic, your likeability will grow. One real credibility trap for new managers is the temptation to act like they are flawless. Reps know better. To build credibility, show your self-awareness. Explain your strengths and admit your weaknesses, especially during one-on-one meetings. Promise your team you’ll work on your weaknesses and that you’ll help them work on theirs. Before long, they’ll start trying out your suggestions. Source: SalesFuel — Manage Smarter.

OUTLOOK: DIGITAL FITNESS A STAR ON THE RISE In 2021, expect to see a convergence of content and commerce, led by the likes of Peloton, lululemon athletica, Nike and Apple. Amazon and Google are getting into the act as well with Halo and Fitbit, respectively, in addition to emerging services offerings. According to eMarketer, digital fitness will replace in-person venues such as gyms and will enable new levels of personalization that were previously either unavailable or unscalable. “Digital fitness is an emerging megatrend, and not just because of the pandemic,” said Andrew Lipsman, eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence. “The combination of increasingly sophisticated wearables, personalized health tracking, and integrated digital media experiences — all led by the most aspirational consumer brands — already pointed toward a reimagined consumer fitness landscape. “The pandemic simply accelerated these trends as consumers adapted to fitness experiences without gyms as the focal point,” he said. All of that digital fitness probably isn’t hurt by the growth of food delivery apps, which are making caloric intake easier than ever for many. Sales on U.S. digital restaurant marketplaces such as DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats more than doubled over the past year, from $20.08 billion in 2019 to $44.94 billion in 2020, according to the research firm’s latest estimates.