| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | Awesomeness TV to Produce Video Aimed at Millennial Moms
| | | The web video company, owned by DreamWorks Animation and minority investor Hearst Corp., plans to launch Awestruck, a new digital brand aimed at millennial mothers, The Wall Street Journal reports. The new unit will produce original short-form video for YouTube, Facebook and Verizon Wireless' upcoming video service. It will include comedy, mom-oriented talk shows, celebrity-driven series and scripted dramas, including possibly a younger-skewing soap opera.
Why This Matters: Brian Robbins, Awesomeness CEO, believes there is still a lack of content on non-traditional media platforms that interests young moms who are not watching traditional TV. Millennial moms are an undertapped audience for marketers and Robbins says there will be branded content video integration opportunities available.
A Take: WSJ
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| | #2 | P&G: Agency Consolidation Aimed at Improving Creative and Brand Communications
| | | Marc Pritchard, global brand officer at the consumer packaged goods giant, tells Ad Age the goal of Thursday's announcement to save up to $500 million annually by trimming agency fees is not the exclusive goal. Pritchard says the shift to digital media has led to a substantial increase in agency costs because of all the fragmentation, so content creation and digital buying need to become more efficient. He also wants to see agencies come up with more innovative ways to build the company's brands across all media.
Why This Matters: Basically P&G is challenging its current agencies and others out there who might want to do business with it to offer up their most talented personnel if they want a piece of the mega company's creative and ad spending pie going forward.
A Take: Ad Age
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| | #3 | ESPYs Telecast Moves to ABC from ESPN
| | | The 23rd annual event, which draws top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, will move from cable to broadcast for its next telecast on July 15. ESPN will still televise the red carpet preshow along with a special edition of SportsCenter surrounding the upcoming telecast that night.
Why This Matters: It can matter big time to marketers seeking to reach a larger sports-related audience. Last year the ESPYs on ESPN drew only a 1.1 18-49 demo rating and 2.2 million viewers. Over the past four years, it has averaged a similar 1.1 in the demo and 2.3 million viewers. Moving it to ABC should expand viewership considerably.
Two Takes: Adweek | B&C
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#4 As Apple Watch Hits the Market, Brands Ponder How to Use It as Ad Vehicle (Ad Age)
#5 JC Penney Joins Retailers Going Live via Periscope (Digiday)
#6 IPG Narrows First Quarter Net Loss, Reports 5.7% Organic Growth (MediaPost)
#7 BIA/Kelsey Says 9.5% of Local Businesses Have Purchased a Twitter Ad (Adweek)
#8 OpenSlate Offers YouTube Users Demographic Data (Digiday)
#9 Digital Agency Level Studios Opens San Francisco Office (MediaPost)
#10 Diet Pepsi Hoping Removing Aspartame Will Help Boost Sales (Ad Age)
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|  | • 78
Percentage of U.S. digital media buyers who do not think the Media Rating Council standard for display ad viewability is strict enough, according to a poll by ad analytics firm Integral Ad Science. That compares to only 39% of ad sellers who believe the viewability standard is inadequate.
– Reported by eMarketer
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| | MBPT Spotlight | Please Shut Up About Millennials Cord Cutting
By Robert Bardunias, cofounder and chief revenue officer, IRIS.TV
We sure do love our buzzwords; they have their time and place, and can be effective when used properly. But when it comes to digital video and the usage of "cord cutting," I just want to bloody scream! Not a frustrated, just-missed-the-last-train scream; I'm referring to a blood-curdling psycho scream. Yes, we love our buzzwords, but when we use them without considering the economic inference to industry, we're left looking quite dumb.
To begin, let's set the foundation that when people discuss "cord cutting," they are mainly referring to Millennials. The overarching view — for those living under a rock without WiFi — is that this swath of consumers (18-34-year-olds) are changing the video consumption paradigm in such a way that, economically speaking, supply needs to dramatically change delivery methodologies to meet demand. The basis of this view is driven by consumption data, which claims Millennials are not signing up for traditional TV/cable subscriptions but adopting greater attrition to digital subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. This can be backed by data. According to a recent study by NATPE/Content First and the Consumer Electronics Association, 51% of millennials consider Netflix subscriptions very valuable, compared to 42% for broadcast channels and 36% for cable subscriptions.
Where do millennials still catch their cable TV? Can anything get between teenagers and their smart phones?
For more, click HERE
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| | Fates & Fortunes | • JAMIE HOROWITZ was appointed president, Fox Sports National Networks, a newly created position that will have him overseeing all programming, marketing and scheduling for Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. He will officially join the company in mid-May and be based at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles. Horowitz was senior VP and general manager of NBC's Today show for a short stint but prior to that was with ESPN. He was VP, original programming and production at ESPN from February 2012 to August 2014. Prior to that he was a coordinating producer at ESPN, and before that a senior producer. Before joining ESPN he was with NBC Sports, where he rose to associate producer. DAVID NATHANSON, who previously ran Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 as general manager and chief operating officer, was promoted to head of business operations at Fox Sports, also a newly created position. He will manage business and league relationships, contribute to rights negotiations and identify untapped revenue generating opportunities for both linear TV and digital channels under the Fox Sports umbrella. In another move, JOHN ENTZ was promoted to president, production, Fox Sports. He was previously executive VP, production and executive producer. All three report to Eric Shanks, president, chief operating officer and executive producer of Fox Sports.
• BILL DEMAS is departing as CEO of demand-side ad platform Turn, a position he has held since 2008. He will stay with the company until a replacement is hired.
• Foursquare is bolstering its sales organization with several new hires, according to a report in MediaPost. ANDY CHAPMAN was named head of agency development at Foursquare. He was most recently VP of agency relations for Channel Factory. TYLER SIMMONS was named director of programmatic partnerships. He was previously with The Exchange Lab. Simmons will focus on Fourquare's new ad targeting platform Pinpoint. ROBERT CAMPOS will manage programmatic activation and insights for Pinpoint. He joins Foursquare from Horizon Media. JAKE SINSHEIMER was named manager of programmatic partnerships at Foursquare. He was previously with Xaxis. And TOM WOLFSTEIN was named monetization product manager.
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| | What They're Watching | BROADCAST RATINGS
'Grey's Anatomy' Shocker Boosts ABC Series to 7-Month High
Likely aided by the leak of a major character's death prior to airing, ABC's Grey's Anatomy drew its biggest numbers since its September premiere, jumping 33% from last week. Among total viewers, Grey's rose 24%. Scandal was down 4% and American Crime sank 18%. ABC tied with CBS for the demo lead. CBS, which led among total viewers, saw its lineup dip across the board. Big Bang Theory was down 10%, Odd Couple slipped 5%, while Mom declined 14% to a season low. Elementary was also down 7%. Fox and NBC finished tied in the demo. Bones and Backstrom were both even with last week. NBC's Blacklist hit a new series low, falling 13%, while Dateline: The Real Blacklist was down 18%. The CW rounded out the evening. Vampire Diaries and Reign remained at last week's series lows.
For more, click HERE
CABLE RATINGS
NBA Takes Top Three Spots Wednesday
NBA playoff action — and analysis — on TNT took the top three spots on Wednesday's original cable ratings. The San Antonio Spurs' thrilling overtime victory over the L.A. Clippers ranked as the top program, with a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 and 3.8 million viewers. TNT's earlier game, the Memphis Grizzlies' easy win over the Portland Trail Blazers, drew a 1.1 in the demo and 2.5 million viewers. And TNT's postgame show took third, as Inside the NBA landed a 0.9 rating and 1.8 million viewers. Discovery Channel's Dual Survival was the top non-sports program, with a 0.7 in the demo and 1.9 million viewers. The season three finale of FX's The Americans generated a 0.3 rating and 1.2 million viewers.
For more, click HERE
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| Overnight Ratings: Thursday, April 23
| | 8 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | CBS | THE BIG BANG THEORY (8)
THE ODD COUPLE (8:30) | 3.5
2.0
| 14.4
9.5 | | ABC | GREY'S ANATOMY | 2.8 | 9.4 | | UNIVISION | AMORES CON TRAMPA | 1.1 | 2.7 | | FOX | BONES | 1.0 | 4.6 | | CW | THE VAMPIRE DIARIES | 0.6 | 1.4 | | NBC | THE BLACKLIST (R) | 0.5 | 3.4 | | TELEMUNDO | AVENIDA BRASIL | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| | 9 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | ABC | SCANDAL | 2.3 | 7.8 | | CBS | MOM (9)
THE BIG BANG THEORY (R) (9:30) | 1.9
1.7
| 9.0
8.3
| | NBC | THE BLACKLIST | 1.4 | 7.2 | | UNIVISION | HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO | 1.1 | 2.9 | | FOX | BACKSTROM | 0.8 | 3.0 | | TELEMUNDO | TIERRA DE REYES | 0.6 | 1.4 | | CW | REIGN | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| | 10 PM | | NET | SHOW | A18-49
Rating | TOTAL VIEWERS
(MILLIONS) | | CBS | ELEMENTARY | 1.3 | 7.6 | | TELEMUNDO | EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS | 1.2 | 2.4 | | NBC | DATELINE | 0.9 | 5.8 | | ABC | AMERICAN CRIME | 0.9 | 4.1 | | UNIVISION | QUE TE PERDONE DIOS | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| | THIS WEEKEND'S BIG RATINGS STORIES TODAY | • NASCAR Revs Up on Fox
The network will present extensive coverage of the ninth race among 36 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series season on Saturday night beginning at 6. An hour-long pre-race telecast will set the stage for the Toyota Owners 400 from the Richmond International Speedway. Race coverage will begin at 7 with the green flag scheduled to drop at 7:14 p.m. The upshot: This same race in primetime on Fox last season drew 5.6 million viewers, down 8% from 6.1 million in 2013. That was still good enough to make it the second most-watched TV sports event of that weekend, trailing just one NBA playoff game on ABC which drew 6.5 million viewers.
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| • Daytime Emmys Return to TV
Pop network will televise the 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday night beginning at 8, hosted by Tyra Banks. The awards ceremony was not televised last year but was streamed live online. In 2012 and 2013, it was on cable network HLN. In 2012 it was broadcast by CBS and drew 5.5 million viewers. In addition to all the awards for daytime TV, Betty White will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The upshot: Sunday night's telecast is not going to approach the 20 million viewers that NBC drew in 1992 or the 10 million viewers that CBS drew in 2002, but there are several million people who still watch the daytime soap operas and other daytime TV shows and many of them will tune in.
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| • 'Ax Men' Departs, 'Swamp Man' Returns
History will televise the eighth season finale of Ax Men on Sunday night at 9, leading into the second season premiere of reality series The Legend of Shelby The Swamp Man at 10. Ax Men, which follows the lives of American loggers working in the mountains of northwestern U.S. and Canada, has averaged a 0.6 18-49 demo rating and 1.8 million viewers in an extended season that began in late November. The Legend of Shelby is a spin-off of Ax Men that premiered its first season in August 2013 and aired 8 episodes — two per week back-to-back on Tuesday nights during the month. The series follows Shelby "Swamp Man" Stanga, who lives and logs in the Atchafalaya Swamp in southern Louisiana and who has appeared in episodes of Ax Men. The upshot: Ax Men is not as popular as it was when the Shelby spinoff series first premiered. Back then Ax Men was averaging a 1.0 18-49 rating and 2.8 million viewers, and Shelby averaged a 1.0 in the demo and 3 million viewers. The long hiatus may also hamper viewership a bit, but Shelby should draw at least a similar sized audience as Ax Men.
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