Intelligence Briefs

In mid-April, with the COVID-19 pandemic at full tilt, RBR+TVBR's Editor-in-Chief penned a column focused on potential news burnout. "Thankfully, there is local radio, which, at one station in Detroit, has done an exemplary job of demonstrating just how valuable it is in a time of emotional need and national emergency." Today, we revisit Cumulus Media's WDVD-FM.

"Don't allow your sales reps to engage in superficial sales conversations," says expert sales training coach Barrett Riddleberger in this Media Information Bureau installment. "Help them go deeper and expand the conversation with their prospects by giving them these powerful questions."

According to just-released data from Nielsen’s Streaming Meter, as of Q2 2020 streaming now comprises 25% of all television minutes viewed. To little surprise, Netflix is the biggest to streaming, followed by YouTube. And, TV broadcast station leaders, it's not a GenZ thing: Consumers ages 55+ now comprise 26% of all streaming minutes viewed.

The Aug. 12 edition of the MAZ video roundup contains a lead article that every broadcast TV station owner should read. With the rollout of NEXTGEN TV and its forthcoming profit-generating capabilities making headlines, this publication asserts that "82% of broadcasters believe 5G will replace traditional distribution." Gulp ...?

Interested in how not to let compliance be your media properties' greatest liability? Here's a Media Information Bureau column that's timely and insightful, from Kelly Orchard.

Changing how you think can be difficult. It's easier when you have examples of successful people to draw from. Check out these attributes of super achievers in this fresh Media Information Bureau column from expert sales training coach Barrett Riddleberger.

Disney has been "rightly rewarded" for what noted financial analyst Michael Nathanson calls its "full commitment and now stellar execution of their pivot to Direct-to-Consumer services." In contrast, despite Fox’s "solid" first year featuring 7% affiliate growth, "the company has no such narrative," Nathanson declared. Investors listened.

Two esteemed Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorneys on July 30 chatted with three FCC political programming experts on the specific requirements and latest developments in the FCC’s political broadcasting rules. This includes such subjects as equal time, lowest unit rates, PAC ads, BCRA, and record keeping. Here's a review of what they discussed.

Local TV news is poised to become a real-time emergency information portal thanks to ATSC 3.0, allowing TV stations to target the impact zone of an incident with pre-formatted alerts. This means less revenue lost to service disruptions, a group of NEXTGEN TV experts recently shared in a webinar hosted by Sinclair and its ONE Media 3.0 arm.

Got stuff to do that you hate doing? You’re not alone, notes expert sales training consultant Barrett Riddleberger. Procrastination kills productivity for millions of people. His suggestion? "Follow these surprisingly enjoyable steps and you’ll actually look forward to getting tasks done that were painfully avoided just last week."

"The events of the past few months have caused my family to make some significant adjustments, most of which included bringing my 82-year old parents to live with me," notes Kelly Orchard. It's been very challenging for her to navigate the emotions, and the stress. But, as always, she's on a mission to look for the positive. It's a good lesson for media leadership.

The food and dining industry was adversely impacted by the effects of COVID-19. Yet, many brands in the QSR, casual dining, delivery and pizza industries are finding ways to advertise through it. This has seen some brands evolve their business models accordingly. A new iSpot report of the first half 2020 finds which brands are finding more impressions on TV than last year.

A highly regarded Wall Street financial analyst has initiated coverage on Roku, following a deep dive into a hot arena: the connected TV/advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) opportunity. While he's "very optimistic about future industry growth," this analyst warns of "too many long-term risks" to enthusiastically recommend a buy at this time.

You never know where your next source of business intelligence and insight can come from. Today, it's thanks in part to a longtime friend and the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association. The SFIMA on Thursday hosted a webinar featuring Peter Shankman, "Futurist in Residence" at Epic Marketing Consultants. He offered marketing tips in COVID-19 times worth noting.

With the recent format change to a '90s-focused pop hits format at iHeartMedia-owned WMIA-FM in Miami, the radio industry is now abuzz with talk of more "Totally"-branded format shifts at other iHeartMedia stations. But, how can Radio benefit from more ad dollars with such a change? This encore Media Information Bureau column from editor-in-chief Adam R Jacobson could prove inspiring.