Intelligence Briefs

It's time to talk about "Generation Z," and the youngest of this group, RBR+TVBR's Editor-In-Chief writes in this Intelligence Brief. "It may be scary to fathom this, but we're talking about teens born after 2000," he notes. But, what's possibly scarier is why the media industry C-Suite shouldn't ignore this cohort, based on the latest Think With Google report.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing a joint resolution disapproving of the Wheeler-era FCC privacy rules. The debate prompted "an unusual amount of sturm-und-drang in the blogosphere," says a Boston College Law School associate professor and AEI Visiting Scholar in this Intelligence Brief.

The latest "detrimental distraction" for consumers -- and advertisers -- of AM and FM radio stations, commonly known as Spotify, is strengthening its sales force and nearly set for a syncopated soulful strut into the offices of your advertisers. That's because it just bought a company best-known for a platform that brings Tinder-like swiping to visual ads. Should radio and TV C-Suiters be concerned?

Public relations and marketing agency Ketchum has expanded its audience insights offering with a body of shoppers that it has identified and named GenZennial. What is a "GenZennial"? Perhaps the better question is, "What does this mean for a media property that relies on this segment of consumers for ratings and revenue?"

"Steps are now being taken at the White House to deconstruct the administrative state by taking a sledgehammer to the federal bureaucracy." Those are the words from Garvey Schubert Barer Communications Group co-chair Erwin Krasnow, who opines in this exclusive Intelligence Brief that the White House has the power to produce great change at the FCC. The question, as he sees it, is how aggressive the Trump Administration can be.

In June 2014, Brian Wieser, a Senior Research Analyst at Pivotal Research Group, penned a column on "bots and waste in online advertising." Given the controversy at Google surrounding ads appearing on "fake news" websites and surrounding YouTube videos promoting hate groups or terrorist organizations, we dove into the archives to revisit Wieser's comments.

Google is presently the center of attention for many advertisers, and it's not for anything positive. The digital ad giant is being assailed by some for its failure to prevent real advertising from appearing on "fake news" sites and for pre-roll to appear on YouTube ahead of "extremist" videos. Our Editor-In-Chief thinks this is a great opportunity for the radio industry and the RAB. Why? It's all about brand security.

Facebook is ramping up its plans for video programming — "TV-like original programming," The Wall Street Journal's Deepa Seetharaman and Jack Marshall reported March 3. Should broadcast TV's C-Suite be holding emergency meetings about this? Do execs such as Perry Sook, David Amy and Bob Sullivan have a fan-and-friend menace on their hands? We don't think so.

There aren’t many decisions bigger than the one to sell your radio or television station. If you are contemplating a sale, make sure that you avoid some common pitfalls that can disrupt and possibly derail the sale of your company. We've provided a list of the most common deal killers and how to avoid them, courtesy of top D.C. attorney Erwin Krasnow and financial services consultant Doug Ferber.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, along with Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Mignon Clyburn, on Wednesday testified at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. It would seem that so-called public interest advocates would support such Congressional oversight, as it ensures that regulators do their jobs and is indicative of the checks and balances provided by the Constitution. Sadly, it appears some oppose it. Indeed, advocates criticized Congress for its hearing of then-Chairman Tom Wheeler and FCC commissioners. That the FCC testifies before the Senate is not unreasonable and seems to be the bare minimum of oversight, says AEI visiting fellow Roslyn Layton.

Smart appliances have been available for many years without making much impact on the $74 billion worldwide laundry and refrigeration market. But, research from Futuresource Consulting indicates that this may be about to change. That's big news for radio industry sales execs.

Given the recent track record of wonks, soothsayers, curanderas and individuals who hold Nostradamus in high regard, forecasts may not be as accurate as one would think when it comes to digital dollars sailing past that of TV in 2017. It's an interesting surprise, and SMI's CEO has some fresh ad trend info that may put your C-Suite in a pleasant mood.

Does the First Amendment care who won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, 2016? Erwin G. Krasnow, the co-chair of the Communications Group of Washington, D.C. law firm Garvey Schubert Barer, tackles this question in a column that delves into fairness, and the First Amendment, and where broadcasters are under a Trump presidency.

Are the "Top Attentive Shows" a new metric that advertisers -- and broadcast TV execs -- should take seriously?