NBC Universal, Group M Upfront Deal Said to Be Wrapped

NBC Universal and Group M have wrapped up the first upfront deal of the year, sources tell Broadcasting & Cable.

The two companies denied that the deal is complete. Source said the agreement calls for an overall 7 point CPM decline on the broadcast side and a 3 point decline on the cable side. The network part of the deal was divided into two parts, with higher CPMs for NBC’s 8-10 p.m. block and lower ones for the 10 p.m. Jay Leno talk show strip.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Young Broadcasting to Go on Auction Block

Young Broadcasting has opted not to restructure and will head to the auction block in New York on July 14, the Tennessean says.

The company, which owns 10 stations nationwide, including Nashville’s WKRN, filed for bankruptcy in February as the ad market declined.

--Elizabeth Jensen

MediaVest Pursues TiVO-Based Metric for Secondary Ratings Guarantee

MediaVest is seeking to add a secondary guarantee to its TV deals with select networks, based on new data from media and marketing research company TRA and TiVo, Advertising Age reports.

The secondary guarantee will be based on the percentage of consumers who are either heavy purchasers or "swing purchasers" delivered by a certain schedule of TV shows on networks including CBS and Discovery Channel, both of which are subscribers to TRA and TiVo's Media TRAnalytics system, Ad Age says.

--Tom Gilbert

TV Station Revenues Expected to Drop 17% from 2008

BIA Advisory Services has revised downward its earlier projected TV station revenue estimates for 2009 to $16.6 billion, a 17.3% decline from 2008 -- and a return to 1995 levels.

The second edition of BIA's quarterly "Investing In Television Market Report" also shows a slowdown of transactions within the industry to $453 million, or 45 stations, for the first half of the year, a slight increase over the same time last year and an indication, BIA says, that buyers and sellers are waiting for the economy to improve.

"Transactions have slowed to an anemic pace and reflect the general lack of financing currently available for stations and broadcast groups and the poor industry attitude," BIA Advisory Services VP Mark R. Fratrik said in a statement . "We believe that companies are waiting on the sidelines for an improved economy and for the right opportunities to make strategic acquisitions."

BIA, however, was hopeful about the future of Internet advertising revenue for stations.

"We are very optimistic about the online revenue potentials for television broadcasters, particularly as they step up their mobile and Internet offerings," said Michael Boland, mobile local media analyst for BIA's The Kelsey Group, in a statement. "We project the industry will see Internet revenues of $556 million in 2009, moving up to $1.1 billion by 2013. This represents 19.7% compounded annual growth rate for online television broadcasting advertising alone."

--Tom Gilbert

Studios, Networks Lose Supreme Court Bid to Block New DVR Technology

The Supreme Court Monday declined to hear Hollywood studio and TV network arguments seeking to block Cablevision Systems Corp.'s remote-storage DVR technology, the Associated Press says.

The studios and networks argue that the technology violates copyright laws. With the justices declining to hear the case, cable system operators could soon offer an easier, less-expensive, non-box DVR service to subscribers, allowing more commercial skipping by viewers.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Upfront Market Could Become Clearer This Week

The extent of the drop in upfront spending may become apparent this week, with at least one initial deal poised to conclude and other negotiations starting, Variety says.

ABC is getting closer to beginning negotiations, even as NBC Universal is working on its GroupM deal that is looking at 7% CPM declines for NBC in primetime. CBS, Fox and CW are said to be holding off until this week to begin discussions.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Upfront Gets Into Gear With NBC, Group M Deal

The television upfront market finally appears to be moving, as NBC Universal and GroupM close in on a broadcast and cable deal for the coming season, Adweek says.

The broadcast portion of the deal, sources say, includes a drop in primetime CPMs of 7% compared to last season, while the cable CPMs are said to be between flat and minus-2%.

--Elizabeth Jensen

ABC & Oscar Plus Ten: Academy Expands Best Picture Noms

There will be 10 best picture nominees at the 2010 Oscars, ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.

The move could dramatically up the star wattage at the ceremony, which like many awards shows, has struggled to maintain its high ratings. A broader range of nominees might also help boost viewer interest in the show.

The 2010 Oscars will be broadcast Sunday, March 7.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said AMPAS chief Sid Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”

The last time Oscar nominated ten films for best picture was back in 1943, when "Casablanca" won. 

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar® categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,”  Ganis added.  

Nominations for the 2010 Oscars will be announced Feb. 2.

Local TV Car Ads Appear to Be Stabilizing

Local TV stations may finally be seeing an end to the freefall in auto advertising, their biggest category, the New York Times reports.

With weaker car dealers shutting down at the behest of GM and Chrysler, some of the remaining dealerships have been increasing spending to try and grab market share. Next year, pent-up demand for cars is expected to push auto advertising 12% higher, according to a new estimate.

--Elizabeth Jensen

Hot List: Brian Buchwald

Name: Brian Buchwald

Title: Senior VP, local integrated media, NBC

Age: 34

Big Break: Because he was named to the NBC Affiliate Futures Committee in early 2006, Mr. Buchwald was able to co-found the NBC broadband syndication marketplace that jumpstarted NBC’s efforts in digital video syndication and online video advertising marketplaces.

Who Knew?: His happily married parents met as pages at 30 Rock in 1965.

At NBC, Brian Buchwald is responsible for reinventing what it means for local TV stations to be on the Web. He’s done well so far: the relaunch of NBC’s 10 owned station sites last fall has resulted in a tripling of Web traffic for those sites. As the senior VP of local integrated media at NBC, he’s about to shepherd yet another overhaul to grow them even more.

Keeping a local TV station relevant is no easy task in this economy; plus TV stations are faced with bigger issues of shrinking audiences and revenues as viewers defect to the Web. NBC’s solution has been to move onto the Web in a way that meets the new generation’s goals.

In November, NBC rebranded the station sites as “locals only” to focus less on the broadcast station programming and more on the cities they serve. That included adding more content on local culture, politics and media and incorporating reports from bloggers and thought leaders in each market, Mr. Buchwald explained.

Mr. Buchwald also led the effort to hire a team of 60 while lowering costs 30% by bringing the Web site technology in house. Now, NBC plans on giving the sites an additional face lift in the coming months to add social media features, improve Web distribution and make them more community-focused.

“He has a tremendous understanding of our business and how to adapt our traditional local television assets to a digital environment. He’s creative and not afraid to take risks, and the online strategy developed by Brian and his team is already starting to show real results,” said John Wallace, president of NBC Local Media.

Mr. Buchwald said his goal for the year ahead is “to make NBC a relevant player locally with a new generation of audiences currently not watching our news broadcasts or intimately aware of our brands.”

—Daisy Whitney