SNTA to Hold 2004 Conferences in Three Cities
The Syndicated Network Television Association is moving beyond New York next year. The trade group announced plans to hold its spring sales conferences in New York (March 11, 2004), Chicago (March 15 to 16) and Los Angeles (March 18) even as the search for a president continues. The three conferences will look to bring together top syndicators, advertisers, agencies, media planners and buyers in a unique series of individual group presentations.
The New York conference is set to take place in the Grand Hyatt New York on Park Avenue. According to the SNTA, all members of the organization, along with MGM-NBC Media Sales and Entertainment Studios, will participate in the conference. This year’s format has been condensed to one day and-in response to client feedback-will have individual syndicators schedule their own meetings with clients and agencies. The day will culminate with a star-studded party for all participants. Details for the Chicago and Los Angeles events will be released later.
The group will coordinate with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Television Advertising Forum. The organizations will host their conferences on consecutive dates in New York, likely increasing attendance at each conference and providing optimal timing for advertisers interested in both events. The ANA’s forum will be held at the Marriott Marquis on March 10, 2004.
CBS Wins Monday: CBS won the night last night in adults 18 to 49 and total viewers.
Strong performances by “Everybody Loves Raymond” (6.2/14 in adults 18 to 49 and 19.5 million viewers) and “CSI: Miami” (6.8/17 in adults 18 to 49 and 18.9 million viewers) lifted CBS, according to Nielsen Media Research fast affiliate data. Freshman sitcom “Two and a Half Men” (5.7/13) had 92 percent retention of “Raymond’s” adults 18 to 49 audience.
After dipping in ratings last week, NBC’s “Average Joe” bounced back up to a 5.3/13 in adults 18 to 49, in third place in its time slot. NBC won the 8 p.m. hour with “Fear Factor” (5.3/14) standing strong.
For the night, CBS won in adults 18 to 49 with a 5.6/14, followed by ABC (5.2/13), NBC (5.1/13), Fox (2.7/7), The WB (2.4/6) and UPN (1.8/4). In total viewers, CBS won the night with 16.6 million, followed by ABC (12.9 million), NBC (11.1 million), The WB (7 million), Fox (5.9 million) and UPN (4.3 million).
WWE Reports Q3 Profit: World Wrestling Entertainment reported a third-quarter profit today, lifted by an additional pay-per-view event, strong advertising sales and cost cutting.
The Stamford, Conn.-based WWE posted a profit of $17.2 million, or 25 cents per share, vs. a year-earlier loss of $1.6 million, or zero cents per share. The company attributed the year-ago red ink on charges taken on discontinued operations of its entertainment complex, The World.
Revenue climbed nearly 5 percent to $94.4 million, due to the company holding four pay-per-view events during the quarter compared with three in the year-earlier period. That additional event garnered another $5.3 million in revenue.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization swelled 723 percent to $28.8 million, largely the result of the company’s international business growth due to programming deals and more overseas events, higher pay-per-view purchases and a reduction in the company’s overhead.