TORONTO – The Donald and The Hair may have sold media buyers on the continuing strength of The Apprentice when Mr. Trump made an entrance at Global’s 2005 fall launch, but even he couldn’t convince them to buy Global’s overall fall lineup over CTV’s. Meantime, the gargantuan re-entrance of NHL hockey at CBC has brought with it some new marketing strategies at the Corp.
The 2005 upfront sales market was gentler than the mad zone two years ago, with inflation pushing prices higher by an average of 5%-10%, according to some, and as little as 3% according to others. The only demands for double-digit increases came from specialty channels.
“But they didn’t get them, at least not with us,” says Sherry O’Neil, Managing Director of OMD Media, an operation of DDB Canada, BBDO and TBWA. “The exponential growth (in specialties’ audiences) has slowed. There’s definitely still growth, but not at the same rate.
“They’re generating higher returns for their inventory….I’m sure lots were looking for, and got, high single-digit increases. Their sold-out rates have increased. Advertisers and agencies have moved some of their inventory to specialties. The average advertiser has 20% of their money in specialties, over the last couple of years.”
Figures from 2004-05 Media Digest, a publication of the Canadian Media Directors Council, indicate that in 2003, 26% of net advertising spending went to TV outlets. Specialties accounted for 6% of that, compared with 5% the previous year and 3% in 1998. Networks collected 5% of the TV total in 2003, while regional stations, including Global, CHUM and Craig, hauled in 16%.
Many clients find specialties charming, according to Dennis Dinga, VP, Director of Broadcast at M2 Universal, because they want more “impressions”, or ads on-air, for the same money as last year. “Specialties are typically priced at about half to 40% less than (conventional) broadcasters.”
Back in the primetime ad dollar havens, CTV is still a powerhouse. “The way things netted out last year,” Dinga says, “CTV had 16 or 17 of the top programs. Global had the rest. Based on what Global bought this year, there’s no way they can take one little nip out of CTV. CTV might have an additional program in the Top 20. They’re better long-term thinkers. Five years ago, they started bringing on new shows.”
New this year on CTV are such dramas as: Invasion, one of several shows with an alien or sci-fi theme; Close to Home, a legal drama from Jerry Bruckheimer; Inconceivable, starring Ming Na (ER); and Whistler, a mid-season replacement set in B.C. and made in Canada.
The consensus is that CHUM has also made substantial improvements to its schedule, including a hot prospect called Everybody Hates Chris, narrated by Chris Rock. One buyer did complain about the fact it will be simulcast with UPN.
While Dinga concedes Global’s done a better job of complementing its Global/Ontario programming with that set to air on CH, he expects several existing Global programs will depart its schedule “in a couple of years.”
But Kathy Gardner, Senior VP, Integrated Media Research at CanWest, says a programming strategy is in place for Global and CH and adds that “all of our programs moved very well, a testament to the support behind” that strategy. “We had a great deal of activity in the first week of June, more than last year.”
Although CTV declined, once again this year, to offer a substantive assessment of its upfront sales performance, Gardner didn’t hesitate. On staking out a bigger share of the Top 20, Gardner emphasizes the opportunities lurking in quality dramas and established brands. With Survivor and House going strong, The Apprentice returns, with a sibling: The Apprentice: Martha Stewart anchors Wednesday nights. The two dramas that follow are E-Ring, starring Dennis Hopper and Benjamin Bratt in adventures at the Pentagon, and The Closer, with Kyra Sedgwick as a deep-south interrogator now at the LAPD. But the crowd fave among media buyers is Prison Break, a drama about a “wrongly convicted” man on death row and his brother’s plan to set him free. Can it hold its own against CSI: Miami and Medium on CTV?
On finding new comedies, Gardner allows Global needed to “go through a transition after losing some of our comedies – Friends and Frasier – and see how to replace them.” One newcomer will be The War At Home, a how-to-tame-teens comedy starring Michael Rapaport and airing Sunday evenings with a Simpsons lead-in and a Family Guy follow-up. Another is My Name is Earl, in which a “low-rent” crook (Jason Lee) wins the lottery and decides to try to right his many wrongs.
Meantime, at CBC, they’re praying a Canadian Media Guild strike won’t spoil the nirvana that moved in when the NHL lockout finally moved out. There’s big demand for hockey and the 2006 Torino Olympics, say the media buyers, and typical interest in the rest of the Corp.’s continuing series where some cast changes – new comedians on This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Air Farce – are building advertiser interest, as are such new spins as DaVinci’s Inquest becoming DaVinci’s City Hall.
René Bertrand, Exec Director of Media Sales, CBC Television and Newsworld, says HNIC is in high demand. “There’s a new (sponsor) category to be added,” he says, but won’t give details yet. “We’re providing a much heavier focus on customer service and …integrated marketing plans.” He says The Tournament, which built Kia into its storylines, will be back and adds that product integration will also feature in the two-part miniseries The Walter Gretzky Story.
Customer service also got a new twist at Starcom. Broadcast Investment Manager Steve Aronovitch says they ran consumer focus groups to provide commentary on some of the new shows for fall. The feedback helped the media buyers better position the programs with advertisers.
Aronovitch and Florence Ng, VP of Broadcast Investments at ZenithOptimedia, agree it’s still a challenge to find adequate inventory in overheated Alberta. “A few years ago,” says Ng, “Vancouver was the hottest market. This year, it’s Calgary and Edmonton in conjunction with Ontario. Vancouver will slip down even behind Winnipeg,” she adds, noting that the new stations on the coast make for plenty of available slots and no need to rush the buy.
Sue Tolusso is a freelance writer based in Ottawa
