Media Beat: January 18, 2018

By David Farrell

The Launch hits a high note with Bell viewers

More than 3.2M unique viewers have checked out CTV’s big-budget original music talent series across all airings since the Jan. 10 debut with an average audience of 1.14M viewers on CTV, CTV Two, Much, VRAK, and Canal Vie, the media company reports.

The same source also calls it “the most-watched program in its Wednesdays at 9 pm ET timeslot in all key demos, with a double-digit advantage for A25-54 and A18-49 against its closest competitor. Additionally, the show debuted as the second most-watched program on CTV.ca after This Is Us, and remained a Top 10 series after five days.

As important, first-show winner, Brantford, ON’s (Logan) Staats found himself sitting on top of Canada's All-Genres iTunes Song Chart with his new original song "The Lucky Ones", surpassing superstars Justin Timberlake and Ed Sheeran. After one day of sales, "The Lucky Ones" debuted Top 5 on the digital pop songs sales chart in Canada and #8 for all genres, and currently ranks among the Top 50 on Canadian Hot A/C radio.

Facebook viewer comments on both shows can be viewed here.

Rogers selects AdsWhiz

The media company has teamed up with the US-based ad server company to power dynamic ad insertion (DAI) advertising on live and on-demand audio streams for of its 55 radio stations. 

DAI for audio targets listeners anywhere on the go, serving tailored ads that are relevant to audiences and deemed high performing for advertisers. The new service also provides advertisers with “an immersive and non-skippable environment for the brands” and messages and targets listeners using a smart speaker, in car, or directly through mobile devices.

Buyers can initially access inventory using AudioMatic, AdsWizz’s audio DSP, as well as other leading DSPs including TheTradeDesk, MediaMath, AppNexus and Adobe (formally TubeMogul).

Rogers Radio live streams are available on owned and operated sites and mobile apps, and through Radioplayer, TuneIn, and smart speakers.

Baby, you won’t drive your car

Here are five prerequisites based on Fred Jacobs’ CES experience and Jacobs Media Strategies’ ongoing conversations with mavens in the auto industry:

1. Make your station mobile friendly – It seems obvious that for many autonomous vehicles, consumers will bring their devices along.  A focused mobile strategy will be table stakes.  And yes, you’d better figure out an ongoing method for ensuring your audience is downloading your app on tablets and smartphones.

2. Think voice – Chances are good consumers will vocalize their desires on a platform like Amazon’s, Google’s or others.  A smart speaker strategy is another important piece of the in-car puzzle.

3. “Visual radio” is coming – You couldn’t escape the reality that video screens are going to keep showing up in autonomous cars – and for the TV business, there’s finally an opportunity to capture a driver’s attention with programming.  For radio operators, the need for your station to have a visual persona will continue to grow.  How can your station’s personalities, content, and information be enjoyed with ears – and eyes?

4. Look outside the car – Automotive maven John Ellis has been espousing this for some time.  People won’t bring your content into their cars if they’re not already consuming radio outside their cars – in their homes, at work, everywhere.  While age 40+ consumers in this country have grown up with radio, today’s kids are different media consumers.  25-54 myopia has to stop if radio has a next-gen future.

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5. It will be about content – As it always has been.  Yes, the “distribution” is radically changing, but broadcasters will still have to address those same gnawing, existential questions:  what is it about your programming, your personalities, your vibe, your local connection that will make “drivers’ seek out your content over all the other options available to them while they travel?  Answer that question, and you’re well on the way to solving the larger problem of radio in the car.

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The great philosopher and observer of mankind, Yogi Berra, got it right when he said:

“The future ain’t what it used to be.”

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly on #MeToo and CanCon in the Netflix era

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly joined Tom Power in the q studio to talk about her vision for Canadian cultural industries at a time of major change and here’s what she had to say:

Notable

Literary revamp Anne, crime drama Cardinal, TV sitcom Kim's Convenience and historical drama film Hochelaga, Land of Souls are among the top contenders for the Canadian Screen Awards. Organizers unveiled the latest nominees in Toronto for the annual celebration of excellence in film – CBC News

– Ericsson has been selected by Bell Canada to power its next-generation multiscreen TV services. Ericsson's MediaFirst TV Platform s software enables Bell to deliver IPTV subscription services, including content-protected, live, digital video recorder, video on demand, multiscreen to its 1.5M Fibe TV and Alt TV subscribers in Canada – Newswire

– The Conservative Party's foreign affairs critic is calling for greater transparency around the deals struck by RT – a Kremlin-controlled news channel that has been identified by U.S. intelligence authorities as part of Russia's "propaganda machine" – to pay Canadian TV providers for guaranteed distribution to viewers here – Globe & Mail

– Spotify will begin offering news and political coverage to lure listeners away from radio and podcasts from rival Apple Inc. Eight companies, including BuzzFeed and Refinery29, have agreed to produce programming for the new initiative, called Spotlight. One of the first shows will be a four- to seven-minute daily newscast featuring reporting from BuzzFeed journalists across the globe. Spotlight will only be available to customers in the US at first – Bloomberg News

– Michael Wolff’s controversial Trump tell-all is coming to television. Endeavor Content purchased film and television rights to “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” in a deal said to be in the seven-figure range – The Hollywood Reporter

– Roku is introducing Ad Insights, which will allow advertisers to measure the reach and effectiveness of campaign across linear and over-the-top TV – Broadcasting & Cable

– Conductor Charles Dutoit’s name has become so toxic following accusations of sexual assault that the CBC has stopped saying his name on air when radio stations play his music – AP

– Rob Macleod recently wrapped up his blues program on myFM Kincardine after 10 years of the show, a span that reportedly made it the longest running blues program on commercial radio in Canadian history. For the last five years, MacLeod has done the three-hour show remotely from Germany while living there. The milestone decade was hit in the spring of 2017, and the decision came later last year to wrap up the show – Kincardine News

– McDonald's Restaurants of Canada has apologized and pulled a national radio ad that humorously encouraged people to buy its fast food offerings rather than visit a museum after Canadian museums pushed back – Toronto Star

– A MIDiA Research study reports that lyrics take centre stage in music streaming, with 88 percent of music subscribers looking for lyrical content. The survey conducted in Nov. 2017, canvassed consumers in the UK, US and Germany. It found that 65 percent of music subscribers want lyrics simply so they know the words of the song, while 55 percent said they wanted to be able to sing along with their favourite track. The report’s key findings conclude: ‘Lyrics features will become an increasingly important differentiation point for streaming services as competition intensifies in 2018.’

Worth Reading

Inside Country radio's dark, secret history of sexual harassment and misconduct

Scores of women looking for radio play and professional opportunities in the US say they've been subjected to harassment during station visits, conventions – Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone Country

How to tame the tech titans

The dominance of Google, Facebook and Amazon is bad for consumers and competition – The Economist cover story

Did Facebook’s new strategy just fail?

After years of grand claims from Facebook and its top executives, it’s hard not to view the changes the company is making to its News Feed as an admission that the company overreached and ultimately failed to deliver a new way forward for news. More than that, it feels like a scaling back of Zuckerberg and Facebook’s ambition as a whole – Charlie Warzel, BuzzFeed News

Bernie’s song

Two years ago, Bernie Dalton was a healthy 45-year-old. But two months into his singing lessons, something strange happened. Bernie mysteriously lost his voice. And it never came back. Bernie was diagnosed with bulbar-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—an aggressive form of ALS that first affects the voice and throat before quickly progressing down the body. But Bernie hasn’t given up. He has a mission: to make an album for his 16-year-old girl—a gift to remind her of his love after he’s gone. Now there is a GoFundMe campaign that has raised almost $20K of the $50K to make the album for his daughter.

The mystery of Jesus, the naked hippie dancer

For decades, William Jellett danced at gigs and festivals and told people he was the Son of God. Then, it seemed, he disappeared – JP Robinson, Medium

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