*By Lauren Babbage*
Television may be going static. As the major networks present their new shows at upfronts this week, they are fighting for smaller shares of a shrinking market.
Ad sales on linear television fell 2.2 percent in 2017, according to the ad-buying firm Magna, and it estimates sales will fall at least 2 percent in each of the next four years. Advertisers are wary of old-school television's reach among the consumers they most want to reach.
"I think the name of the game is cross-platform," said David Cohen, the president of Magna. "Obviously, NBCUniversal has lots of different assets they come to the table with, both network and cable and digital."
In an interview Tuesday with Cheddar, Cohen said it is increasingly important for networks to find ways for their advertisers to move with consumers across platforms and from show to show.
Viewers are abandoning traditional TV and taking the value of the ad-sales market with them. Streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube TV are diverting ad dollars from networks like NBC and CBS by providing advertisers with the ability to target specific demographics. Digital platforms give advertisers who once dumped all their money into TV ads the ability to promote content across multiple platforms and capture the mobile-forward consumer.
Cable television lost 3.6 million viewers in 2017, and Magna predicted it could lose another 4 million viewers this year. It also said more than 20 million households will cut the cord by 2020.
The people still watching TV are valuable, for now, but they are quickly becoming less appealing to advertisers ー and shrinking. According to The New York Times, TV shows attracting the highest ad rates are also attracting an older audience, with a median age of 37-60 years old. That's less desirable going forward for brands aiming for the attention of millennials, whose spending power is estimated by Oracle to reach over $3 trillion in 2018.
"We're seeing lot of the networks, broadcast and cable, try to program themselves for the Rokus, the Amazon Fires, the Apple TVs, etc.," said Cohen. "They're going to take their content and they're going to spread it out in lots of different places."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/streaming-tv-threatens-cable-ad-revenue).
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
