The TV ad market is on the mend after getting hit by a broader pandemic ad slowdown. But with Covid-19 cases on the rise, some networks are cautious about the coming quarters, even with a big boost from political ads this quarter. In recent days and weeks, media companies including ABC and ESPN parent Disney, Fox, AMC Networks, NBCUniversal parent Comcast, WarnerMedia parent AT&T, ViacomCBS, and Discovery reported earnings that showed the TV ad market warming up after hitting a pandemic-related trough in the second quarter. The record-breaking year for political advertising will give companies a boost in the fourth quarter, some companies warned that macroeconomic factors as the pandemic rages on could impact ad spend again. And it’s all happening as TV is enduring a long-term overall slowdown. – Advertisement – David ZaslavAnjali Sundaram | CNBC “In terms of commercial success, behind the firming advertising marketplace around the globe, we have posted healthy sequential improvement, again, in our advertising revenue growth, which, while still negative year-over-year, is showing demonstrable improvement around the world,” Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said on its earnings call. “We have seen advertising partners resurface around the globe.”At Comcast, ad revenue increased 12% year-over-year because of political ad revenue, which was up 70% over what it generated during the 2016 election. But the company said core advertising, excluding political, was down 6.8% year-over-year. That’s still a “significant improvement” relative to last quarter. Fox Corp also saw advertising momentum, attributed to strong ratings at Fox News and political advertising. The company’s leadership said that in the quarter ended June 30, which is its fiscal fourth quarter, its local stations were experiencing a year-over-year decrease of about 40% in its base ad market (that is, minus political ads and other non-recurring events). CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on Fox’s call that the equivalent drop in the quarter ended Sept. 30 was only 20%. “Including the benefit of political and station acquisitions, we are now pacing ahead of the same time last year. Looking at it slightly differently, at the beginning of Covid our stations were pacing down nearly 50% compared to the prior year. Today, they are pacing ahead.”ViacomCBS said its advertising revenue also improved dramatically, declining only 6% from a year ago, versus the 27% decline it saw in the second quarter.“We’ve also seen certain COVID impacted industries like auto and retail gradually return, which reflects improvement in the economy and the significant value our portfolio brings to advertisers to drive their own business recovery,” ViacomCBS’ president and CEO Bob Bakish said on its earnings call. “Overall, we’re encouraged by what we’re seeing and big picture advertising is certainly moving in the right direction.” Disney said for its broadcasting unit, ad revenue was comparable year-over-year as lower average network viewership was offset by the benefit of an additional week in the current quarter, higher network rates, and an increase in political advertising at its owned TV stations.Uncertain times ahead after political ad boomDiscovery noted visibility is low following the U.S. election, which helped business in the third quarter, and because of rising Covid cases. The company said its U.S. advertising was flat in October year-over-year, while international advertising was down slightly. “This may not be a trend we would necessarily extrapolate, however, for the full quarter, given, number one, some tailwinds from political advertising in the U.S. in October; and number two, risks from rising Covid case numbers globally and beginning government countermeasures, especially in Europe, which pose risks at the back end of the current quarter,” Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said on its call. “That said, we are confident to see sequential improvement in the fourth quarter versus Q3 again.” At AT&T, CEO John Stankey said the sports calendar ahead still has a lot of questions. “Clearly, we’ve seen the leagues demonstrate that they can, in fact, put games on, and they can carry them through. The timing of those and how many there are and exactly what transpires in ’21 and where it falls in the calendar is still a little bit uncertain,” he said on the company’s October call. “And until we have a little better visibility on that, it’s hard to, you know, give you exact views of what first, second, third, fourth quarter looks like next year.”ViacomCBS’ leadership said the return of a stable fall schedule at CBS, along with sports, a “successful” upfront and “hot political category” should help in the fourth quarter. AMC Networks said though the ad market is improving sequentially, results in the fourth quarter will be impacted by timing of its shows, including a delay in the airing of “The Walking Dead.” It said its year-over-year decrease in the fourth quarter ad revenue should be in-line with the third quarter.Content production is ramping upMedia companies largely said they had ramped up production again, after pandemic-related restrictions caused severe disruptions earlier this year. Discovery said its content production was nearly back to normal, with only 10% of the company’s production still paused mostly because of travel and local restrictions. Over at AT&T, Stankey said the company had 180 productions underway in February before the pandemic started. As of October, he said the company had about 130 productions up and running. Meanwhile at Viacom, the company said it estimates production levels are at about 95% of last year’s levels at Viacom Media Network, while CBS “essentially has all of the full network series currently in production” and Showtime is producing “almost all” of its series. At AMC Networks, executives said the company is resuming production activity on a number of its shows, including “The Walking Dead” at its studio in Georgia, “Fear the Walking Dead” in Texas, and a new series called “Kevin Can F*** Himself” in Boston. Fox said all of its Fox Entertainment returning shows are back in production, with scheduled return dates in early January.Disney CEO Bob Chapek said although many of its production teams needed to shut down because of Covid in the beginning of March, its animation teams were able to work remotely and continue production “uninterrupted during the pandemic.” He said on the TV side the company has more than 100 live-action scripted and unscripted projects in active production, with dozens more in other stages of pre- or post-production. Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. – Advertisement –
– Advertisement – Here are some of the big-picture trends the networks shared in their earnings: Better than when the pandemic startedTV advertising last quarter showed the market is in a better place than the earlier days of the pandemic.At Discovery, third-quarter ad revenue still declined 7.7% from the previous year, but that was an improvement from the 14% decline in the second quarter.- Advertisement –
Halcyon Lakefields at Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast.“We are very excited about this next chapter, living in our new home at Halcyon Lakeside.”The Chapmans said their lives were enriched from the moment they moved into their first home at Halcyon Parks and it would continue to flourish at Halcyon Lakeside.The Lakeside community is just minutes from the town centre of Bli Bli, with the Recreation Club set to include a sunset bar, gymnasium, circuit room, resort and lap pool, rooftop tennis court, bocce court, bowling green, pickleball courts, work shed and a storage area for boats and caravans.Each Halcyon community is made up of modern architect-designed homes surrounded by lush landscaping and five-star resort style facilities. Halcyon Lakefields at Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast.While the Halcyon Lakeside Recreation Club is currently under construction, homeowners have already tested out some of the completed facilities.More from newsMould, age, not enough to stop 17 bidders fighting for this home1 hour agoBuyers ‘crazy’ not to take govt freebies, says 28-yr-old investor7 hours agoThe community gathered to welcome the Chapmans during the afternoon happy hour.“It’s the warm, friendly, community feel that we love most about Halcyon,” Mr Chapman said.And it’s that community spirit that helped them make the decision to remain in a Halcyon estate when they decided to make a tree change.“We love Halcyon, and we wouldn’t have sought a home anywhere else,” Mr Chapman said.“The homes are beautifully designed and the community living experience and social life that comes with the homeowners of this unique development was pivotal to our decision to stay with Halcyon. Len and Willy Chapman are the 100th buyers at Halcyon Lakeside retirement village on the Sunshine Coast.A COMMUNITY where greenery and lakeside living is the norm, has just welcomed its 100th homeowner during a celebratory happy hour.Len and Willy Chapman, who originally lived at Halcyon Parks in Caloundra seven years ago, have just clinked glasses with their newest neighbours at Halcyon Lakeside in Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast.“The Lakeside community is beautiful,” Ms Chapman said. “It’s surrounded by an abundance of greenery and overlooks two lakes, with walking trails and views of the hinterland.“There is a sense of countryside living here at Lakeside, it’s just so quiet and peaceful.”
ABC News 11 May 2017Family First Comment: A great decision.Decriminalisation removes safeguards. Even pro-abortion politicians admitted that…“The bill in its current form places no limit on the gestation at which an abortion can be performed, it does not mandate if it can be performed by a clinician, it does not provide a framework, it just takes [it] away.”www.chooselife.org.nzA bill to decriminalise abortion has been voted down in New South Wales Parliament.Members of the public gallery yelled “shame” as it was announced the bill had been defeated 25 to 14.Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi’s bill sought to have offences relating to abortion removed from the Crimes Act and common law.It also required doctors who objected to abortion to refer patients on to a doctor who would help them and to install 150-metre safe access zones around abortion clinics to prevent the harassment of staff and patients.Both pro-choice and pro-life protesters lined up in front of Parliament ahead of the debate and the public gallery was packed with supporters and opponents of the bill.MPs from both sides of the chamber were granted a conscience vote on the issue — but a number of pro-choice MPs expressed concerns about details of the bill.Dr Faruqi said that the fight to decriminalise abortion would continue despite the voting down of her bill.Barriers greater for disadvantagedLabor MP Penny Sharpe, who has also written a bill to install safe access zones around abortion clinics, spoke in support of Dr Faruqi’s bill.“These laws are now 116 years old, after 116 years these laws are no longer in line with community expectation or modern medical practice,” she said.“Abortion should be regulated in the same way as all other surgical and medical practices. Our current law is archaic and unclear.”Ms Sharpe expressed concern socially disadvantaged people had more obstacles to abortion access.“[The law] creates barriers for patients and for doctors. These barriers are greater for those who are already disadvantaged.”Opposition concerns over bill’s legal frameworkLabor’s health spokesperson Walt Secord voted for the bill as he is pro-choice — but expressed concern that it left no legal framework to allow medically approved abortions to occur.“As the shadow health minister for the last three years I have not received a single representation on abortion or the need for legal clarification — until [Dr Faruqi] began her campaign,” he said.“Dr Faruqi’s legislation has not provided a legal framework to allow medically approved abortions to occur. She’s removed that — with nothing in its place.“The bill in its current form places no limit on the gestation at which an abortion can be performed, it does not mandate if it can be performed by a clinician, it does not provide a framework, it just takes [it] away.”READ MORE: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-11/nsw-parliament-votes-no-on-abortion-bill/8517566
The police in Jamaica have launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to a fire at the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Andrew early Sunday. Damages estimated at J$100,000The blaze was put out by firefighters from the Half-Way-Tree station. Damage has been estimated at J$100,000.The church’s pastor, Rev Father Donald Chambers, said he did not wish to speak directly to the matter as it was under investigation but said that he and members of his congregation were saddened by the incident. Altar damagedThe police report that early morning fire damaged the altar at the popular church, resulting in the morning service being moved to the church hall.The communications arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force reported that around 1:20 am on Sunday a clergyman who lives on the property was awoken by the security guard on duty who reported that the altar, linens, vestments, and items close by were on fire.
Feel violated and abused“We feel violated and abused, but we realize this is part of life. We have to ride the tide and get to the root of it. I told the congregation, “Listen, we are people of faith, we walk by faith and not by sight, so whatever happens, the church exists not because of a building, it exists because of the faith of the community’,” Chambers said.
Paul Goldschmidt has become a Cardinals fan favorite in less than two games.St. Louis’ new slugging first baseman homered three times in the first seven innings Friday night in Milwaukee against the Brewers. Goldschmidt went deep in the first, sixth and seventh, each time against a different pitcher (Freddy Peralta, Taylor Williams and Jacob Barnes). MORE: Watch ‘ChangeUp,’ a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN Top Play(s) of the NightNot 1, Not 2, but 3 HOME RUNS from Paul Goldschmidt! 💪💪💪 #ChangeUp pic.twitter.com/Ze6HjrgvV1— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) March 30, 2019Goldschmidt also made major league history with those dingers; he became the first player ever to hit three home runs in his first or second game with his new team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN.The Redbirds fans who made the trek to American Family Park were delighted with the man who joined the club in an offseason trade with the Diamondbacks and then signed a big-money contract extension with St. Louis during spring training.WYLLYS: Goldy’s contributions to Cards will go beyond statsGoldschmidt singled in the second inning, too, which means he had 13 total bases in his first five at-bats of the night (a cool 2.600 slugging percentage).The Brewers walked him intentionally in the ninth inning with first base open and Matt Carpenter on second. The outburst came one night after Goldschmidt struck out three times in the Cardinals’ Opening Day loss to a main NL Central rival. Goldschmidt finished 4 for 5 with five RBIs on Friday in a 9-5 Redbirds victory. St. Louis and Milwaukee will face each other 10 times in the season’s first 28 days.”(On Thursday), you have three strikeouts. Today, three homers. That’s baseball. Which is awesome about this game,” Goldschmidt told reporters, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There is a lot of failure built in and there are good nights and you’re just trying to take it day by day.”This article has been updated with more details and a published comment from Goldschmidt.