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TV Networks Advance on Addressable Ad Sales; The Broadcast Upfronts Arrive; What’s Your Deepfake Strategy?
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Cardi B at the MTV Video Music Awards last August. PHOTO: THEO WARGO/GETTY IMAGES
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Good morning. As broadcast networks this week unleash their upfront pitches for the fall TV season, major TV programmers are striving behind the scenes to make the commercials they sell addressable. That would let advertisers that purchase an entire national ad slot use the time to send different versions of their ads to different households.
Viacom has deals with various pay-TV providers that distribute its networks, which include MTV and Nickelodeon, to bring targeting to a slice of the national ad time it sells; the company will soon start making it available to advertisers, CMO Today reports. CBS is exploring a similar capability, intending to make it available to some advertisers over the next 12 months. And Fox is holding talks with pay-TV providers and technology companies that enable ad targeting for smart TVs. The offerings aren’t quite ready for prime time, and most won’t be offered in this year’s upfronts, but they’re the closest that programmers have come to answering digital media’s powerful targeting tools.
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The Upfronts Descend on Madison Avenue
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A scene from NBC’s new comedy ‘Sunnyside.’ PHOTO: COLLEEN HAYES/NBC
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Advertisers will get their first look this week at what the broadcast networks have cooked up for the fall TV season during glitzy, star-filled presentations followed by booze-soaked parties.
The networks will try to make the case to marketers that broadcast TV is still the best way for brands to reach large audiences, despite significant ratings erosion. Executives also stress that their shows’ viewership grows over time as people catch up via DVRs or on-demand services. “We’re getting much better at monetizing past day seven,” said David Nevins, chief content officer at CBS Corp.
Jason Kanefsky, chief investment officer at ad buyer Havas Media, said networks are trying hard to distract from the harsh reality of a traditional TV ecosystem that is under siege: “The whole pitch is look over here, please don’t look at the fact that our TV ratings continue to erode.”
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“There’s no way I’d tell Nike if I were pregnant.”
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— Phoebe Wright, a runner sponsored by Nike from 2010 through 2016, on sponsors’ ability to reduce payments during pregnancies. Nike said it made changes last year so pregnant athletes aren’t penalized, but declined to say whether those changes are reflected in current contracts.
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What’s Your Deepfake Strategy?
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PHOTO: THE DALI MUSEUM
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“People love being carded for ice cream.”
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— Melissa Tavss, founder and chief executive of Tipsy Scoop, a New York-based company that specializes in alcohol-infused ice cream and sorbet, with flavors like cake batter vodka martini
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Boeing’s 737 MAX could return to the air this summer, but convincing passengers the plane is safe will be one of the aviation industry’s toughest consumer-relations challenges in decades. [WSJ]
Google gave free advertising to an anti-abortion group that runs ads suggesting it provides abortion services but actually seeks to deter women from terminating pregnancies. [The Guardian]
NBC renewed “This is Us” for another three seasons. [CNN]
The five women now leading the ad strategies for the top TV network groups convened to talk about the road to the top. [Ad Age]
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton confirmed that Rihanna will create the first new house for the group since Christian Lacroix in 1987, under the Fenty banner, and revealed a logo to go with it. [WWD]
The streaming service Deezer redesigned its app and logo. [Design Week]
Russian TV network RT America is airing reports falsely linking 5G wireless signals to ailments including brain cancer and infertility. [NYT]
“Game of Thrones” is ending. What’s the outlook for Northern Ireland’s trebuchet industry? [WSJ]
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We bring you the most important (and intriguing) marketing news every day. Write me at nat.ives@wsj.com any time with feedback on the newsletter or comments on specific items. We want to hear from you.
And follow the CMO Today team on Twitter: @wsjCMO, @natives, @alexbruell.
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