Scripps Networks Interactive

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Katherine Bernhardt

by KATE BERNHARDT

Scripps Network Interactive Logo [1]

Headquarters

9721 Sherrill Boulevard

Knoxville, TN 37932

(865) 694-2700

http://www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com [2]

Key Executives

: Kenneth Lowe – Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer

: Joseph Necastro – Chief Development Officer

: Burton Jablin – President

: Lori Hickok – Chief Financial Officer

: Jon Steinlauf – President of National Ad Sales & Marketing

: Henry Ahn – Executive Vice President, Content Distribution & Marketing

A full list of SNI executives may be found here [3].

Company History

Founded as the successful newspaper company known as The Penny Press by E.W. Scripps in 1875, the company has turned into a leading network for lifestyle media. After launching HGTV in 1994 and the Food Network in 1997, the company evolved into what is now known as the Scripps Network Interactive. With platforms such as cable television, digital, mobile and publishing, SNI continues to expand their six main lifestyle brands: HGTV, Food Network, The Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Great American Country [4].

Media Brands

: Home & Garden Television Logo

: Food Network Logo

: Cooking Channel Logo

: DIY Network Logo

: Travel Channel Logo

: Great American Country Logo

As the first addition to SNI, Home and Home and Garden Television (HGTV) represents the ultimate binge-watching cable channel. According to recent reportings, HGTV dominates the market in holding the #1 most ad receptive audience in cable, #1 channel inspiring viewers to purchase and #1 channel in captivating one of the most upscale audiences in cable [5]. SNI President of National Ad Sales & Marketing Jon Steinlauf explained, “HGTV is arguably the hottest network in the country right now on year-to-year growth.” A new goal for HGTV is to expand their audience base beyond women. By inviting men into the network, they’re up 34% in viewership and have also added more male hosts to their shows, and made shows concentrate more on the financial aspects of projects. [6] As SNI prepares for fall, they’ve announced renewals of the popular shows House Hunters Renovation, Lakefront Bargain Hunt, Island Hunters and Tiny House Hunters [7].

Although critics remain skeptical as to whether the Food Network is remaining profitable, recent calculations have shown that viewership peaked over the past year in November with 8.5 million viewers, while now the channel is at a low with only 6 million viewers. The Food Network recently announced that Aarti Sequeria was signed to a new series: 10 Minute Meals with Aarti Sequeria [8]. In addition, the media brand is attempting to cater to more kids and families by renewing popular shows such as Chopped Teen, Guys Grocery Games Family Tournament, Rachael Ray’s Kids Cook Off and Kids Baking Championship [9].

In 2014, The Cooking Channel saw it’s best year yet, proving to be an up-and-coming brand at SNI. The brand saw a ratings increase of 17% among ages 25-54 [10]. Successful shows such as Mo Rocca’s My Grandmother’s Ravioli, Extra Virgin and Real Girl’s Kitchen only helped skyrocket The Cooking Channel to be a larger content generator to SNI. In February, The Cooking Channel acquired Avec Eric, a high-rated cooking show featuring world-renowned chef Eric Ripert [11]. In addition, the brand announced that the new cooking show with Tia Mowry, Tia Mowry at Home will debut on April 29th [12].

In an interest to generate more viewership, the DIY Network has renewed five popular series for the upcoming fall such as The Vanilla Ice Project, Kitchen Crashers, Barnwood Builders, Sledgehammer and Yard Crashers [13]. DIY Network also announced that performer, actor and comedian Jim Belushi will be coming to the network in his new show, Building Belushi. In the six-episode series, Belushi will be followed as he builds a riverfront retreat cabin in Oregon [14].

The Travel Channel proves to be less robust in content, as not as many new shows have debuted this year. The new series, Breaking Borders premiered March 15th, as journalists and food lovers sat down to gather all sides of a conflict for a real conversation at the dinner table [15]. The Travel Channel also announced their big network event and sweepstakes known as “The Trip” in January, where viewers could enter to win a trip to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kuaui, Lanai and Hawaii [16].

Great American Country has experienced similar challenges to the Travel Channel, as the brand has somewhat stunted in producing new content. Premiered on January 17th, actress Betty White profiled Smartest Animals in America [17]. In addition, the brand introduced the show, A Very Barry Branson on February 5th in which Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch) revives a 1970s musical variety show [18].

SNI’s New Marketing Guru

After recently naming Jon Steinlauf as President of National Ad Sales & Marketing at SNI in February, the company is hoping to get a revamped marketing plan. Says former predecessor Jon Gigliotti, “Jon has been integral to establishing Scripps Networks’ lifestyle brands as essential for advertisers looking to reach an upscale audience…He inspires and motivates the incredible teams who work for him, and his leadership has been instrumental in helping the company deliver a series of $1 billion upfronts” [19]. Steinlauf explained that SNI has continued to maintain a great Return on Relationships, meaning the return a company gets on immersing brands inside content. SNI offers to sell marketers commercial that will run within the same three minute interval on all channels and websites. This tactic has allowed the company to increase 21% in net income from $109 million in 2013 to $132 million in 2014 [20]. In addition, revenues have increased by 2.3% to $699 million in the past year while ad revenues are only marginally rising by 0.7% to $454 million in the past year.

Global Expansion

The Scripps Network Interactive recently launched a plan to grow the U.S. based company into a significantly more global network. After purchasing 53% ownership of the Polish content Producer, TVN, SNI amounted in $1.5 billion in cash and assumed debt [21]. From this expansion, the company is expecting international sales to make up 25% of the total revenue (representing an eight-fold increase from the previous year) [22]. Currently, Food Network and HGTV reach an estimated 200 million homes around the world and 180 countries worldwide. SNI reports that the acquisition of TVN only represented a “key pillar” in their strategy for global expansion [23].

In addition to European expansions, SNI also announced plans to expand their brands in Latin America. As of the beginning of April, Food Network was launched with DIRECTV reaching more than 6 million viewers across the region of Brazil [24]. Not only will the Food Network be broadcast in Standard Definition, but also in High Definition. Jim Samples, the President of Scripps Network International stated, “Expanding Food Network’s distribution in Latin America is a testament to Scripps Networks’ commitment to expanding the company’s regional footprint and to building scale for our international division.” [25] With stronger footholds in Europe and South America than ever before, SNI is now setting their sights on Asia in the hopes of increasing their presence in homes there.

Resources

Actress Tia Mowry Offers a Taste of Her Life in Cooking Channel’s ‘Tia Mowry at Home’ (accessed April 17th, 2015)

‘Building Belushi’ Newest Series to Expand DIY Network’s Celebrity Renovation Portfolio (accessed April 15th, 2015)

Cooking Channel enjoys its best ever year in 2014 (accessed April 15th, 2015)

Emmy Award-Winning Series ‘Avec Eric’ Joins Cooking Channel Lineup (accessed April 7th, 2015)

Food Network Stats (accessed April 15th, 2015)

HGTV and DIY Network to Premiere Eight New Shows This Fall (accessed April 15th, 2015)

History (accessed April 14th, 2015)

Is The Food Network Still Relevant? (accessed April 8th, 2015)

More Programmers Are Thinking Globally (accessed April 17th, 2015)

MKM Partners Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Scripps Network Interactive (accessed April 7th, 2015

Scripps Networks Expands Latin America Footprint (accessed April 7th, 2015)

Scripps Networks Interactive names Jon Steinlauf to top advertising sales position (accessed April 15th, 2015)

Scripps Networks Interactive’s (SNI) CEO Kenneth Lowe on Q2 2014 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (accessed April 7th, 2015)

Upfront Notebook: Scripps Adds Familiar Faces to Boost Brands (accessed April 15th)

03/19/2015: Scripps Network Interactive (accessed April 5th, 2015)

Univision

Posted on October 5, 2014 by veortiz

by Veronica Ortiz

[1] Univision Logo

ABOUT UNIVISION

Univision, owned by Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), is the largest Spanish language broadcast television network in the country, catering almost exclusively to Hispanic audiences living in the United States and Puerto Rico. It boasts a reach of 97% of Hispanic households in America, being carried by more than 1,400 broadcast and cable affiliates. [2] [3] Supported by UCI, Univision’s Hispanic market research is unparalleled to any other network and, with an ever growing Hispanic community in the US, Univision expects an exponential growth for all of its properties. [4]

KEY EXECUTIVES

Randy Falco, President and CEO [5]

Alberto Ciurana, President, Programming and Content, Univision Communications Inc. [6]

FINANCES

As of October 2014, Univision Communications holds a revenue of $2.63 billion. Its third-quarter financials have seen an improvement from last year’s, mostly due to the World Cup adding $54.1 million in net advertising revenue. A year ago, Univision faced a loss of $15.9 million, but this year the earnings rose to $42.8 million. TV and digital properties lead the 5.2% increase to $728.9 million. Univision Communication’s TV unit increased 5.7% to $613.9 million in this third quarter. In conclusion, it has been a strong year for Univision overall, helped heftily by the World Cup and retransmission fees, but weighed down by a slightly down core advertising revenue and radio revenue. [7] [8]

POPULAR FRANCHISES AND PROGRAMMING

The great majority of Univision’s programming consists of telenovelas produced by Mexican mass media company Televisa. Sitcoms have a weaker presence in Univision’s programming, but it still produces a moderate amount of original programming.

NUESTRA BELLEZA LATINA

Nuestra Belleza Latina Logo [10]

Nuestra Belleza Latina is a beauty show and reality contest where twelve women compete for a one year talent contract with Univision and for cash prizes. The show offers impressive ratings, and this year it made social media headlines by becoming the first show in English or Spanish to top the weekly buzz rankings on Facebook. [9]

THE LATIN GRAMMY

Latin Grammy Awards [11]

The Latin Grammy Awards is an annual awards show where the Latin Recording Academy recognizes outstanding Latin musical artists from around the world. The awards are broadcast in the U.S. by Univision. [11] The 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards reached viewership of nearly ten million, with exemplary audience growth among the much coveted 18-34 demographic. Univision ranked as the No. 2 broadcast network for the evening of the Latin Grammy Awards, outperforming CBS, FOX and NBC. [12] [24]

SÁBADO GIGANTE

Sabado Gigante [13]

Sábado Gigante, a variety series, is Univision’s longest running program and the world’s longest running variety television show. It has been broadcast every Saturday evening and hosted by Mario Kreutzberger, better known as Don Francisco, since August, 1962. [13] A new three-hour episode is premiered each Saturday at 8pm with no reruns, really. [14] The show is known throughout every Hispanic household and has become a token of Hispanic culture. In 2012, Sabado Gigante celebrated its 50 years of uninterrupted broadcasting. Below is a compilation of clips from Sabado Gigante, put together by Univision to celebrate the show’s 50 years. [15] [16]

NEW CROSS-PLATFORM CONTENT

Even with old, but reliable hits such as Sábado Gigante, Univision still looks to expand to services that will also target millenials. The company recently struck a deal with DirecTV to provide content for their Internet-delivered service targeted towards Hispanic audiences. [17] This year, Univision also launched their own English-language over-the-top service called The Flama. [18] Full episodes for some of Univision’s programming can be found in their portal UVideos. Heavy hitters ratings-wise for this season include:

MI CORAZÓN ES TUYO (MY HEART IS YOURS)

Ana, a dancer, becomes a nanny after meeting a wealthy widower, Fernando, with seven kids. [19]

Mi Corazon Es Tuyo stars Silvia Navarro and Jorge Salinas [19]

The telenovela airs Monday through Friday on the 8pm-9pm time slot with strong ratings. It averaged 3.7 million viewers in the week of November 17-25, 2014, outperforming FOX in each demographic. [20]

HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO (UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD)

Sofia takes the helm of her family’s successful chocolate manufacturing business after her father’s death. Even though she is engaged, she falls for her chauffeur, Salvador, who is also a race-car driver. [19]

Hasta El Fin Del Mundo stars Marjorie de Sousa [19]

Hasta El Fin Del Mundo is a Mexican telenovela based on the Argentinian telenovela Dulce amor. In the 9pm-10pm slot, Hasta El Fin Del Mundo had 3.5 million viewers in the November 17-25, 2014 week. [20]

LA MALQUERIDA (THE BAD MISTRESS)

After the death of her husband, Cristina’s hacienda falls into disarray until a handsome man, Esteban, offers to help her. They quickly fall in love, much to the distaste of Cristina’s daughter Acacia, who leaves the hacienda, but returns twelve years later, now a beautiful young woman. The return of Acacia makes Esteban develop a secret passion for her. [19]

La Malquerida stars (left to right) Ariadne Diaz, Christian Meier and Victoria Ruffo. [19]

La Malquerida helped put Univision on No. 3 Monday-Friday on the 10pm-11pm time slot, outperforming CBS for the week of November 17-25, 2014.The telenovela brought 2.4 million viewers adults 18-49. [20]

IN THE NEWS

MASSIVE LAYOFFS FOR UNIVISION EMPLOYEES IN PUERTO RICO

After massive layoffs in Univision Puerto Rico, residents of the island formed a Facebook page calling for the boycott of Univision. Over 30,000 users have joined it. [23]

On Friday October 17, 2014, Univision gutted its news operations on the island of Puerto Rico, scrapping most of the programs produced locally and dealing a huge blow to the already poor state of media and journalism on the island. [21]

Malule González was among those laid off and was replaced by Jaime Bauza. Promoted to senior vice president and general manager, Bauza will oversee Univision Puerto Rico, which includes Univision Canal 11, Tele Isla Canal 7 and the company’s radio properties. The reason why these layoffs happened has not yet been revealed, but some speculate that it is part of a strategy by Univision in the U.S. to make the company more appealing for sale. A positive note to this story has been Univision’s announcement of a request of proposals for new programming produced locally for 2015. [22]

SHORT-FORM TELENOVELAS

Novelas Xpress on UVideos [25]

Novelas Xpress is Univision’s newest online service which will present 17 different abridged versions of popular telenovelas. Nine of these will be available on Hulu, while the rest will be distributed on UVideos.

The reason for this move could be attributed to the Hispanic audience’s propensity to consume content on mobile devices. According to the director of content acquisition at Hulu, Rodrigo Mazon, “The Latino audience on Hulu is approximately 40 percent more likely to consume video on mobile.” [24] In addition to providing content to their audiences in a format they want, they will also benefit heftily from ad revenues. According to Mazon, the popularity of Korean dramas on Hulu might also indicate American audience’s desire to consume non-american content. To this end, Novelas Xpress will also feature English subtitles for some of their telenovelas. [25]

SOURCES

[1] Univision.com – Últimas Noticias, Farándula, Novelas, Fútbol, Radio. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[2] Forbes.com. Univision Communications. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[3] Hoovers.com. (n.d.). Univision Communications Inc.Company Information. Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[4] Corporate Univision. (n.d.). Explore Hispanic Marketing Insights and Hispanic Research. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[5] Randy Falco – Univision. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[6] Alberto Ciurana – Univision. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[7] Univision Communications Third-Quarter Financials Improve, CEO Talks Streaming – Hollywood Reporter. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[8] Mahler, J. (2014, July 12). Biggest Scorer in World Cup? Maybe Univision (The New York Times) . Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[9] Flomenbaum, A. (2014, March 31). ‘Nuestra Belleza Latina’ Becomes First Show to Top Facebook’s Weekly Buzz Ratings. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[10] Nuestra Belleza Latina. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[11] Latin Grammy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[12] Kondolojy, A. (2014, November 21). 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards Reaches Nearly 10 Million Viewers With Double-Digit Growth Among Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[13] Sabado Gigante. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[14] Longest Running TV Variety Show. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[15] Luzardo, H. (2012, July 7). Don Francisco sobre ‘Sábado Gigante’: ‘No creo en sucesores’ Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[16] Univision News – Sabado Gigante Turns 50! Take a Ride Down Memory Lane. (2012, October 25). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[17] Grover, R., & Baker, L. (2014, September 11). Exclusive : Univision to provide content for DirecTV online service by year end. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[18] Jarvey, N. (2014, April 17). Univision Launches Over-the-Top Network The Flama – Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[19] Univision Media Kit. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[20] Bibel, S. (2014, November 25). Univision Beat One or More English-Language Network on 92 Percent of Nights Among Adults 18-34 in November Sweeps to Date. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[21] Online Staff. (2014, October 17). Univision Guts PR News Operation – Caribbean Business. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[22] Univision PR. (2014, October 17). Univision Puerto Rico Announces Executive Leadership & Programming Changes – Univision. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[23] Worley-Lopez, F. (2014, October 21). Univision Layoffs Bury the Real Story in Puerto Rico. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[24] Kuchinkas, S. (2014, June 12). Hulu Goes Big for Latino Content. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[25] Univision PR. (2014, November 20). Univision Launches Novelas Xpress, New Short-Form Telenovela Format – Univision. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

DirectTV

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Nicholas Sabatino

by Nick Sabatino

Photo courtesy of www.interpretllc.com [1]

Contact Information

Headquarters: 2230 E. Imperial Hwy, El Segundo, CA 90245 Phone: (310) 964-5000 [2] Facebook: DirecTV Twitter: @DirecTV

Executives

President and CEO: Michael White Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: Patrick T. Doyle Executive Vice President and President, DirecTV Latin America: Bruce B. Churchill [3]

President and CEO, Michael White
Photo courtesy of investor.directv.com [4]

About

DirecTV was founded in 1990 and was one of the country’s first satellite-cable providers. DirecTV offers quality television with a variety of channels, including many high definition (HD) channels. There are hundreds of channels on DirecTV and the number of channels a customer receives depends on the package that the customer buys. However, not only does DirecTV provide cable, they also provide On-Demand services, HD DVR products(recording devices) called Genie [5], and “TV Everywhere” applications so that you can enjoy your television shows or movies when you want, where you want, and on what device you choose.

DirecTV’s Genie: HD DVR
Photo courtesy of www.directv.com [6]

DirecTV is a satellite-cable provider, this means that instead of just having a cable box attached to your television inside of your home, DirecTV puts a satellite dish on top of your home. Appearance is mostly the only major difference. However, DirecTV has benefits over other cable providers. DirecTV is rated #1 in overall customer satisfaction, and has been ahead of cable for the past 14 years [7].

Financials

DirecTV offers its services in the United States and in Latin America. The company currently has over 37 million subscribers in these areas, and their revenues totaled about $30 billion dollars in 2013 [8]. DirecTV is a multi-billion dollar company traded publicly on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol DTV. Their stock currently has a volume of 899,268 and it is being traded at $87.71 per share [9]. Over the past four years DirecTV has seen a substantial increase in subscribers. With that, came an increase in their stock value. Since 2010, DirecTV’s stock has rose about 60 points and it keeps steadily going up over time. These numbers are very good for DirecTV and proves that they are becoming more successful as a company and more people are choosing their product over others.

DirecTV stock over the last four years Photo courtesy of investor.directv.com

DirecTV’s stock price over the last four years
Photo courtesy of investor.directv.com [10]

AT&T Merger

In May of 2014, DirecTV proposed a deal to AT&T to join companies and create a merger. With this merger, AT&T could improve the services that DirecTV already has. AT&T would focus on improving the Internet quality in many areas of the country that DirecTV does business [11]. With improved Internet, customers would be able to get better access to On-Demand and Pay-Per-View options that DirecTV offers. It would also better allow for the DirecTV app to be on products such as iPads and iPhones that are contracted under AT&T service, so that DirecTV can be at your fingertips wherever, and whenever you want it to be. This is the concept of “TV Everywhere.”

Over the past few months, the merger has been overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Justice Department over the legality of this merger. On November 20, 2014, DirecTV’s CEO, Michael White, said the deal should be approved next year. With this approved merger it is uncertain if DirecTV’s sales will go up. In a perfect market, the merger would cause an increase in the stock price of both AT&T and DirecTV. However, if one of the two company’s stock price starts to fall, being that both companies are in a merger, investors will sell their stock from the attached company and then both companies will have a decrease in stock price. This results in a loss of money for both AT&T and DirecTV [12].

AT&T and DirecTV Merger
Photo courtesy of www.accessnorthga.com [13]

International Expansion

In 2006, DirecTV gained 100% ownership of DirecTV Latin America [14]. With the expansion into new countries, DirecTV has asserted itself as more of a global brand. As of 2013, the number of subscribers that are from Latin America is about 18 million, which is an increase of about 9 million subscribers compared to the year 2010 [15]. With the success of expansion into Latin America, it is probable that DirecTV will expand into other markets as well and become even larger of a company. In the end of the day, it is all about getting your product to as many people as possible and making as much money as possible.

The DirecTV satellite dish portrayed as being on top of the Latin American countries where DirecTV is in. Photo courtesy of www.gigaom.com

DirecTV has expanded to Latin America.
Photo courtesy of www.gigaom.com [16]

Raycom Media

Back in September of 2014 there was a dispute between DirecTV and a broadcasting company called Raycom Media [17]. The dispute was over the broadcasting of Raycom Media’s channels through the means of DirecTV. The two companies did not come to a financial agreement by September 1st (the deadline) so for customers that had DirecTV they were unable to watch any Raycom Media channels for several days. Raycom Media is in 37 markets and 18 states, and they provide many different forms of television [18]. A major concern among people who had DirecTV and were in a Raycom Media market was the fact that they would not be able to watch some of the opening day NFL games on September 7th. Raycom and DirecTV made sure that this did not happen because of the potential financial loss that could have come from it. Agreements were made, and on September 7th customers were reinstated with their television channels.

Original Programming and What to Expect in the Future

Over the past few years DirecTV has entered into the world that Netflix and Hulu are also in. It’s the world of original programming, and it is the key to gaining more viewership, and in the case of DirecTV, more subscribers [19]. DirecTV’s goal is to have shows that viewers cannot get anywhere else. If this happens, then people may substitute the cable provider that they already have for DirecTV. DirecTV has their own channel called “Audience” that is only on DirecTV. On this channel is their newest show called Kingdom, and it came out in Fall of 2014. It stars Nick Jonas as a mixed martial arts fighter [20]. There is also a crime drama starring Thandie Newton called Rogue.

Click photo for Kingdom trailer courtesy of Youtube. Photo courtesy of www.directv.com

Click photo for Kingdom trailer, courtesy of www.youtube.com
Photo courtesy of www.directv.com [21]

There is even a special channel called “DogTV,” which is a channel specifically made for your dog to watch.

DogTV Trailer Photo courtesy of www.directv.com Commercial courtesy of www.youtube.com

Click photo for DogTV Commercial
Photo courtesy of www.directv.com
Commercial courtesy of www.youtube.com [22]

DirecTV also prides itself on its sports channels and packages. They have many packages, but their most popular one is the NFL Sunday Ticket. Every Fall if you are a customer that has NFL Sunday Ticket you can watch every NFL game that airs every Sunday [23]. New this Fall too is the introduction of NFL Fantasy Zone, a show which is all geared towards Fantasy Football. Expect growth in this department over the next few years.

There is also an ongoing dispute currently taking place between DirecTV and AMC. AMC is threatening to take away all of their channels (AMC, We TV, IFC, and Sundance) because they are claiming that DirecTV violated the existing deal that they had with them [24]. AMC is running campaigns during its show The Walking Dead, and DirecTV has an online petition[25]. DirecTV says that AMC is issuing a false alarm and nothing will happen. This is a developing story that needs to be kept a close eye on in the coming months.

In the near future, expect DirecTV to come up with more original content, renewal of their successful shows, expansion into new countries, and new and better deals to lure new customers to their services.