BRAND SUPPORTED VOICE SKILLS ARE ABOUT TO BECOME A BIG DEAL: Do you think Voice is becoming important for marketers? While you’re considering the answer to that question read the attached AdWeek link. In it the author states that . . . “Voice is having its moment. People are talking, devices are listening and brands are attempting to insert themselves into the conversation, using Amazon Alexa voice skills and Google Home apps.” This is occurring thanks to the perfect convergence of three factors; 1) consumer behavior is shifting from visual-based touch input to verbal-based voice activation, 2) AI is getting smart enough so that Chatbots can carry on meaningful conversations with humans, and 3) brands are beginning to create voice-based content (aka Voice Skills) to be relevant on this new technological platform. And the best part is we’re just getting started. I wouldn’t even say we’re in the top of first inning yet – it’s more like the team is getting on the bus headed over to Voice Ballpark to play this new game!
THIRD DOWN AND LONG FOR THE NFL ON AMAZON: Earlier this year Amazon made news by stealing the live streaming rights of the NFL’s Thursday Night Football from Twitter. Over the first half dozen games the top line audience stats have seemed promising, with an average of 1.9M views per week. But as The Drum reports in the attached link, these numbers might not be as good as they look. The basic problem is that a digital “view” can be any visit, however brief, by a single site visitor. Comparing that stat to traditional TV ratings, which calculate the average number of viewers at any one time, is an apples to oranges situation. According to multiple sources, Amazon’s actual in-game audience is around 372,000 viewers who watch for an average of 55 minutes. That wouldn’t be a bad number for a local radio morning show, but we’re talking the NFL here. By comparison, those same games were watched by an average of 14.2M viewers on traditional TV. Amazon’s smaller than expected audience could have to do with a lack of exclusivity – why go through Amazon to watch the game live when it’s on the NFL Network and local TV affiliates? The other theory is that viewers just aren’t used to streaming live sports yet, so there’s an adoption curve to get over. Regardless of the cause Amazon has a long way to go to move the chains on their NFL investment.
THE RACE TO BANKRUPTCY: Finally today, I’d like to spend a few minutes on Radio’s other big financial problem. We all know about iHeart with its staggering $22B in debt and constant rumors of bankruptcy. But what about the second biggest broadcaster Cumulus? Their debt is $2.4B, which seems relatively mild. But then consider the fact that Cumulus’s stock is trading at just 34 cents, and it’s market cap is $9.9M (yes that’s an M for millions, not a B). Put those numbers together and you have a company worth less than $10M which has $2.6B in debt. (Reread that last sentence.) The Wall Street optics are so bad that NASDAQ has begun the process of delisting Cumulus from the exchange for failing to hit a $1 stock price over the past 30 days. And keep in mind, we’re not even talking about the NYSE here. When NASDAQ delists your company you know you have a problem! All kidding aside, Cumulus does have some decent stations which are obviously worth more than $10M. But the overwhelming consensus from investors is that Cumulus is about to go bankrupt, which is why their paper is trading for pennies. With iHeart and Cumulus as your “top” two broadcasters, is there any wonder why Radio is in so much trouble?
Have a great Wednesday guys!