Buoyed by its ratings results, HISTORY is giving Top Gear a season two extension with eight all-new episodes. Production on the new episodes is underway and they will roll out in early 2012. For its second season, Top Gear on HISTORY has averaged 1.9 million viewers and 1.1 million with both A18-49 and A25-54 viewers. The show’s second run also has the distinction of attracting HISTORY’S youngest audience ever with a +24% increase among A18-49 viewers compared to the first season. Top Gear is hosted by comedian and car enthusiast Adam Ferrara, champion rally and drift racer Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood. Top Gear is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions and is a co-production of HISTORY and BBC Worldwide.
Source: Cynopsis
Discovery Communications recently announced the premiere programming slate for Velocity, set to debut October 4 at 7:00 PM (ET). An all-HD network targeting upscale men, Velocity will be available in more than 40 million homes at the channel location currently occupied by the HD Theater cable network. Velocity’s lineup for fourth quarter 2011 features an all-new primetime schedule and more than 140 original premiere hours overall; representing the best of the travel, leisure, automotive, adventure and sports genres.
On October 4, a special lineup of premiere night programming will include all-new episodes of: Motorweek at 7:00 pm, American Icon with Chip Foose at 8:00 pm, What’s My Car Worth at 8:30 pm, Chasing Classic Cars at 9:00 pm and Inside West Coast Customs at 10:00 pm. Please note: Times are listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST), check your local listings.
The complete press release and full slate of regularly scheduled programming is available on the Discovery Communications website.
Exhibitor registration for the 2011 SEMA Show has confirmed what many in the specialty-equipment industry have known for years—the Show is a can’t-miss, once-a-year opportunity for buyers to connect with the hottest products and latest trends. As buyer registration continues to soar, exhibitors continue to commit to booth space in record numbers.
SEMA Show management reports that this level of commitment by exhibitors has not been seen since 2008. The show crossed the 2,000 confirmed exhibitors milestone on August 23rd with additional exhibitor contracts being processed daily.
Here’s a quick rundown of the numbers:
- Net Square Footage: Up 10%
- Total Number of Exhibitors: Up 13%
- Collision Repair & Refinish: Up 29%
- Global Tire Expo: Up 27%
- Mobile Electronics & Technology: Up 19%
- Powersports & Utility Vehicles: Up 35%
- Restyling and Car Care: Up 17%
- Tools & Equipment: Up 29%
In addition to the positive trend among exhibitors, buyer registration is up 37% and media registration is up a whopping 66%. And another indicator of the Show’s vitality, housing nights sold, is tracking at a rate of 39% higher than last year. That statistic indicates that more attendees will be coming and that they plan to stay longer.
For more information about the SEMA Show, visit the website at SEMAShow.com.
RTM Productions recently announced a new all-automotive online TV network that will debut on January 7. PowerBlockTV will offer serious car enthusiasts over 1200 automotive television shows and hundreds of tech tips for viewing online anywhere, anytime on connected TVs, PCs, tablets and smart phones.
“We’re delivering enthusiasts our deep library of evergreen performance, vehicle review and how-to programs for free,” said RTM president Joe St. Lawrence. “Year in and year out, our PowerBlock auto shows are watched by 20 million gearheads per month on SpikeTV. With our new online network, enthusiasts will have access to our 25-year archive 24/7.”
Matt Hawkins, RTM’s VP Marketing & New Media added, “We’re airing complete half-hour episodes and hundreds of our short form “Two Minute Tech” how-to clips. Everything is searchable by project, vehicle, engine and product manufacturers featured in shows. As the content streams, parts featured in the shows are listed below the player with ‘Buy Now’ links to advertisers.”
The network will debut with 600 episodes of its how-to series Xtreme 4×4, HorsepowerTV, Trucks!, MuscleCar and Search & Restore plus Cars, Cars, Cars, Top Dead Center and Off-Road Action. In Q2, RTM will rollout an additional 500 episodes of programs: Flashback Reports, Rod Projects and Road Test Magazine, plus an additional 100 new PowerBlock how-to episodes throughout 2012. The network will also feature new and encore programs from other automotive producers.
The PowerBlock online network will be ad supported with scalable campaigns based on 15-second commercials airing as low as $.02 per commercial insertion.
RTM will promote the launch in Q4 2011 under the campaign theme “PowerBlock… Anytime, Anywhere” with an integrated cable television, online, digital magazine and sweepstake marketing campaign that rewards viewers for test driving the network.
RTM is a privately held marketing solutions company specializing in producing automotive content for television, website, magazine and DVD distribution.
SSgt Tejada and his new 2011 Camaro SS
On Sunday, August 14, WyoTech and the Semper Fi Fund unveiled a brand new Chevrolet Camaro for Marine Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Guillermo “TJ” Tejada during the 4th Annual Wounded Warrior car show at WyoTech in Long Beach, Calif. It was a fitting tribute for SSgt Tejada who had lost both legs above the knee when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan in November of 2010. The Semper Fi Fund and the Nice Guys Victory Fund provided the funds to purchase the car, which was then customized by WyoTech students to make SSgt Tejada’s dream of driving a Camaro come true.
SSgt Tejada has been serving his country for 12 years. Since joining the Marines right out of high school, he’s been deployed twice to Okinawa, Japan, once to Iraq during the invasion and once to Afghanistan. On November 11, while conducting foot patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, he was struck with the IED that immediately took off both of his legs. Due to heavy enemy fire, they were not able to land a helicopter nearby. Once reinforcements came, his fellow Marines transported him by foot back to the forward operating base, which was about one kilometer away. From there, he was flown to the nearest hospital where he was stabilized. SSgt Tejada was released to outpatient status in January 2011 and has been going through rehabilitation therapy ever since. After his 1-1/2 to 2 year recovery, he plans on training for a different job in the Marines so he can continue to support the Marines that are forward deployed. SSgt Tejada’s biggest regret is that he “could not return to Afghanistan to finish out the deployment with his Marine brothers.”
After the presentation, SSgt Tejada’s wife, mother and three children surrounded SSgt Tejada. He said, “I’m happy to be alive, so having the Semper Fi Fund and WyoTech presenting me a gift like this is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Four WyoTech students, all veteran service members, customized the 2011 Camaro SS with an Eibach Springs Pro-Plus Kit, a Cherry Bomb exhaust system, MGP brake caliper covers and hand controls from the Ability Center. The respective companies donated all parts for the modifications. Butch Lynch from the Imagineering Shop applied the custom paint job and Covercraft supplied the custom car cover screened with a special commemoration to Semper Fi.
“It was a great honor to assist the Semper Fi Fund in supporting SSgt Tejada and his family,” said Tom Stein, vice president of WyoTech Long Beach. “It was an emotional day for all, but especially for the veterans who were present. We look forward to helping out the Semper Fi Fund in the future.”
As SSgt Tejada started the engine and drove away in his new Camaro, there was applause and tears of joy from the hundreds of Semper Fi supporters, fellow Marines, car enthusiasts and families in attendance. It was a moment that many will never forget.
WyoTech – Long Beach is located at 2161 Technology Place, Long Beach, Calif., 90810. WyoTech is a division of Corinthian Colleges, Inc., one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America. WyoTech offers degree and diploma programs in the fields of automotive, diesel, collision/refinishing, motorcycle, marine technology, as well as construction trades. In addition, WyoTech offers advanced training programs in applied service management; advanced diesel; light duty diesel; advanced automotive diagnostics; street rod and custom fabrication; motorsports chassis fabrication; high performance power trains; and trim and upholstery technology. There are currently six WyoTech campuses located across the United States. For more information, go to www.wyotech.edu. For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website at www.wyotech.edu/disclosures.
comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, just released data showing that 180 million internet users, or 86% of the Internet audience, watched online video content during the month of July in the United States alone. That’s an average of 18.5 hours per viewer! The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in a record 6.9 billion viewing sessions.
Both content and advertising online videos were measured with the duration of advertising videos lasting an average of .5 minutes while content videos running 5.3 minutes long. Video ads accounted for 12.4% of all videos viewed and 1.2% of all minutes spent watching video online.
Top Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers
Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in July with 158.1 million unique viewers, while VEVO ranked second with 62.1 million. Facebook.com climbed to the #3 position with 51.4 million viewers, followed by Microsoft Sites with 49.5 million and Viacom Digital with 47.3 million. Google Sites crossed the 3 billion mark to account for more than 40 percent of all viewing sessions online. Google Sites and Hulu saw the highest engagement with 5.9 and 3.4 hours respectively.
Top Video Ad Properties by Video Ads Viewed
Americans viewed more than 5.3 billion video ads in July, with Hulu generating the highest number of video ad impressions at 963 million. Adap.tv ranked second overall (and highest among video ad exchanges/networks) with 674 million ad views, followed by Tremor Video (639 million) and BrightRoll Video Network (522 million). Time spent watching video ads totaled more than 2.4 billion minutes during the month, with Hulu delivering the highest duration of video ads at 409 million minutes. Video ads reached 49 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 35.9 times during the month. Hulu delivered the highest frequency of video ads to its viewers with an average of 40.4 over the course of the month.
As a marketing medium, online video is efficient and effective. Activity can be measured by clickable or companion banner ads and post-click activity can be charted to monitor website visits, product purchases, dealer searches and more.
Source: comScore press release, August 22, 2011
Facebook is leading the way in social media with over 750 million users and growing. However, we’re keeping an eye on Google+, the new social network that’s attracted millions in just four weeks.
According to Comscore, Google+ has attracted over 25 million users during its first month in operation, reaching the mark far quicker than rivals Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. For reference, it took Facebook 35 months to reach the 25 million fan mark, Twitter took 30 months and MySpace more than 20 months.
As part of a new branding strategy, the NBC Sports Group recently announced that Versus will be re-named the NBC Sports Network. Changes will begin on January 2nd and will include a redesigned NBC Sports logo. To maximize exposure, the launch coincides with two major events in sports: the end of the NFL season and the day of the NHL Winter Classic.
Source: Cynopsis
