THE VIABILITY OF “PLUS”:  Now that Pandora and iHeart have announced details of their on-demand platforms, featuring a mid-tier or “light” option at $4.99/mo, industry experts are trying to make predictions on how successful the Plus options will be compared to the full $10/mo plans.  RAIN is featuring one consultant’s study of the iHeart audience, with the prediction that roughly 4M listeners will eventually subscribe to iHeart’s All Access Plus.  Admittedly the math seems a little caveman, and consumers will always express purchase intent at higher levels before they’re forced to whip out their CCs, but low to mid seven figures does seem plausible.  It’ll be interesting to look back a year from now and see where this number ends up.  (link)

TV’S TAKE ON TV:  UBS is holding a 2-day investor conference this week around the topic of linear and digital TV.  The following AdWeek article is a summation of content from streamers like Netflix and old-line broadcasters like CBS.  Keep in mind as you’re reading this that the #1 goal of these execs it to make their company strategies look as strong as possible to the investors in the room, so expect some sugar coating.  With that said, it’s still interesting to compare digital streamers’ expansion strategy to broadcasters’ plan to find more ways to charge for existing content.  At both ends of the industry you can tell that there’s massive change afoot in TV land. (link)

MEDIA’S TIPPING POINT:  As 2016 winds down we’re started to see forecasts about the 2017 ad market.  Magna Global and Zenith are both calling for digital spending to surpass TV globally in 2017.  As you may recall digital is now outbilling TV in the US, and is poised to surpass TV globally next year.  Mobile is the primary driver if digital growth making up 45% of total digital revenue in 2017, and is expected to comprise an amazing 72% of digital rev within the next five years!  Traditional media will lose two major revenue drivers from 2016’s Olympics and Pres Election, so expect digital to fill the vacuum in what experts are calling a “tipping point year” for our industry.  Should be an interesting ride!  (link)

Have a great Tuesday guys!