March 7, 2017: Ratings Down for Televised Live Events Despite Memorable Moments, Trump's Mar-a-Lago Welcomes Those Who Can Afford It, New York to Launch $3 Million Ad Campaign to Woo Weary Tourists

1. RATINGS DOWN FOR TELEVISED LIVE EVENTS DESPITE MEMORABLE MOMENTS: Unexpected moments such as the Oscars Best Picture flub, Mariah Carey's disastrous New Year's performance, and a thrilling Super Bowl finish haven't translated to good ratings for live TV broadcasts. New York Post: "The live-TV meltdown isn’t going unnoticed by advertisers who, like cord-cutting viewers who have ditched their cable subscriptions, are increasingly feeling the pull of the internet. 'Media fragmentation is causing a splinter,' said Jon Cogan, managing director of investment research at Omnicom Media Group. 'Live TV, or your DVR queue, or Netflix queue or on-demand—the choices are enormous compared to recent years. People want to watch what technology has given them an opportunity to watch.' Indeed, with the big May TV upfront selling period around the corner, and marketers ready to comb the data to figure out how to spend some $70 billion, NBCUniversal said last week it won’t wait around: It set aside $1 billion of inventory to guarantee against digital data rather than Nielsen’s TV ratings. Among the most disturbing trends, media experts say, is viewers’ increasing willingness to catch clips of live events after they’ve ended. In the week since Warren Beatty roped Faye Dunaway into the 'La La Land' disaster onstage, it is YouTube that has racked up more than 12 million views from three clips of the slow-motion train wreck. Viewers are also getting into the habit of watching live broadcasts over the Web. In the case of the Super Bowl, broadcaster Fox disclosed that it delivered an average-minute audience of 1.72 million via its internet stream, a 23-percent growth over the previous year and a 224-percent increase since Fox’s last Super Bowl in 2014." http://nyp.st/2mcCO3R

2. TRUMP'S MAR-A-LAGO WELCOMES THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT: While President Donald Trump's Palm Beach-based private club Mar-a-Lago seems like the definition of exclusive, the venue pretty much accepts anyone who has the money. Bloomberg: "In many ways Mar-a-Lago is the antithesis of the area’s traditional WASP-y clubs—the Beach Club, the Bath and Tennis Club, the Sailfish Club. The Everglades Club, Palm Beach’s oldest and founded in 1919 is what Nicholas Golubov, research director for the Historical Society of Palm Beach, called a bastion of 'the old, Palm Beach elite.' Trump’s business model in Palm Beach, by comparison, has been a beacon of inclusion. As long as potential members had the $100,000 entry fee (bumped up to $200,000 in January), there was a good chance that they’d be accepted. In a further departure from Palm Beach taste, Trump allowed non-members, as well as members, to rent spaces for bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, and charity galas. Anyone can party at the new Winter White House, as long as they can afford it. ... Most Palm Beach clubs have unapologetically restrictive membership policies, but resist any notion that those policies have anything to do with race, creed, or color. 'That’s an old-fashioned view, certainly of our club,' said John Newman, general manager Sailfish Club. Even beyond its semi-open door policy, Trump went further in an effort to make Mar-a-Lago the most attractive club on the island. The Everglades might have a retractable roof and its signature coconut cake, and the Bath and Tennis might have spirited bridge games and an in-house hair salon. Mar-a-Lago has buffets that are almost baroque in the number of options. Dinners are served on Post’s original china, all presided over by a painting of Trump dressed in an approximation of tennis whites." http://bloom.bg/2mAh3fx

3. NEW YORK TO LAUNCH $3 MILLION AD CAMPAIGN TO WOO WEARY TOURISTS: NYC & Company, the city's tourism bureau, recently reported it excepts to see 300,000 fewer international travelers than last year because of President Donald Trump's travel ban. The city now plans to launch a campaign to reassure tourists. USA Today: "New York's tourism dip dovetails with reports of plunging flight searches and bookings from abroad to cities across the U.S.A report released Monday by travel analytics firm ForwardKeys found that international bookings plummeted 6.5% in the eight days after President Donald Trump's initial travel ban was announced on Jan. 27th. … New York City will still see a record number of tourists this year, with officials projecting they will welcome 61.7 million travelers overall. But that increase, up from 60.7 million in 2016, is largely the result of an uptick in visitors from other parts of the U.S. And domestic visitors don't have the same financial impact as those traveling from overseas. While travelers from abroad make up roughly 20% of New York City's visitors, they comprise 50% of the travel spend, according to NYC & Company. The city is initiating a nearly $3 million ad campaign this month in several markets including Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Germany, designed to reassure wary travelers that New York is still a welcoming destination despite the proposals and rhetoric emanating from Washington. 'We will work tirelessly to do all we can to preserve our city’s tourism industry in the months ahead,' Fred Dixon, NYC & Company's CEO said in a statement. International travelers are a significant boon to the U.S. economy. The U.S. Travel Association said that in 2015, the most recent year available, travel to the U.S. from abroad yielded $246 billion." http://usat.ly/2lP9VHD

* LOCAL NEWS *

AUSTIN:  Former Vice President Joe Biden will speak at South by Southwest on Sunday at the Austin Convention Center. Biden will speak about innovative solutions to fight cancer and plans for a cancer initiative.

CHICAGO:  The 12th annual A Lost Chapter of Holocaust History: A United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Event, which is a fund-raiser for the museum, will take place May 16 at Venue One. U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum scholar Suzanne Brown Fleming will interview keynote speaker Father Patrick Desbois.

COLUMBUS:  BrewDog USA is slated to open a $6 million craft beer hotel and sour beer facility, with amenities including IPA on tap in rooms, beer spa treatments, and in-suite shower beer fridges. Columbus Business First: http://bit.ly/2lwk9Bf

LAS VEGAS:  Tao Beach officially opened for the pool season on March 3.

LONDON:  Asian food hall Bang Bang Oriental is slated to open this summer. Designed by Stiff & Trevillion, the venue will have 33 kiosks offering a variety of Asian cuisine and seating for as many as 450 people.

LOS ANGELES:  The fourth annual U.S. China Film & Television Industry Expo will kick off on October 19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science will open on May 8 in Museum Park. The 25,000-square-foot museum, which was designed by Grimshaw Architects, will feature an aquarium and a 250-seat planetarium.

NEW YORK:  The meatpacking district's fourth annual Open Market will take place Thursday. The ticketed fund-raiser will offer sample-sale prices from local brands, and food and drink from a variety of vendors including Ample Hills Creamery, Morimoto NYC, Sugar Factory, and the Standard Biergarten.

Grand Bazaar NYC and the New York Food Truck Association will host the NYC Food Truck Fest on Sunday. Participating vendors include Luke's Lobster, Gorilla Cheese NYC, and Neapolitan Express.

New-York Historical Society's 12th annual Weekend With History will take place April 21-22. Speakers include Akhil Reed Amar, Douglas Brinkley, and Niall Ferguson.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  SeaWorld Orlando will launch a new show called Dolphin Days beginning April 1. It will replace the Blue Horizons show, which has been at the park for 11 years. The park will also open a new dolphin nursery before summer, and add virtual reality to Kraken and a new nighttime show, Electric Ocean, before the end of the year.

Colin Mills has been appointed director of food & beverage at JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes.

SAN FRANCISCO:  The 45th annual Muir Beach Volunteer Firemen's Barbecue will take place May 28 at Santos Meadows.

TORONTO:  Toronto ComicCon will take place March 17-10 at Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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With contributions from Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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