OMC
#<UNK>, you have the number.
Yes, the number was just below $1.1 billion for the quarter.
That doesn't include, does not include the most recent Bacardi win.
In terms of the pipeline, it's pretty good.
We have one or two we're going to wind up defending, but for the most part, the people and potential clients we're talking to we feel very good about.
It's changed a little bit.
You still get formal bids and competitions, but increasingly, you're getting assignments, as we did like in Bacardi, which did not require a bid.
There was a consolidation with certain objectives that we are going to help that company reach.
So it is healthy.
It could always be ---+ we have a very good track record, so the more of somebody else's business that goes into review, the better opportunity is for us to win.
But it's pretty decent, Bill.
I think our leverage is probably right where we have historically been, right around that.
And our focus is primarily on maintaining our rating, that is the principal focus in terms how we look at our capital structure.
I think it's probably safe to say that you shouldn't expect to see the next 12 months in terms of buyback activity to be anywhere similar to the last 12 months.
Over the last 12 months, we bought back about $1.25 billion of stock.
So we had some catching up to do, as we had discussed last May.
But I don't think you can expect the activity to be at that level.
Certainly, we will continue to look at it in the context of our free cash flow as far as continuing to pay a dividend.
What acquisitions are out there that we do endeavor to do is going to reduce the number, but certainly the activity, prospectively, as we look at the next 12 months is going to be down relative to the last 12.
I will let <UNK> ---+ why don't I let <UNK>, who heads the group, answer that first, and then I will add my comments.
There's certainly been a lot of coverage on it, but certainly from our standpoint, our media agencies in the US don't seek rebates.
And the US, of course, is not a rebate-based marketplace from a negotiation standpoint.
In terms of our media agency clients, in the US, they receive all of value that gets negotiated on their behalf.
Whatever that form is, whether it's discount, whether it's other quantitative benefits, whether it's qualitative benefits.
They're negotiating in a very competitive marketplace, so our buyers are pushing hard to, frankly, extract maximum value out of those vendors in order to meet our individual client expectations.
And, of course, all of the clients that we engage with we have comprehensive contracts that govern not only the services that we provide them, but they specify performance requirements, as well.
So that is kind of the cornerstone of trust, I think, in terms how we run our business.
I'm happy for the question because there's been a lot of innuendo and comments against the industry.
We know how we operate and have consistently operated.
So clearing the air on this is a positive thing.
One other thing is we are fully participating ---+ I think the ANA, after having allowed that presentation to occur ---+ there's now, I think, a working group between the ANA ---+
And the AAAAs.
And the AAAAs to go through this.
Yes, to go through the presentation that was provided at the ANA.
It was somewhat odd to me that no specific allegation came against anybody, even though in that presentation they had redacted contracts and other things.
We are a little confused, we don't find it helpful.
So as quickly, as jointly the ANA and the AAAAs can get to a conclusion the better off we are all going to be.
There's a sense.
I don't have the proof, but US economy appears to me to be getting stronger.
And if history is a guide to anything, those budgets will increase as demand increases, and clients are going to support their strongest growth areas.
So I'm cautiously optimistic.
I'm just not willing to publicly forecast the year more than what I can see at the moment.
In the first quarter, that number was about $40 million of year-over-year growth in the quarter versus the first quarter of last year.
Just give me a second to get that number.
In the quarter, the buyback number was, in shares, I think, was 3.4 million shares.
I don't have the net number handy, but we can get that for you.
No, it really all comes down to the opportunity.
But the areas that we're focused on are geographic in nature, which means that they are not ---+ they certainly fit within our historic profile.
And different forms of partnerships over the last several years ---+ we have formed over 100-plus partnerships with various companies, either in technology or in some other areas.
In very rare instances, but a couple, we might be interested in becoming partners with some of those folks.
But if you are, in characterizing what I said, and thank you for asking the question, they are going to be ---+ they're not going to be large.
They are going to be closer to our historic pattern than us developing any new pattern.
Let me put it that way.
I think our view is, especially in the first quarter, which is a relatively small quarter, you can't draw too many trends when you start narrowing it down to regions or disciplines, et cetera.
So the more you narrow that number, especially in a quarter, a 90-day period, we don't think, is going to drive the trend for that particular, in this case, country.
Our businesses in the UK have been performing very well, very consistently actually over some time.
And they have done very well in the market.
We expect them to continue to perform well as the year goes on.
But I don't think I would say we expect, based on our internal forecast today, that we're going to be in the high-single-digits to low-double-digits for the UK the rest of the year.
Some of that could be a bit of timing in a quarter, some of it could be just the fact that is the first quarter and the number is a relatively small number compared to the number for the year.
So I wouldn't draw too much of a trend, other than the trend that our businesses in the UK continue to perform well is one that we expect to continue.
And I echo exactly what <UNK> said.
I guess, we were aided by the change in management of one or two of our major subsidiaries and they've had ---+ they have gotten off to a great start.
So market share and not the economy in the UK, though.
<UNK>.
Obviously, it's a supply and demand marketplace.
There are still supply issues in the linear TV marketplace that keep pressure on price beyond, I think, what you might reasonably normally expect.
Declining ratings would be less value and lower prices, it's not necessarily the case.
I think it's, a major part of that formula is going to be the balance between the long-term and short-term strategies that sellers take in this marketplace.
I would add, I think that CPMs, of course, are one way to look at the marketplace.
I think the general trend here, or the longer-term trend, is more significant and that is that generally speaking our clients are moving to ---+ many clients, at least ---+ are moving to looking at business measures, what do the aggregation of the investments that they are making across media types do to move their business with the data capabilities that we have.
And they are somewhat less inclined to focus simply on what might be called process measures which are the CPMs reaching frequency.
It's becoming increasingly an overall ROI discussion with our clients.
But specifically to your question on CPM, I think the balance between long-term and short-term strategies from a sales standpoint will dictate that.
Operator, we're getting close to the market open, so I think we have time for one more call.
Thanks, <UNK>.
Well, I think it can.
It certainly helped the business grow faster, but if we look at the programmatic business today there is no question that the great majority of it as it exists today is display-based business.
But the client requirements that we are seeing from the plans that we put together show a great demand for programmatic video.
So there's little question in my mind that the demand is there, and where there is demand, generally speaking, we will see supply respond to that.
But the availability of, I would say, premium video is not simply a programmatic question.
It goes beyond that as our clients look at it.
But programmatically and as alternatives in the upfront marketplace because content and context are so important to the kind of clients that we have.
Whether it's, the content has the right affinity or whether it's simply just wholesome enough for their brand is key.
And access to that kind of premium video is key to growth.
There's no question, though, that the demand is there for it.
On the specifics to your question, <UNK>, the programmatic growth was not just US only.
That is pretty much, we're in many markets throughout the world now.
We started that ramp-up back in Q4 of 2013.
The growth relative ---+ the growth in the quarter itself relative to Q1 of 2014, we thought, was pretty good.
Again, though, we are not really drawing too many trends on one particular quarter as it relates to the rest of the year.
I don't think the first quarter is going to tell the story for the year, but I would say that the programmatic business in Q1 of 2014 was probably still continuing to ramp up and the performance this year in the first quarter was good.
But I don't think we're drawing any trends that that level of growth or that that number is necessarily going to continue throughout the rest of the year.
Thank you.
Thank you, everybody.
Thanks for joining the call.
