Though the networks have said they’re ready to deal, and media reports have it that buyers and sellers have mostly agreed to use a combination of commercial ratings and live-plus-three-day ratings, upfront negotiations are slow getting started.
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ABC insiders have said that the network is ready to deal, having loaded its computers with information that will allow it to do upfront deals based on any of nine different data streams for either program or commercial ratings.
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In case any media buyer doubts the networks’ sincerity in their claims that they won’t negotiate based on live-only ratings, CBS has reiterated to the press that it will sell ad space based on live-plus-three-day commercial ratings during the upfront.
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Juliana Margulies Fox has contracted for at least seven new shows for the fall and winter season, and will announce at least two more today at its presentation to advertisers. The CW is expected to introduce eight or more new shows today.
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Cross-platform offerings are the name of the game this week. Telemundo is attempting to bag advertisers by offering deals that include television spots, online ads, retail and in-store opportunities and event sponsorships, while ESPN is offering opportunities to be distributed across several other ESPN platforms.
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Telemundo’s offerings to advertisers for the upcoming season include four different cross-platform opportunities, according to the company’s upfront presentation Tuesday night.
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NBC has launched an outdoor campaign with the goal of reaching media buyers as they head to the network’s upfront presentations.
ABC is adding seven new hour-long dramas and four new comedies to its line-up next year, with some coming in the fall and some coming later in the season.
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Media buyers and networks believe that the deals made during the upfront market will be made based on a combination of average commercial ratings and live-plus-three-day data.
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Jaime SommersNBC has decided to renew Friday Night Lights and Vegas (which is adding Tom Selleck to the cast), and will cancel Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Black Donnellys and Crossing Jordan, and will add a 21st-century version of the seventies’ Bionic Woman.
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A&E Television Networks will invest more than $600 million in programming, media and technology, said president/CEO Abbe Raven at the company’s upfront gathering of advertisers.
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It’s beginning to look as though media buying agencies and broadcast networks may not be facing the pitched battle about what currency will be used in the upfront as was originally thought.
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MyNetworkTV has changed its programming plans in a major way - but it won’t be making an upfront presentation to talk about its new plans.
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Media companies such as NBC might be failing with a number of their digital offerings but at least they’re trying, reports MediaWeek (via MarketingVox).
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TiVo offers a service called TiVo Stop Watch, which gives media companies a second-by-second picture of the ads they buy.
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As the topic of what ratings make the most sense to use as currency for television buys, different agencies are expected to push for different metrics in the upcoming upfront.
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Based on live-only ratings for the 18-49 demo, the four networks are down 11 percent to a collective 13.4 versus last year, writes MediaPost. The drop - as measured through April 8 and not including the Super Bowl - follows three years of relatively stable viewing.
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DVR playback viewership gains are higher than ever this season, writes MediaPost. Lost, for example, seemed to be losing its audience, generating only a 5.0 rating and 13 share average, but when its seven-day DVR playback data from Nielsen is considered, the show is actually earning a 6.2/16 - a 24 percent rise.
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The television upfront is either a dinosaur or a thriving marketplace, depending on who you ask… and when you ask them.
The network upfront happens in May, when networks reveal their fall schedules and advertisers can buy blocks of TV time all at once and not have to worry about missing out on prime inventory later on. If they hold back their funds and wait to buy inventory later - during the “scatter” market - they may have little or no prime inventory to choose from. On the other hand, if they agree to purchase during the upfront at prices that are later shown to be higher than demand dictates, they essentially lose money.
The strong scatter market that has led analysts to predict a healthy upcoming upfront marketplace has been weakening in recent weeks.
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