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Fox, CBS Nearly Sold out of Upfront Inventory

The upfront could be wrapped up by Friday, network and agency executives believe. Some networks have already sold most of their spots scheduled to run during prime time.

Fox, which is getting 7.5 percent to 9 percent rate increases over last year, has sold about 95 percent of its prime time spots, according to a Fox spokesperson, writes The New York Times. ABC is 50 to 60 percent sold, and is getting 10 percent or more over last year’s rates. NBC is getting an estimated 5 percent to 6 percent rate increase and has sold about 75 percent, while CBS, which has sold more than 80 percent of what it intends to sell, is pulling increases of 8 percent to 9 percent

Last year’s upfront market was estimated at $9 billion, flat or slightly down compared to spring of 2005. In 2004, the upfront was estimated at $9.5 billion, the largest upfront to date.

Hot categories in this year’s upfront include financial services, insurance, prescription drugs and retailers.