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Slow Network Upfront Affects Syndication, Cable

The broadcast industry has recently seen a downturn in the upfront market due to budget cuts, a glut of inventory and deliberating by advertising conglomerates, according to Media Life. Media buyers report that the upfront for syndication has barely begun, with budgets just now being registered. The market is proving to be less successful than previously thought. In May, Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen projected a 4 percent increase, to $3 billion, and Miller Tabak, an investor with a New York-based investment firm predicted a 4.5 percent increase, to slightly over $2.9 billion. Merrill Lynch was forced to revise projections last week, predicting a flat to minus 1 percent increase.

The rise in digital media has also fueled the reduction in upfront pricing, writes AdAge. Increased digital options give media buyers bargaining power.

While the industry tries to play catch up, many advertisers are cutting budgets and taking their time with purchasing ad time, knowing there will be no shortage of inventory when they’re ready to move. In past years, rapid upfronts were fueled by scarce commercial time. Not so recently, where there has been an abundance of inventory by broadcast networks and syndication properties.

The cable upfront, too, has been slow to get started, mainly because ABC hasn’t finished dealing and cable can’t kick into high gear until the network completes its business, MediaPost writes. While MTV Networks, Turner, Discovery and FX have all been making deals, middle- and low-tier cable networks are being held up. Some buyers and sellers have offered a projected deadline for dealmaking to end by July 4; however, some people feel this date may be too optimistic, claiming that ABC may not even finish its upfront until then.