Big In Print
Upfront 2010
Kids Cable Upfront Sees Ad Prices Rise
June 18, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- The kids upfront is 90% wrapped, on track to finish up at around $890 million, or 4% to 5% higher than last year's take. Led by rebounded spending among toys, movie studios and certain food products across the board, the kids TV market saw average cost-per-thousand viewer ad rates increase by 6% to 7%, while a strong adult market led by Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite saw ad rates climb as much as 9%.
Upfront's Wrapped, but TV Haggling Continues
June 11, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The haggling isn't done. Many ad-industry folks follow the broadcast-TV upfront until its conclusion, then figure the summer beckons and all goes slack. But what happened over the past few weeks -- the trading of some $8.5 billion worth of ad commitments to the coming fall TV season -- has ramifications that will last through the rest of the year.
Broadcast Upfront Finishes Between $8.1B and $8.7B
June 10, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Advertisers have committed between $8.1 billion and $8.7 billion to the five broadcast networks' coming program schedules, according to estimates from Advertising Age, eking out a small gain over last year's estimated $7.8 billion to $8.1 billion.
ABC Completes Upfront Sales
June 09, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- ABC has become the latest network to complete its upfront sales, as improved advertiser demand for broadcast TV helped it, like the networks that concluded upfront sales before it, sell more time in its fall schedule than last year.
CBS Wraps Upfront Sales
June 08, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- CBS has wrapped up upfront sales for its 2010-2011 season, according to the network. CBS was able to secure a volume increase of somewhere in the high-teens-percentage range, according to a person familiar with the matter. NBC and ABC, meanwhile, are close to done if not already complete, according to media buyers familiar with the pace of negotiations.
Why Today's Upfront Matters Less Than You Might Imagine
June 07, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- As technology forces huge changes in consumer habits and the roles of the traditional media, the upfront itself is losing some of its oomph. Here's why.
Behind the Battle for Children's Marketing Dollars
June 07, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- How many kids' TV networks are too many -- and are there enough ad dollars to go around? As Hasbro and Discovery's The Hub gears up for an Oct. 10 launch, and with Disney readying a preschool network, Disney Junior, for early 2012, more networks are going to be clamoring for an increasingly limited pool of ad dollars.
Why the Upfront May Not Be Over So Quickly
June 03, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Despite projections that 2010's upfront would be completed in just a few days, the negotiations may not be over as quickly as some might have thought. ABC, CBS and NBC are pushing for aggressive price increases that ad buyers say they'd rather not pay.
Will Cable's Conan Cost as Much as NBC's Conan Did?
June 03, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Time Warner's Turner division is trying to sell commercial time in Mr. O'Brien's new late-night show, set to debut on TBS in November, at rates some 20% above the rates that Mr. O'Brien's "Tonight Show" got on NBC, according to media buyers.
TV Upfront Market Heats Up
June 02, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The 2010 upfront market started to move in earnest Wednesday, when negotiations ramped up at all five broadcast networks and Fox verged on wrapping up sales, according to media buyers and other people familiar with the negotiations.
Fox Starts Doing Business in Upfront
June 01, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- News Corp.'s Fox network has already begun closing deals as part of its upfront negotiations, according to people familiar with the talks, a sign that this year's TV-advertising market is more robust than it was in 2009 and is likely to be wrapped up in days or weeks rather than months.
An Ad Age Field Guide for Navigating Manhattan During Upfront Week 2010
May 17, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Need to get around during upfront week? Stick with Ad Age all week long for the latest on the networks' fall programming schedules, ad market chatter and TV-industry strategy. And use this map to get you all the way from NBC's late-morning presentation Monday to Univision's and CW's capper on Thursday.
Broadcast's Youth Market Starts at 44
May 24, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- While advertisers get ready to plunk down billions on prime-time broadcast TV during this upfront, consider this statistic: The median age of viewers of regular prime-time fare is nearing 51 (Fox, the youngest, is 44). All of which leads to a burning question: Why are advertisers expected to rush to pick up some $9 billion in inventory in a medium that seems to be passing by younger viewers?
What TV Advertisers Want From the Upfront
May 20, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The TV networks are busy putting their best face forward at this week's upfront presentations, trying to convince advertisers that their new schedules are stacked with programs only a fool wouldn't buy. But before the presentations began, Ad Age made the rounds among some prominent media buyers for their takes on the networks' pitches, most interesting shows, the appeal of online video and "event TV." Chris Boothe, president-COO at Publicis Groupe's Starcom USA, argued that networks shouldn't insist on "unreasonable" price increases.
Why CBS Needed Charlie Sheen
May 20, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- CBS is truly happy that negotiations with actor Charlie Sheen, which have been the subject of public debate for weeks, didn't turn its popular sitcom "Two and a Half Men" into "One and a Half Men." Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS Corp., told a version of that joke at least twice Wednesday. But if the network had not cemented Mr. Sheen's participation in "Men," it might not have been able to challenge NBC so directly and broadly next fall.
What TV Advertisers Want From the Upfront
May 19, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The TV networks are busy putting their best face forward at this week's upfront presentations, trying to convince advertisers that their new schedules are stacked with programs only a fool wouldn't buy. But before the presentations began, Ad Age made the rounds among some prominent media buyers for their takes on the networks' pitches, most interesting shows, the appeal of online video and "event TV."
CBS Expected to Launch New 'Hawaii Five-O'
May 18, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- CBS, the TV network that has little room for error in picking new programs, is expected to launch a new version of the popular police classic "Hawaii Five-O" and a spinoff of its series "Criminal Minds," according to people familiar with the network's decision-making process.
What TV Advertisers Want From the Upfront
May 18, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The TV networks are busy putting their best face forward at this week's upfront presentations, trying to convince advertisers that their new schedules are stacked with programs only a fool wouldn't buy. But before the presentations began, Ad Age made the rounds among some prominent media buyers for their takes on the networks' pitches, most interesting shows, the appeal of online video and "event TV." Chris Geraci, managing director of national TV investment at Omnicom Group's OMD, talks about what he's looking for from networks.
After 'Lost,' ABC Finds New Comedies
May 18, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Faced with the aging of some of its marquee shows and the departure of its long-running mystery drama "Lost," Walt Disney's ABC said it would add seven new series to its fall lineup, reworking four weeknights on the prime-time grid.
Football Already Winning Upfront Deals, Networks Say
May 17, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Advertisers are focusing on buying time in football broadcasts, according to networks, even before the networks have much of their prime-time lineups on the grid for consideration.
