NBC adds up the ads
Peacock leads upfront as nets see big gains
The Peacock's performance was one of the few remaining upfront question marks going into the holiday weekend. Ad industry insiders said NBC had hit the $2 billion mark and was shooting for a $2.2 billion take, enough to claim a 5% climb over year-ago sales.
As expected, CBS, Fox and WB had all wrapped up most of their pre-season sales by late Friday, and ABC was said to be sprinting toward the finish line (Daily Variety, May 28). UPN is still open for business, hoping to stay even with last year's total sales of between $125 million and $135 million.
Other nets post gains
When all the coin from upfront sales is tallied, ABC is expected to net around $1.7 billion, with a gain of 12%-14% from last year's $1.5 billion in sales.
CBS was expected to come in somewhere between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, increasing total sales somewhere between 13% and 17%.
Fox will likely haul in $1.3 billion, jumping an impressive 18%-20% over 1998's $1.1 billion in sales.
WB should easily bring in $425 million and could even get to $450 million, growing a stunning 40%-50% from last year's $300 million in sales.
The overall upfront should have no problem hitting a record $6.8 billion, which would rep a healthy 13% gain over last year's estimated $6 billion tally. Should all six nets meet their current projections, sales could top $7 billion.
CPM (cost per thousand) increases for the Big Four were almost universally in double digits, though NBC may have cut some high single-digit deals. Hikes on average were between 12%-15%, with Fox getting hikes of 18%-20% more on many packages, insiders said.
As network sales execs left for the Memorial Day weekend, their mood more resembled a kid on Christmas morning.
"It was like a freight train," one web sales honcho said of the ferocious upfront market. "We were blown away. ... It was like the old days when they used to get all the orders in by Presidents Day weekend in February."
"I never thought I'd see another upfront like this again," added one veteran network ad exec, his head still spinning from the flood of orders coming into his office.
Frog net leaps ahead
Insiders said the white-hot WB "set the tone, a psychological tone" by opening up the marketplace so quickly and with so much force.
"When you hear about them getting 30% (CPM hikes) and selling out in two days, ... it breaks down resistance (on the part of buyers) and builds up a little bit of resolve with the networks," one seller explained.
WB insiders were thrilled by the Frog net's performance.
"In the past, we weren't as important as the big guys. This year has proven that's not the case," said one WB exec of last week's buyers' leap toward the Frog net. "I've never seen demand so far exceed supply for a product."
ABC, which traditionally plays hardball with sellers, "provided the underpinning" of the solid upfront, one network exec said. Had the Alphabet web accepted CPM hikes of less than double digits, buyers would have been reluctant to shell out double-digit increases for other nets.
While virtually every ad category posted increases, insiders pointed to autos, telecommunications and financial services as being particularly strong this year. In addition, "Retail went through the roof," said one seller, who theorized large chain stores may be trying to counteract the buzz around e-commerce and hot retail Web sites such as Amazon.com by "building brand awareness" for their retail stores.
With CPM hikes larger than they've been in years, most networks decided to sell a larger percentage of their ad inventory in the upfront market -- about 85% rather than the usual 75%-80%. "You gotta grab the bird in the hand rather than rely on scatter," one seller said.
Value-added viewers
While the erosion of network auds would seem to portend doom for broadcasters, the ratings slide seems to be helping the nets secure bigger CPM gains. The reason: With fewer network eyeballs available, each pair becomes more valuable.
In addition, network TV, despite being somewhat diminished, is "one of the few venues that can cume to a 90% reach in a week," notes one media buyer. "Even when the networks are doing 3 ratings, most of cable will be doing a 1 rating."
Following a year filled with budget cuts at every one of the Big Four webs, last week's rush of new revenue could provide a momentary reprise from the doom-and-gloom mood that has pervaded Network Row. Veteran webbies aren't planning to wallow in their new-found fortune, however.
"This was our year; next year will probably be (more favorable to) the buyers," one sales exec said, adding that he's telling junior staffers not to expect future sales seasons to be as rosy.
"This could be the last great upfront," he said with a sigh.
