The networks had to breathe a sigh of relief last week as the upfront came to an end. It got off to a slower start and there were battles behind-the-scenes with the way the market would be measured. In the end, they were able to increase their upfront by 5% this year, a number higher than expected.
At the same time, it's considered very average, and it looks like that may be the average for some time to come. The total take for all the networks was $9.3 billion for prime-time commercial spots.
"Upfront sales seem to be heading toward 5% year-over-year growth," Bank of America media analyst Jonathan Jacoby wrote in a report Friday. "Nothing to get too excited about."
Fox Broadcasting (NWS-A) led the way as its revenue for the upfront increased by 6 percent, to finish at $1.9 billion. They had the more desirable demographic as they won the key 18-49 age group; the prime advertising real estate for companies and agencies.
ABC (DIS) and CBS (CBS-A) brought in about the same, finishing a little over $2.4 billion. Revenue for the two increased by around 5 percent each.
NBC (GE) brought in almost $1.9 billion, remaining about the same as last year. Still the beleaguered network had to be happy with that as they had to decrease their rates over the last two years.
For Fox, their performance was especially impressive in that they have seven less hours of prime-time hours than their competitors, as they turn over the 10 p.m. hour to local stations.
One surprise this year was the demand for commercials placement in the evening and morning news slots.
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