The misconception that Jeff Zucker claimed NBC Universal (NYSE:GE) was going to cancel the upfronts, continues to prevail, although it's not true.
What Zucker said was, "The way that we sell the inventory in an upfront selling period is not going to change. Whether we still need to do the dog-and-pony show is completely under review here and you can look for an announcement on that from us very soon."
All the networks are working on cutting the fat from their businesses, and Zucker and NBC Universal are reviewing whether the cost is necessary to have an effective upfront. I think he's right in thinking it doesn't matter. Advertisers aren't going to make a decision based on how much money they put into throwing a party.
Zucker added that what he is thinking is going more one-on-one with advertisers and agencies, rather than the general presentation.
Supposedly Peter Chernin said Fox (NYSE:NWS-A) will continue on with the upfront, although it wasn't clear if he meant the past way of doing things with all the hoopla, or the selling of inventory in an upfront period.
speaking to issue of costs of pilots, Chernin did say Fox is looking at cutting back on their number, as a way to cut down on costs.
“We were moving toward probably making fewer pilots and trying to get some waste out of the system before the strike,” Chernin said. “We will continue to look at that.”
I think the end result of all this is there will definitely be fewer writers in the industry after the strike is settled, as it's definitely shifting away from an abundance of scripted shows.
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