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While NBC (NYSE:GE) is touting it being the first broadcaster to sell its inventory in the upfront, I see it more as a negative than a positive for the network. The reason it sold out first was its lower value, not it being a major player.

The company asserts it sold more this year, and that's true, but it came at the expense of having to include more ad inventory in order to make that boast. Even so, they were able to increase prices by between 5 percent to 7.5 percent.

Their competitors, on the other hand, were able to increase prices from between 6 percent to 10 percent, with Fox (NYSE:NWS-A) coming in at the high end of the spectrum, based on their increased viewership among the key 18-49 demo, as well as overall viewers.

Major networks usually sell about three-quarters of their inventory in the upfront, while keeping the rest to offer in the scatter market, with NBC having to sell about 80 percent to get its results.

With scatter prices rising up to 40 percent, agencies are also buying more in the upfront this year to guard against spending increases later.

The migration of spending to the Internet isn't the only cause behind the changes, as advertising dollars are also gravitating to cable, where viewership continues to grow. The more successful cable networks are enjoying ad spending increases of up to 20 percent or higher this year.

"The high-end cable networks are trying to take a seat at the table at the same time the network negotiations are going on," says Larry Novenstern, executive vice president at Optimedia.