Steve McClellan, Adweek
Fox's Jon Nesvig
For now, it remains mostly quiet on the upfront front.
The gap between what buyers want to pay and what sellers are
willing to accept is still wide. Many buyers are looking for rate
cuts, versus a year ago. So far, sellers are resisting.
Given the recession, just as consumers are spending less on goods
and services, so are many marketers. First quarter ad expenditures
for many categories are down double digits according to the Nielsen
Co. Auto spending, for example was down 24 percent to $1.5 billion,
while ready-to-wear clothing was down 32 percent to $268 million.
Even the movie studio sector, which has held up better than many
categories, was down, 2 percent to $845 million.
And when they finally do open up the purse strings for the next
broadcast season, advertisers are expected to spend less, although
how much less remains unclear. And for the money they do commit up
front, marketers will want “greater value” for every dollar they
spend, as one head buyer at a major media shop put it.
Others agreed. “The right pricing will move the market,” said the
top buyer at another big agency. Right pricing, the buyer
clarified, means “deflation,” versus year-ago rates. “When demand
is strong they want us to pay more, when it’s not they want flat.
When do we win?”
And with ratings down again this year for most of the networks,
buyers say it makes even less sense to pay higher rates (not that
that has stopped them in the past from doing so.)
None of the major nets would comment last week, but CBS CEO Les
Moonves earlier this year predicted that pricing, at least at his
network, would be up. He also indicated that it is possible CBS
will sell less inventory upfront if advertisers balk at an
increase.
Buyers said they anticipated that all the networks would ask for
increases, at least at the start of talks. “Why wouldn’t they?” one
buyer said.
Last week there were reports in the buying community that
Fox—specifically sales president Jon Nesvig—had indicated that
price cuts were out of the question. But a network rep denied that
he said or indicated that. What he did say at the Fox upfront
presentation on May 18 in New York was that Fox hadn’t cut rates in
this year’s scatter market and that “Upfront advertisers have
maintained value versus short-term advertisers.”
Meanwhile, other buyers said they were screening pilots, working up
estimates and trying to get clients to finalize their upfront
budgets. “I don’t see anything really happening until maybe
mid-June,” said Larry Novenstern, executive vp and director of
electronic media at Publicis Groupe’s Optimedia.
Another buyer added that right now, while some dialog between
buyers and sellers is ongoing, there’s also “a lot of silence.”
All Quiet on the Upfront Front
May 28, 2009
Steve McClellan, Adweek
Fox's Jon Nesvig
For now, it remains mostly quiet on the upfront front.
The gap between what buyers want to pay and what sellers are willing to accept is still wide. Many buyers are looking for rate cuts, versus a year ago. So far, sellers are resisting.
Given the recession, just as consumers are spending less on goods and services, so are many marketers. First quarter ad expenditures for many categories are down double digits according to the Nielsen Co. Auto spending, for example was down 24 percent to $1.5 billion, while ready-to-wear clothing was down 32 percent to $268 million. Even the movie studio sector, which has held up better than many categories, was down, 2 percent to $845 million.
And when they finally do open up the purse strings for the next broadcast season, advertisers are expected to spend less, although how much less remains unclear. And for the money they do commit up front, marketers will want “greater value” for every dollar they spend, as one head buyer at a major media shop put it.
Others agreed. “The right pricing will move the market,” said the top buyer at another big agency. Right pricing, the buyer clarified, means “deflation,” versus year-ago rates. “When demand is strong they want us to pay more, when it’s not they want flat. When do we win?”
And with ratings down again this year for most of the networks, buyers say it makes even less sense to pay higher rates (not that that has stopped them in the past from doing so.)
None of the major nets would comment last week, but CBS CEO Les Moonves earlier this year predicted that pricing, at least at his network, would be up. He also indicated that it is possible CBS will sell less inventory upfront if advertisers balk at an increase.
Buyers said they anticipated that all the networks would ask for increases, at least at the start of talks. “Why wouldn’t they?” one buyer said.
Last week there were reports in the buying community that Fox—specifically sales president Jon Nesvig—had indicated that price cuts were out of the question. But a network rep denied that he said or indicated that. What he did say at the Fox upfront presentation on May 18 in New York was that Fox hadn’t cut rates in this year’s scatter market and that “Upfront advertisers have maintained value versus short-term advertisers.”
Meanwhile, other buyers said they were screening pilots, working up estimates and trying to get clients to finalize their upfront budgets. “I don’t see anything really happening until maybe mid-June,” said Larry Novenstern, executive vp and director of electronic media at Publicis Groupe’s Optimedia.
Another buyer added that right now, while some dialog between buyers and sellers is ongoing, there’s also “a lot of silence.”
