Fewer Ad Dollars Expected As Weak TV Upfront Nears End

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor To collect ad dollars this year, the nation’s big TV networks did something they rarely do.

They held a fire sale. U.S. media companies have largely closed out their “upfront” ad-sales process, according to four executives familiar with recent negotiations, and are likely to see a decline in volume for the first time since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic — and just the second since 2015.

These executives said the volume of advertising commitments the networks were able to secure fell in nearly all areas, except sports.

And to get there, the networks had to cut their rates. The numbers in 2023 are expected to be less robust than last year’s. In 2022, the five broadcast TV networks secured around $9.9 billion in primetime sales, up 6.4%, according to Media Dynamics Inc., a consultancy that tracks the marketplace.