With The 2012-2013 Upfront Near, Which Networks Will Give More -- Digitally?

by Wayne Friedman, Mar 26, 2012, 3:50 PM

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Just weeks before the upfront, you might be wondering which networks are looking good -- and, better yet, which ones have both traditional and digital video plans.

Seems that everyone can claim something good. Fox still has the top-rated show, "American Idol," but it might not end the season at number one. CBS is still the most consistent performer. NBC now has "The Voice," but lots of trouble everywhere else. And ABC has some surprisingly good new shows, "Once Upon a Time" and "Revenge."

But the main question is: “Are these networks really going to give advertisers what they have been requesting for a while -- digital video media impressions to replace those that have gone away from traditional TV viewing?” And are they going to do it in an easy format?

CW has done this. Fox seems to be toying with it, at least with the 10% of its make-goods that can be expressed digitally. ABC apparently wants to join the hunt. NBC and CBS? We don't know yet.

Nielsen is doing its cross-platform thing for complete TV/ Internet reach and frequency, which will include Group M clients as well as some marketers. Why? Just look at the under 2.0 18-49 ratings for many primetime network shows and you have your answer. Talk all you want about engagement and other stuff, but what will TV marketers get now for next season?

Several years into digital and time-shifted viewing, TV marketers and media agency executives are getting restless.

Thirty-second commercials aren’t quite dead. But Coca-Cola wants to focus more of them on live event programming -- stuff that can't be time-shifted much. Procter & Gamble has been shifting media dollars around, mostly to digital. Some want more powerful social media connections.

We can understand this -- it's a real-time world.

What does all this \mean? More fractionalization of traditional television buying plans. Everyone wants some answers. And everyone has different -- sometimes conflicting -- media strategies.

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1 comment on "With The 2012-2013 Upfront Near, Which Networks Will Give More -- Digitally?".

1. Mike Mellon from None
   

   commented on: March 26, 2012 at 4:31 p.m.
   Great article as always.

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