• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 10, 2012

That seems to be the consensus during the opening upfront panel at MEDIA magazine’s annual Outfront conference in New York this morning.

Discovery Networks sale chief Joe Abruzzese pointed out that there already are multiple markets within the upfront, and that cable and broadcast network markets essentially operate independently of each other, even though they are perceived by the industry as being part of one big whole. “Digital may be one of [those],” he said, implying that the digital upfront may be its own special animal.

Initiative’s Chris Magel said the upfront presentations being made by big digital companies are more like a way to showcase their content development than they are a conventional TV advertising sales pitch process. “In my opinion, it is a good way for them to create visibility that they are investing significant money in original content,” he said.

Turner sales chief Donna Speciale went a step further to point out that most of what people are watching on online video is television content or YouTube video.