• by Wayne Friedman , July 27, 2023

Paramount Global has finished its TV upfront advertising deal-making for the upcoming 2023-2024 TV season, which starts this September, with slight “low to mid single percentage” volume gains, according to media agency executives.

Last year, CBS TV Network -- Paramount Global's main revenue driver -- reportedly was estimated to have pulled in $2.6 billion in prime-time upfront advertising sales. 

This would have put CBS again among the top networks. Last year, Media Dynamics estimated the top five broadcast networks collectively pulled in $9.9 billion in upfront commitments for the 2022-2023 TV season. 

This year Paramount has seen a “rebound” in some key advertising consumer categories, according to executives who are close to the company -- including beverage, personal care, automotive, and insurance.

There were also strong results from live sports programming, where analysts say advertisers paid low single digit percentage cost per thousand viewer (CPM) increases -- the only live, linear TV category to see gains in pricing. 

Entertainment -- scripted and unscripted TV series -- had rare price declines, ranging from 3% to 5% during the upfront selling period, according to executives.

In addition, Paramount’sEyeQ unit -- its streaming/digital sell-side ad platform business -- had strong results. EyeQ includes Paramount+, its premium streaming service, as well as Pluto TV, its free ad-supported streaming platform.

Paramount’s Vantage business unit -- its advanced advertising unit, where brands can buy cross-platform audiences across its linear networks and streaming platforms -- also performed well. This can include inventory for broadcast, cable, linear addressable, video-on-demand, connected TV, and FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) platforms.