A day after it was announced he would lead the agency's upfront negotiations, Starcom CEO John Muszynski called for an overhaul of the annual spring bazaar. Looking to follow viewers as they
increasingly consume video on emerging platforms, Muszynski said the upfront should be expanded to include those new distribution outlets. "The upfront must transform from a television upfront to a
video upfront," he said as part of his keynote address Thursday at
Media Magazine's 2006 Outfront Conference. Advertisers with a platform-agnostic approach should be able to purchase time on
broadband, VOD, iPods, mobile devices--and the next new thing--along with their run of traditional spots, he said. The revolution is taking shape and if a new model doesn't emerge this year, Muszynski
said it will be in place by next spring. "It will incorporate all these different kinds of rolling video," he said. Muszynski urged networks to meet consumer tastes and make their content available on
a whenever-wherever basis. "If we can inject advertisers into the equation, we'll all be rewarded," he said. Indeed, Muszynski said that if Starcom had been given the option to insert ads into iTunes
broadcasts of ABC's "Lost," the agency would have jumped at the chance. -- David Goetzl
