• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, May 2, 2006

At a time when Madison Avenue appears to be edging away from television's upfront, a flurry of Web video firms are hoping to create one of their own. On Monday, ROO became the latest in a progression of online video players to announce an upfront, offering advertisers the chance to buy spot time across its network of 130 affiliates, broken up by targeted channels.

The Web's leading portals, from Yahoo to CNN, have been experimenting with broadband video upfronts for over a year. Only recently, however, have smaller players decided to seek a share of the money agencies earmark for the coming year.

Last Month, Klipmart launched an upfront initiative led by former Carat Fusion executive (and MediaPost "Online Spin" columnist) Cory Treffiletti. And in late March, Heavy.com, a popular distraction for about 10 million young males, began a "digital upfront," which consists of 30 hours of upcoming programming through the end of this year.

"Broadband video has become a must-have companion to TV advertising, so it makes sense that it should be planned in the same way and at the same time as the traditional TV and cable upfront," Rick Kleczkowski, Klipmart's senior vice president of business development, told MediaDailyNews last month.

Such confidence in part stems from work that leading portals and Web destinations are short on inventory, if not completely sold out. "We foresee an industry-wide shortage of quality inventory, and ROO is one of the only networks with sufficient reach to meet advertisers' demand," said ROO CEO Robert Petty.

But success is hardly a sure thing. And companies new to the world of upfronts had better think more about continued innovation, and less about quick riches, according to Sean Black, senior vice president and managing group director at MediaCom's Beyond Entertainment.

"I welcome the arrival of these guys because it's good for the traditional marketers to see that things are changing," said Black. "But they have a long way to go in terms of creating value in the space." Added Black: "The dot-com sales forces are out there trying to take advantage of the inventory shortage, but it won't last unless the value increases."

Spending on broadband video in the United States is expected to reach $385 million this year--up from $225 million in 2005, according to eMarketer. And according to Jupiter Research, 68 percent of U.S. homes online now access the Web through a broadband connection.