• Advertising Age, Monday, September 7, 2009 10:59 PM

All five broadcast networks -- and many of their cable counterparts - are reserving at least 10% more of their inventory than usual for the scatter market in the hope that they'll be able to sell the ad time at better prices than they would have been able to in the recent upfront.

A heavier-than-normal scatter market means some ad positions normally reserved in the upfront could be up for grabs. There could be some slackening in deals that call for weaving products into scripts and shows. And some longtime ad roosts may dissolve due to financial concerns with new advertisers looking to pounce.

"This is an opportunistic marketplace, and we're seeing long-held sponsorships, long-held positions coming open because of what's happening in the economy," says Mark D. Gibson of State Farm Insurance. But the emphasis on scatter will be temporary, insists Mike Shaw, ABC president-sales and marketing. "At some point, somebody is going ask why am I paying 10%, 15%, 20% above upfront pricing?" he says.

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