• by David Goetzl , June 6, 2011

CBS still has some work to do to satisfy CEO Leslie Moonves' bullishness to Wall Street. The network was locked in standoffs late Monday with agencies balking at its push for CPM increases well into the double digits.

Major pieces of business still remain for CBS, which in some negotiations is seeking price increases in the 13% range. Large agencies, in turn, are loath to pay much higher than 10% -- if not below.

Moonves offered some veiled criticism of Fox last week for doing deals in the 11% range, but that may have been a solid read on the market. ABC has been writing business just below Fox's level at close to 10% increases.

He has suggested CBS would save a significant portion of its inventory for the scatter market if it did not secure the double-digit price increases it wanted. The network may have to go in that direction.

That would require a bet the economy will not head too far downhill and cause marketers to recoil. Fox completed its upfront deal-making late last week just as a report came out that only 54,000 jobs were created in May, the lowest in eight months.

CBS does have a solid schedule to sell. The network trailed Fox in the 18-to-49 demo, but Fox only offers 15 hours a week in prime time, while CBS (along with ABC and NBC) offers 22. CBS topped the other two in ratings handily.

At the same time, Univision has completed about 20% of its business at CPM increases in the low double-digit range, with volume expected to finish well above last year. The Spanish-language network is likely benefiting from census results showing a swelling Hispanic population, as well as improved ratings in the coveted 18-to-34 demographic.

The CW is close to wrapping its negotiations, with CPM increases in the low double-digit percentages. The network sells mostly in a female 18-to-34 demo.