• by Wayne Friedman , June 7, 2011

CW completed its upfront sales activity, adding around 10% in total upfront dollars in the midst of a mostly strong upfront advertising market.

The young-skewing broadcaster pulled in $400 million to $420 million versus $375 million during last year's TV upfront advertising marketplace, according to media executives. It sold 75% to 80% of its inventory, the same as a year ago.

Media executives claim CW gained marketplace price hikes of 10% to 12% for CPMs -- similar to gains made by Fox and ABC. Last year, CW grabbed increases of around 7.5%. CW executives would not comment about any upfront deals.

For the second year in a row, the network -- which is strong in the women 18-34 demographic -- continued to sell a big chunk of its traditional television time with its digital TV airings of its show for advertisers. More than other networks, CW viewers watch many of its TV series online.

CW, which has not been profitable since its launch in January 2006, recently announced it was shifting leadership. Veteran ABC executive Mark Pedowitz is coming in with broader responsibilities as the new president of the network; Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment for CW, is departing, a post she has had since the network started.

For the just-completed 2010-2011 TV season, CW was down 13% in its key women 18-34 rating points to a Nielsen 1.3 rating versus a year ago, down 9% in adults 18-34 viewers to a 1.0 rating, and off 5% in adults 18-49 to a 0.9 rating.

It averaged 2 million total viewers this past season, the same versus a year ago.