• by Evan Shapiro , April 10, 2003

Spring, when a young man's mind turns to... The Upfront! The Upfront Season has officially started, and not a moment too soon. I'm lucky enough each year to take part in the upfront in a few ways and it's work that I relish! To me, the Upfront is not unlike the baseball season - millions of stats, stale beer and all the teams get their turn to pitch. You just have to hope you're ahead to stay by July 4th. To portray his love for the game, Ernest Thayer wrote the immortal Casey at the Bat. Not being a big fan of rhyming couplets, I give you....

THE TOP TEN THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS UPFRONT:

#10: REALITY SHOWS: We should, as an industry, collect the most whacky, off-the-wall Reality Show concepts and keep track of which actually make it to air. In fact, let's start a pool right now - I'm putting my money on WHO WANTS TO MARRY MY MOM AND THEN MEET MY DAD?

#9: AD SALES MARKETING. Maybe I'm alone, but I love ad trade marketing. It's often where some of the most creative and 'out there' marketing sees the light of day. The challenge: effectively market a network to advertisers WITHOUT sounding just like everyone else trying to do the same. With 500 cable networks, not everyone can be #1. Court TV's media kits actually contain magnifying so buyers and planners clients can read the sourcing in everyone's ads. Have Fun!

#8: THE WAR (or what's left of it). Now that that Saddam statue FINALLY fell over, what will the speedy end to the war mean to the Upfront of '03? When reached for his opinion, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf informed us that the infidels in cable had been beaten back and the network invaders were next. Listen, however bad it gets this year, at least none of has to work the Upfront for Al Jazeera or Abu Dhabi.

#7: PREDICTIONS. Seriously, can we all admit that we don't actually know what's going to happen in the Upfront already? The mood swings of these things are enough to make me sea-sick - up one week, down the next. Here's the most accurate prediction you will read during this Upfront: Either a record level of advertising will be purchased ... or not.

#6: TWO WORDS: PRODUCT INTEGRATION. It's a quandary facing many networks and it will be debated endlessly this year and beyond - yet, somehow, we all need to find our way to the intersection of art and commerce. Gee Mr. Osbourne, Your Hair Smells Terrific!

#5: IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY STUPID. We may have won the war, but we are still losing the battle of the budget. Can this President mobilize the troops in the treasury as effectively as those in the Pentagon? Better questions: when will the Pink Slip Drinking Clubs run out of mad money, and what is the proper etiquette for a 35 year to ask their Mom and Dad for money?

#4: ADDED VALUE. Can someone define this phrase for me? The carrot of added value sometimes overshadows the value of the air time, and that's when sales becomes marketing. In a VERY competitive Upfront, many AE's and Managers will be facing the age old question: At what price this sale?

#3: TIMING. Since the Upfront of 2001 never actually broke and the Upfront of 2002 Broke over a gradual and painful period of several weeks, the big question is WHEN WILL 2003 UPFRONT BREAK, AND SHOULD I INVEST IN A SHARE IN THE HAMPTONS? June 13, and no, those people will only drink your beer and steal your girlfriend - or the other way around.

#2: BROADCAST vs. CABLE CPM'S. Projected sales for Broadcast in the Upfront: $9 Billion. Knowing that the value of cable CPMs remain woefully behind the networks: Ridiculous.

AND THE #1 TOP TEN THING TO LOOK FOR THIS UPFRONT:

#1: Whenever it breaks and whenever it's over, let's all meet for a drink at my place!